The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Most of the Cheapass Games sell themselves. If you're a regular reader of reviews here on RPG.NET, then you already know about them. In fact, this probably isn't the only review of Button Men you can check out, either.

Unfortunately, Button Men doesn't sell itself. It comes packaged in a sll ziplock bag with two color art buttons and little indication of exactly how the game is supposed to work. It really requires a demo of the game in order to understand it. Fortunatly, the demo itself only takes five minutes.

Button Men, like the other CAGs, is head-smackingly simple in its design, but wonderfully complex in play. Each player has a button that represents a warrior of some kind. Who they are and where they're from are largely irrelevant, as long as they 'like beating people up', as each one states in his or her 'profile'.

Each button has a series of numbers and perhaps one or two 'X' numbers as well. The numbers each represent a single polyhedral die type of the standard RPG variety: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20-sided dice are possible. 'Small' dice tend to reflect great er speed, while large dice reflect greater power. Any 'X' on a Button can be filled with a die type of the players choice. More than one X means the player must choose the same die type for all X numbers.

Each player starts the game by rolling all the dice they have available. The player with the lowest roll from all the dice on the table gains initiative and goes first. In a tie, the next lowest roll goes first, and so on. Players then take turns capturing each other's dice with their own. Players score the number of sides of dice they capture, plus half the number of sides of any dice they have remaining. Best two out of three wins the match (to eliminate bad rolls deciding a game entirely). If this sounds simple, it is. Except that it's not.

The true addictive genius of this game starts right about now. Each turn, a player may make a 'Power attack', using any one of his own dice to capture any die of his opponent's that has equal or lower roll. Rolled a 4 on your 4-sider and your opponent rolled a 3 on his d20? Say hello to 20 points. Or, a player can make a 'Skill attack', using any number of his dice that add up exactly to one of his oppnent's dice. So you can capture a d12 with nothing but 6-siders. The catch is that any dice you use to capture your oponent's dice must then be rerolled. This adds a whole new world of anxiety to choosing which of your opponent's dice to capture. While his d12 is tempting, you might not want to reroll that 19 you've got. Alternately, even if you might be able to score a larger die, you might just take his d6 to try to get better than a 3 on your 12-sider. Get the idea?

Despite the need to play it to understand it, Button Men live up to the Cheapass credo of more for less. It's a perfect blend of luck and strategy, and surprisingly intricate for a game you can wear around pinned to your chest. Or alternately, your shirt...

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Button Men
Author: James Ernst Category: Dice Game Company/Publisher: Cheapass Games Line: Cheapass Games Cost: $4.50 Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a Playtest Review by Jim Crocker on 04/04/99. Genre tags: none	Most of the Cheapass Games sell themselves. If you're a regular reader of reviews here on RPG.NET, then you already know about them. In fact, this probably isn't the only review of *Button Men* you can check out, either. Unfortunately, *Button Men* doesn't sell itself. It comes packaged in a sll ziplock bag with two color art buttons and little indication of exactly how the game is supposed to work. It really requires a demo of the game in order to understand it. Fortunatly, the demo itself only takes five minutes. *Button Men, like the other CAGs, is head-smackingly simple in its design, but wonderfully complex in play. Each player has a button that represents a warrior of some kind. Who they are and where they're from are largely irrelevant, as long as they 'like beating people up', as each one states in his or her 'profile'. Each button has a series of numbers and perhaps one or two 'X' numbers as well. The numbers each represent a single polyhedral die type of the standard RPG variety: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20-sided dice are possible. 'Small' dice tend to reflect great er speed, while large dice reflect greater power. Any 'X' on a Button can be filled with a die type of the players choice. More than one X means the player must choose the same die type for all X numbers. Each player starts the game by rolling all the dice they have available. The player with the lowest roll from all the dice on the table gains initiative and goes first. In a tie, the next lowest roll goes first, and so on. Players then take turns capturing each other's dice with their own. Players score the number of sides of dice they capture, plus half the number of sides of any dice they have remaining. Best two out of three wins the match (to eliminate bad rolls deciding a game entirely). If this sounds simple, it is. Except that it's not. The true addictive genius of this game starts right about now. Each turn, a player may make a 'Power attack', using any one of his own dice to capture any die of his opponent's that has equal or lower roll. Rolled a 4 on your 4-sider and your opponent rolled a 3 on his d20? Say hello to 20 points. Or, a player can make a 'Skill attack', using any number of his dice that add up exactly to one of his oppnent's dice. So you can capture a d12 with nothing but 6-siders. The catch is that any dice you use to capture your oponent's dice must then be rerolled. This adds a whole new world of anxiety to choosing which of your opponent's dice to capture. While his d12 is tempting, you might not want to reroll that 19 you've got. Alternately, even if you might be able to score a larger die, you might just take his d6 to try to get better than a 3 on your 12-sider. Get the idea? Despite the need to play it to understand it, Button Men* live up to the Cheapass credo of more for less. It's a perfect blend of luck and strategy, and surprisingly intricate for a game you can wear around pinned to your chest. Or alternately, your shirt... Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)