Review of WrestAngel
WrestAngel (Angello Porazzi Games, 2006 – Angello Porazzi) is a game that’s easy to overlook – most likely because it’s one of the smallest games you’ll ever see, coming in a miniscule box with a deck of miniscule cards. It’s the fourth game that Mr. Porazzi has placed in his WarAngel universe – the characters are from several of the armies from that epic game. But rather than focus on the serious aspect of war, this game is a more lighthearted romp look at a different world – that of “professional” wrestling.
And as a light, fast wrestling game, WrestAngel works. If you can get into the wacky theme of this type of wrestling (maybe even making the war cries and grunting noises), it just might become a hit. For me, I found it mildly entertaining, after getting through the poor rules layout, and something that I would enjoy as a diversion – but not much more. It actually does seem to mimic professional wrestling, but I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment.
Each player picks a team of two characters from the WarAngel universe. These characters have four major stats: Power, Vitality, Movement, and Value. Most characters also have one to three other stats on the cards – with different names but all included in the Action category. A ring is set up with four spaces included for each team – two rope spaces and two ring cards. A deck of cards is shuffled, each with a value from “1” to “7”, and of six different suits (Power, Vitality, Action, Movement, Value, and Joker). Players are dealt four cards, and then the youngest player starts, with play proceeding clockwise.
On a player’s turn, they may play cards from their hand to activate one or both of their warriors on the table.Movement cards are added to the character’s movement stat, giving the total number of spaces that player may move. Since there are fairly few spaces on the board, this doesn’t matter much. However, if the character moves into the center space of the ring, then any opponent on a rope card can declare a charge, playing a movement card that (adding in their own movement stat) is higher than the moving character’s total. If this happens, the moving character is immediately knocked down.
Power cards can be used to attack an adjacent opponent. They play their power card face down on the table, which is added to their power stat for a total number. The defender must either take the attack (in which case they are knocked down), or play a power card (in which case it’s likely that both characters will be knocked down), a vitality card (which if added to the vitality of the defender, is higher than the total attack – the attack misses), or a movement card (which avoids the attack by moving the character to an opposing space). Both attacking card and defending cards are played face down then revealed. Attackers win all ties.
Action cards can be used only once a turn, unless the player has multiple actions. They are played the same as an attack with the same results – except a defender who plays a power card will automatically be knocked down.
A player can also attack with a Value card but only if they are on a ropes card and adjacent to an opponent directly in front of them. Value numbers are usually quite hard; so while they can be defended with Vitality (not Power –an automatic knockdown), it’s usually best to avoid them with a movement card. Value cards can also be played as a “reaction,” when an opponent moves into the spot directly in front of a player on the ropes.
Wild cards can be played as any type of card.
Whenever a character is knocked down, a pin phase occurs. Both the attacker and defender draw three additional cards to their hand. They then both play ANY card from their hand face down, with the attacker attempting to play an equal or higher numbered card (only the numbers matter). If the attacker succeeds, both cards are discarded and another round occurs. A defender needs to only win once for the pin round to immediately end; but if an attacker wins three times in a row, the defending character is eliminated from the game! Otherwise the knocked down player stands back up. A knocked down player can also stand up on their turn by playing any vitality card.
A player can have many cards in their hand (as these are the results of being pinned, etc.), but only draws up to four at the end of their turn (they may discard as many as they like beforehand). The game continues until one team is eliminated. At that point, players total the value of the characters still remaining on their team and add the values of any character their team eliminated. The player with the highest total is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: It’s a tiny deck of cards in a tiny, tiny box. This makes it highly portable, of course; but I still removed the cards and put them in a sturdier, easier to find plastic box. The card artwork is enjoyable, although small – like the cards. The numbers are fairly easy to read – with little letters near them to help if you can’t see the colors. Some aren’t going to like the small cards, and I think the game would have been enhanced with a larger size; but it is functional.
2.) Rules: I had the privilege of seeing the first draft of the rules, and I can say that what comes with the game is light years better. Still, the translation from Italian isn’t always easy to understand, and the layout of the rules can be quite confusing. It is possible to figure out (or you can read my summary instead), and really – the game isn’t so confusing to teach. In fact, with the constant getting knocked down and back up, it’s interesting how the mechanics of the game really fit with the theme of the genre.
3.) Knockdowns: By far, the most interesting (and frequent) part of the game is the pin phase. Players are attempting to out maneuver each other. The defender has the advantage in that they only need to win ONE of the three rounds; but the attacker wins ties, so they simply need to play smart. Also, if the defender loses the second round and the attacker has a “7” card in their hand, that’s the end of the defending character – one must be careful not to fall in this trap. This simultaneous selection mechanic is always a favorite of mine, and I enjoy it quite a bit in this game with one caveat. There’s just so much of it going on – these pin phases are happening on every turn. A good half or more of the game is consumed by these pin phases, and I think it’s a bit much (for the game, not the theme.)
4.) Tactics: Certainly there’s a chunk of luck in the game, with all the cards that one is drawing from the deck; but it appears to even out. Of course, a “7” in any card type is a nice thing to have – especially for the perpetual pin phases, but it is interesting to know what cards to play when attacking and defending. Movement is the best way to defend; but by using up your movement cards, a player takes reduces their maneuverability quite a bit. Using Attack cards is invariably better than using Power cards, but the numbers on the characters are usually lower, making the chance of success against Vitality smaller. And is it ever worth it to step into the middle space of the board? Look, there are no agonizing decisions to be made here, but there is enough variety to keep it fun for people looking to play a light game.
5.) Characters: I’m not sure if the characters (who seem awfully close to real wrestler names – “Ray Hissterio”, “Jess the Snake”, “Ultimate Eagle”) are balanced, but there are none that I would have a problem using. Taking a creature with a high Value means that their stats are most likely better, but they also become a huge target – especially in multi-player games. Typical stats for the game: Hooker Nile (Power 4, Vitality 4, Move 4, Value 6, Attack 3) and Dawn Fire (Power 6, Vitality 4, Move 7, Value 10, Attacks 1 and 2). As you can see, the stats aren’t THAT different, but they do cause some variety; and with twenty choices, players should be satisfied.
6.) Players and Time: The game supports up to five players normally and can go up to ten if each player only uses one character. These larger style games can be extremely chaotic with wrestlers running everywhere (think Royal Rumble), and I think a three-player game or even a two-player game is the best version. Even so, I enjoy the fact that the game ends after one elimination, keeping it short and making every move count. WrestAngel would be quite horrific if it lasted a long time; ending after only twenty minutes makes it quite okay.
7.) Theme and Fun Factor: I thought I wanted to play a silly wrestling game, but I guess not, even though WrestAngel really does simulate one! It will appeal with those who want to make loud noises when attacking an opponent; those who sit enthralled by WWE each week; or those who simply want to have a silly time when playing.
You know, other than the small cards and box, there isn’t much negative that I can say against WrestAngel – it really does deliver on the theme of “pro” wrestling, and I know that a lot of folks are going to enjoy it based on those terms. For me, however, the game was simply okay; I wasn’t that excited and felt like there were too many pin phases. But this is how I feel about pro wrestling in general, so perhaps my disdain for the “sport” has carried over to the game. Even though in WrestAngel you have a giant-winged insect fighting a minotaur, it’s a carbon copy of what I’ve seen on TV otherwise. So my recommendation is: let your feelings for professional wrestling dictate your choice about purchasing your game. They’ll probably line up neatly.
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.thedicetower.com
And as a light, fast wrestling game, WrestAngel works. If you can get into the wacky theme of this type of wrestling (maybe even making the war cries and grunting noises), it just might become a hit. For me, I found it mildly entertaining, after getting through the poor rules layout, and something that I would enjoy as a diversion – but not much more. It actually does seem to mimic professional wrestling, but I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment.
Each player picks a team of two characters from the WarAngel universe. These characters have four major stats: Power, Vitality, Movement, and Value. Most characters also have one to three other stats on the cards – with different names but all included in the Action category. A ring is set up with four spaces included for each team – two rope spaces and two ring cards. A deck of cards is shuffled, each with a value from “1” to “7”, and of six different suits (Power, Vitality, Action, Movement, Value, and Joker). Players are dealt four cards, and then the youngest player starts, with play proceeding clockwise.
On a player’s turn, they may play cards from their hand to activate one or both of their warriors on the table.
Whenever a character is knocked down, a pin phase occurs. Both the attacker and defender draw three additional cards to their hand. They then both play ANY card from their hand face down, with the attacker attempting to play an equal or higher numbered card (only the numbers matter). If the attacker succeeds, both cards are discarded and another round occurs. A defender needs to only win once for the pin round to immediately end; but if an attacker wins three times in a row, the defending character is eliminated from the game! Otherwise the knocked down player stands back up. A knocked down player can also stand up on their turn by playing any vitality card.
A player can have many cards in their hand (as these are the results of being pinned, etc.), but only draws up to four at the end of their turn (they may discard as many as they like beforehand). The game continues until one team is eliminated. At that point, players total the value of the characters still remaining on their team and add the values of any character their team eliminated. The player with the highest total is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: It’s a tiny deck of cards in a tiny, tiny box. This makes it highly portable, of course; but I still removed the cards and put them in a sturdier, easier to find plastic box. The card artwork is enjoyable, although small – like the cards. The numbers are fairly easy to read – with little letters near them to help if you can’t see the colors. Some aren’t going to like the small cards, and I think the game would have been enhanced with a larger size; but it is functional.
2.) Rules: I had the privilege of seeing the first draft of the rules, and I can say that what comes with the game is light years better. Still, the translation from Italian isn’t always easy to understand, and the layout of the rules can be quite confusing. It is possible to figure out (or you can read my summary instead), and really – the game isn’t so confusing to teach. In fact, with the constant getting knocked down and back up, it’s interesting how the mechanics of the game really fit with the theme of the genre.
3.) Knockdowns: By far, the most interesting (and frequent) part of the game is the pin phase. Players are attempting to out maneuver each other. The defender has the advantage in that they only need to win ONE of the three rounds; but the attacker wins ties, so they simply need to play smart. Also, if the defender loses the second round and the attacker has a “7” card in their hand, that’s the end of the defending character – one must be careful not to fall in this trap. This simultaneous selection mechanic is always a favorite of mine, and I enjoy it quite a bit in this game with one caveat. There’s just so much of it going on – these pin phases are happening on every turn. A good half or more of the game is consumed by these pin phases, and I think it’s a bit much (for the game, not the theme.)
4.) Tactics: Certainly there’s a chunk of luck in the game, with all the cards that one is drawing from the deck; but it appears to even out. Of course, a “7” in any card type is a nice thing to have – especially for the perpetual pin phases, but it is interesting to know what cards to play when attacking and defending. Movement is the best way to defend; but by using up your movement cards, a player takes reduces their maneuverability quite a bit. Using Attack cards is invariably better than using Power cards, but the numbers on the characters are usually lower, making the chance of success against Vitality smaller. And is it ever worth it to step into the middle space of the board? Look, there are no agonizing decisions to be made here, but there is enough variety to keep it fun for people looking to play a light game.
5.) Characters: I’m not sure if the characters (who seem awfully close to real wrestler names – “Ray Hissterio”, “Jess the Snake”, “Ultimate Eagle”) are balanced, but there are none that I would have a problem using. Taking a creature with a high Value means that their stats are most likely better, but they also become a huge target – especially in multi-player games. Typical stats for the game: Hooker Nile (Power 4, Vitality 4, Move 4, Value 6, Attack 3) and Dawn Fire (Power 6, Vitality 4, Move 7, Value 10, Attacks 1 and 2). As you can see, the stats aren’t THAT different, but they do cause some variety; and with twenty choices, players should be satisfied.
6.) Players and Time: The game supports up to five players normally and can go up to ten if each player only uses one character. These larger style games can be extremely chaotic with wrestlers running everywhere (think Royal Rumble), and I think a three-player game or even a two-player game is the best version. Even so, I enjoy the fact that the game ends after one elimination, keeping it short and making every move count. WrestAngel would be quite horrific if it lasted a long time; ending after only twenty minutes makes it quite okay.
7.) Theme and Fun Factor: I thought I wanted to play a silly wrestling game, but I guess not, even though WrestAngel really does simulate one! It will appeal with those who want to make loud noises when attacking an opponent; those who sit enthralled by WWE each week; or those who simply want to have a silly time when playing.
You know, other than the small cards and box, there isn’t much negative that I can say against WrestAngel – it really does deliver on the theme of “pro” wrestling, and I know that a lot of folks are going to enjoy it based on those terms. For me, however, the game was simply okay; I wasn’t that excited and felt like there were too many pin phases. But this is how I feel about pro wrestling in general, so perhaps my disdain for the “sport” has carried over to the game. Even though in WrestAngel you have a giant-winged insect fighting a minotaur, it’s a carbon copy of what I’ve seen on TV otherwise. So my recommendation is: let your feelings for professional wrestling dictate your choice about purchasing your game. They’ll probably line up neatly.
Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”
www.thedicetower.com
