MotU Madness

The boys got the core set for Masters of the Universe: Battleground for Christmas, and we finally made the time to try it out this afternoon. For a game based on a kids' show that features fast, crazy action, Battleground plays about as fast as Ram Man trying to solve calculus equations. There's a lot of tactical depth, however, and the game reminds me a lot of Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team. 

In today's smackdown, Matthew played as the good guys (He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Stratos), while Nathaniel had the baddies (Skeletor, Mer-Man, and my all-time favorite MotU villain, Trapjaw). He-Man claimed an objective token in the first round to give the heroes an early lead, but Mer-Man and Skeletor focused fire on the big guy and brought him down shockingly quickly. That's right, folks -- He-Man was the first character to get knocked out! Trapjaw and Stratos had also fallen by the fourth and final round, leaving just Skeletor, Mer-Man, and Man-at-Arms on the battlefield. Matthew had a chance to win the game by knocking out Mer-Man, but the slippery villain somehow dodged the attack. As such, the game ended in a draw. 

I'm sure Battleground plays a lot faster once you master all the rules and options, but it felt painfully slow and fiddly. Nathaniel really liked it, so I'm sure we'll give it another whirl with other characters -- I mean, we've gotta see what Orko can do, right?!