X-Men, dice and collaboration: what more could you ask for in this board game?

Calling all mutants, Professor Xavier needs your help! See you in the box of X-Men: Rise of the Mutants, our board game of the week.

Few people know the secret of the Xavier Institute: it is home to mutants, born with powers as strange as they are dangerous. Unfortunately, some mutants chose to use them for evil. Help Charles Xavier fight them so that mutants and non-mutants alike can finally live in peace.

X-Men: Rise of the Mutants is a cooperative game in which each player embodies a well-known member of the team. Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Angel, Phoenix… the main ones are present.

Before starting, one chooses one of the eight intrigues forming the scenario of the game. They are divided into three categories of increasing difficulty. The plot outlines the background (fighting Magneto in the premiere), and gives specific setup directions, and mission objective. Several stacks of cards form the different places to which the players can move their mutant's miniature: the five terrestrial continents, the Xavier Institute, and finally places specific to the current scenario.

Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Each round is played in three phases. At the first, players deploy their mutant. They can send it to the institute, mostly to recover previously lost hit points, or attempt to complete mission objectives on a continent or story map.

During the next phase, in turn, the mutants left on a mission try to fulfill the requested objectives by rolling dice. The type of dice to be rolled depends on the chosen mutant. Some are better at brawling, others at special powers, and still others at expertise and teamwork. Each mutant also has a power that gives them a unique advantage. Better still, mutants present on the same mission can support each other, with an additional bonus.

Each attempt entitles you to three dice rolls to try to land on the symbols requested by the mission. Passing it gives a small advantage (recovering life points, getting help from an ally, etc.), and obviously, missing it gives a penalty.

Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Finally, in the last phase, a threat counter increases according to the unfulfilled missions still present. The higher it increases, the more serious the pitfalls and the more complicated the missions. Worse, reaching the end is synonymous with immediate defeat. Then new missions are added, in addition to those already present, and events or Sentinels come to further complicate the task of our mutants.

The towers follow each other in this way, until reaching the main objective of the mission, leading to the final confrontation. By a rather clever system, we turn over and assemble the cards of the plot to form a panorama of two to four cards indicating the final objectives to be fulfilled. The goal is for at least one of the players to survive to the end. On the other hand, if all the mutants are eliminated, the game is lost.

Why play X-Men: Rise of the Mutants?

We could compare X-Men: Rise of the Mutants to a derivative of the Yahtzee in the universe of our favorite mutants. And if, indeed, the relationship exists, we are far from this traditional little dice game.

Source: Fantasy Flight Games

By adding scenarios, of course. Even if it's not great literature, it's fun to follow the different scenes of the ongoing plot, like the different chapters of a comic book or the sequences of a movie. Until the final confrontation, which always has its small effect at the first discovery. To further strengthen the screenplay aspect, the authors had the good idea of ​​adding relationships between the mutants (trust, friendship, love, etc.). But be careful not to break this link, otherwise you will suffer its negative side.

Of course, the rules are much more developed than the Yahtzee. This is, moreover, a reproach to be made. Without being very complex, they are full of small details that should not be forgotten. But above all, the different cards have many different names that should not be confused, otherwise your brushes will get tangled up. With this in mind, it is better to play the first game alone before offering the game to your comrades, otherwise they will have to go back and forth in the rulebook, which in absolute terms is clear and well written, but dense.

Source: Fantasy Flight Games

Once all these parameters have been ingested, the turns are fast and the games fluid. The duration increases with the number of players, but we advise you in any case to be at least three. The game runs for two (even solo), but it's only more that it takes on its full flavor, and that it really allows you to make impactful choices.

Each scenario offers its own level of difficulty, which can be lowered or increased further for the current game. The lifespan of the game is therefore very correct, even for the most hardcore gamers.

Game of dice. Cooperative. X-Men. If you tick at least two of these criteria, X-Men: Rise of the Mutants is for you. It's even better if you check all three. The two mechanical aspects (the dice and the cooperation) are sufficient in themselves, even if we are impervious to the universe. If you're a fan of mutants and one of the mechanics, you'll be fine with the second. On the other hand, if only one of the criteria corresponds to you, it is better to move on.

Once the first part is over and the different terms, notions and the sequencing of turns are understood, the game becomes really fun to play. We succeed quite easily the first missions, then the difficulty intensifies. We start again, with the desire to discover the different scenarios, trying a different character each time, or keeping our favorite mutant. In short, dice, cooperation, because we love it, and superpowers… what more could you ask for?

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