After spending the last year and a half playing this game regularly (once a month by looking at my logged plays, although probalbly more as I don't always log them) and also reading all the negative comments people have been writing, I've decided to finally write a review about the game we've played the most through 2007.

Sadly, this game won't be reprinted because of problems with the Marvel license, so once the current stock is sold, that's it. And this is a shame because it's such a great game.

First things first though: You have to at least have some sympathy for the comics the game is based on. I loved them as a child and still read them some times. My girlfriend and main gaming partner hasn't read them much, but likes some of the heroes enough to enjoy playing a game about them (especially Spiderman). If you don't like Marvel superheroes, this game is not for you. You just can't forget about the theme and play the mechanics because they're very well integrated into the theme.

Second: I'll be explaining a bit how each part of the game works to try to convey what makes it so interesting for me. If you don't want to read it all, I'll sum my thoughts here (but at least be sure to read the section on the combat system): The game is excellent. It offers a great combat system that is quick, fun, extremely varied and above all, full of meaningful decisions but also random enough that it doesn't feel scripted. Also, built around the combat system, there's a solid strategy game where planning is important but also adapting to the unexpected. It has lots of replayability and each team is different and fun to play, requiring different approaches by the players.

I think the game works best as a two player game as there's no downtime and I recommend newcomers to first play it that way until the rules feel like second nature. Learning the game while playing a 4 player game will be very painful and boring, but once everyone knows the rules well it all flows very quickly. Also, with more than two players someone will be left doing nothing when a fight is being played, but to me that's not a problem because the fights are so full of tension that they're never boring.

Now on with the review....

The Combat System

First I want to talk about how the combat works because it is such a great system and the heart of the game. This system handles the combat between superheroes and villains.

Basically, it is a dice based combat system where the rating for each stat determines how many dice to throw for each roll. There are three stats: attack, defense and outwit. The interesting thing is that each hero has three sets of stats, usually one is more attack oriented, the second more defense oriented and the third more outwit oriented. So usually (but not always) a high attack value means a lower defense one, etc... (it feels a bit like rock, paper and scissors).

Each round of attack is played in sequence. First each player involved chooses one of the sets of stats (red, orange or yellow) in secret. Then after revealing their choices, the player that has the initiative (the hero always has it the first round of combat) attacks by rolling their attack dice against the enemy, which rolls for defense. If the attack roll is as good as the defense roll or better, the attacker inflicts one point of damage. After that, the opponent attacks in the same way (possibly scoring one point of damage too) and last, they both roll their outwit and whoever scores higher inflicts one point of damage and wins the initiative for next round. Then rounds keep being played until one of the combatants is defeated.

So the game has a great bluffing and outguessing element, and of course, as heroes and villains all have different sets of stats, each fight and even each round of combat, the strategy has to be different. There is not one strategy that will work every time, instead you have to weight lots of factors like how many hit points your hero and the villain have, what's the chance of inflicting damage for your hero and for the villain and when in the round (for example, some heroes are better at outwitting than at attacking), etc... Each combat is like a little puzzle that unfolds in unexpected ways and that forces you adapt to new situations if things don't go as expected (as it usually happens).

Add to this the super powers each hero and each villain may have: Super heroes usually have one power they can use in combat to modify a dice roll or result for either themselves or their opponents (at the cost of discarding a card). These powers are different and make each character unique. For example, Spiderman may subtract two from the attack roll of their opponent, making him harder to hit. Wolverine instead may (if he rolls 4 or more in his defense roll) recover one point of damage. It's plain to see that these extra powers relate to the characters' powers in the comics while at the same time fitting within the combat system, keeping it simple (without lots of painful exceptions) and very playable.

Also, superheroes may have a supporting hero with them who may also add an extra power to help them. They also add the ability to "boost" the dice which increases the possibility of scoring hits in combat.

So that's a general view on how the combat between heroes and villains work in the game. To me, this system is the best dice based combat system in any boardgame I've played. It's simple enough that it plays fast, but also offers lots of meaningful decisions that are very relevant. It's got strategy (you have to plan the combat taking into account the stats and powers of all involved) but also tactics as you usually have to adapt to the unexpected each combat round. (BTW, I've played World of Warcraft TBG and its system while a bit similar, to me, is just boring because it doesn't offer enough decisions for the time it takes which is too long)

Game Structure:

So, how is the combat between super heroes and villains integrated into the whole of the game? The game is not just a series of unconnected fights. That wouldn't be very exciting (and it wouldn't reflect the comics very well). There's a story to tell!

Fortunately, the game shines in this aspect and has a very original structure of play (which is also a drawback, as it's a bit unintuitive when learning the game).

The premise of this game is that superheroes move to parts of the city where there is trouble (Headline cards are laid down explaining what kind of trouble is there in each part of the city) and players try to solve the problems with their heroes, fighting a villain if present.

Each hero has a different set of abilities and skills, and each Headline is of a different type and will require a different skill. Also each Headline will have a trouble rating which basically states how hard it will be to solve. Players have to try to match their heroes as best as they can with the available headlines, so they can solve them as painlessly as possible. For example, Jean Grey is very good at solving mysteries, but not so good at fighting crime. Wolverine instead, can't solve mysteries very well, but is good at doing other stuff.

Then, if at least one of the heroes that try to solve a headline have the required skill, the chance for a strong villain to appear will be greatly reduced. So it's important to organize your heroes well to complement their skills. For example, Jean Grey is going to try to solve a mystery headline, but it also involves rescuing someone. As she doesn't have that skill, she can go with Cyclops who does have it, greatly increasing their chances of success.

The Planning Phase

All this strategical thinking is done in the Planning Phase. Players look at what headline cards are available and prepare themselves, choosing what heroes will come out as "ready" (the main heroes fighting and solving trouble) or "support" (the ones helping along).

Each team is awarded a number of "plot points" to spend on heroes at the beginning of each turn. The number starts small (just four), but will increase each turn as the team gets victory points. Each hero has a different cost which can range from 1 to 3 depending on how powerful they are. Also, if a hero is used as "support" they'll always cost just one plot point.

So players have to decide whether to use a very powerful hero with little or no backup, or divide their resources between less powerful heroes. Deciding how to spend the plot points and what heroes to use and how is also very important.

The Action Phase

When everyone is ready, the Action Phase is played, consisting of 5 actions for each player (played in turns) where players can move to where trouble is happening, try to solve it, heal or take a number of special actions.

To solve a headline players must roll a number of dice to get the trouble level. Then this number may increase if the heroes don't have the required skill specified in the headline card. After that the number is reduced depending on the rating the main hero has in that type of headline. If the number has been reduced to zero, then the headline is solved and no villain appears (This usually happens with easier headlines that give few victory points).

If the trouble level is greater than zero after the reduction, the other players may play a villain from their hands to fight the hero. The bigger the trouble level, the more powerful the villain may be, that's why it's good to reduce it as much as possible by matching the heroes well. Also, if the trouble level is big enough, other villain support cards can be played which will make things harder for the heroes during the fight (sometimes granting extra powers to the villain, sometimes reducing a stat from the hero, etc...).

Of course, with the bigger risk, there comes a bigger reward... and inevitably, if the headline is hard enough, the fight will usually be of epic proportions unless the heroes are very lucky, but these epic fights are so fun it's really worth trying...

After the fight is played out, if the hero beats the villain, they get the Headline card and its victory points. If the hero loses, he goes back to the base and if not healed, won't be able to go out next turn to fight again.

This way, players try to earn victory points while at the same time make it as hard as possible for other players to do the same.

During the Action Phase, other actions can be taken like Heal (so that next turn you can take a hurt hero out), story track action (may award a victory point for advancing the story of the team, and also helps replenishing the hand of cards) and special actions that some cards award or that some heroes can take to gain plot points, cards, etc...

Also, some headlines are special because they let the nemesis from the team (one of the more powerful enemies of each team) scheme and even confront the heroes to advance his master plan. This nemesis is controlled by an opponent, and will make it harder for the heroes to solve the headline. Then if they do solve it, the nemesis can engage them in combat and if he wins (or they don't want to fight) he will get an advantage that will make him harder to beat next time. Also, the third time he wins the team will lose 5 victory points, so it's best to keep the nemesis in check. Of course, if the heroes win, they'll get an advantage too and they're really helpful for future fights.

So, the way the game works, you can have Spiderman investigating strange attacks to metro workers underground only to discover that the mole man is responsible. Or Jean Grey and Cyclops investigating the strange disappearance of SHIELD's helicarrier (which SHIELD officials deny, of course) only to find that Omega Red and some Skrull agents stole it. After recovering it safely, Magneto, who was behind it all along confronts them only to being defeated thanks the Rogue's appearance out of nowhere. These are the kinds of stories that may develop when you play the game, and although it's possible to ignore them and just play the fights, if you like the comics, you'll enjoy the different situations that develop as you play the game.

Also, as the game advances and the teams get more plot points, increasing their chances of success and also the number of active heroes, you get a sense of progression, like a bigger story developing, especially if the scenario has some kind of objective at the end (like defeating Galactus). This is also another positive aspect of the game.

Scenarios

Although the game features a victory point scoring system, it doesn't always determine the winner. The game comes with a small deck of scenario cards that specify victory conditions and may modify some of the rules. Sometimes the winner is the player with the most points after a number of turns, but sometimes the winner is the player that defeats a special enemy (with the player with the most points getting the first chance to fight him, etc...). Sometimes special headlines are introduced once a condition is met and if a player solves them they'll get some extra victory points and sometimes players have to try to complete the master plan for the nemesis they control. So there's some variation too and those scenarios do require the players to use different strategies.

Anyway, I'll say that I wish there would have been more variety in the scenarios, although the good thing is that it's not hard to come up with your own, so it's not that bad.

Criticism

This game has been bashed quite a lot on the internet, to me mostly unfairly. Some issues that have been pointed out (and which I'll comment on) are:

Randomness: This game does use dice. It does have some random elements, but they are not what decide the winner (unless someone is extremely lucky). The combat system offers multiple choices that will greatly affect your chances of winning and I'm sure in the long run, that's more important than the randomness. Good planning is usually rewarded, and clever play is possible as the game is deeper than many give it credit for.

Downtime: This one will be true when starting to play. As I said before, don't ever try to learn this game while playing a 4 player game. Try a few solo turns first, learn the mechanics. The game is not that complex, but it takes time to get used to its unusual structure. Once players know the rules well and are able to play without consulting the manual, then go ahead and play with more players. Also, when playing a 2 player game, both players will always be involved in the game, either as heroes or as villains, so downtime is zero. For bigger games, one or two players will have to wait while a fight is resolved, but as I said before, the combat is also fun to watch, as it's usually tense and filled with surprises.

Irrelevant board and miniatures: Many of the parts of the game boil down to card play and dice rolling. The board is used to put all the decks and markers and to place the minis on the parts of the city the heroes want to go. This is not a miniatures game in the typical "tactical combat" sense of the word (like Warhammer 40K). The miniatures make the game visually appealing, as does the board and all the art of the game. It really does look excellent on the table. While the game could almost be played without a board, some rules would need changing, as sometimes the empty districts of the city are important for the gameplay. Some say the art on the board is bland, but to me it looks great because it manages to capture the look of of the classic comics. I with all the artwork for the heroes was more "classic" too, as my favorite marvel comics are form the 60s and 70s.

Meaningless Story Track: The story track is a way for the players to get a few extra victory points (extremely important many times) and to replenish their hands of cards. They are supposed to advance the personal stories for the heroes of a team, and contain some fluff text. I agree it could have been given more meaning, but its simplicity also focuses the game and makes it quick to play. The more detail a game has, the more time it takes to play and I think the designers found a nice balance with this game as it is detailed enough to be immersive but also abstract enough to play very fast. Thanks to that, I can play it on a weekday with no worries, which is impossible with other games I love which see much less table time.

Unbalanced teams: This is about the Richards-Sue combo. I don't want to restart the discussion, but I'll just say to those that have an issue the solution is simple: house rule (or just apply the changes the designers have posted). The teams are different and unique and some are better at some things (like reducing trouble levels) and some better at others (like fighting). I don't think there's a balance problem that makes a team win more. With the right strategy and approach, all the teams have about the same chance at winning the game. Of course, if you must have total balance in a game, this is not your game. What makes the game so immersive, replayable and fun is also what could make it unbalanced, as each team really feels different.

Last Thoughts

Marvel Heroes is a very entertaining game if you like the Marvel universe. It offers quick gameplay (a two player game when you know how to play well may last 1-1.5h); a fun combat system that offers meaningful decisions, bluffing and outguessing and multiple strategies thanks to the endless combination of heroes villains and special powers, but also tactical decisions as the situation keeps changing sometimes unexpectedly; and an interesting game built around the combat that requires good planning but also the ability to adapt to changing situations. The game is very replayable thanks to all the possible combination of its elements and scenarios, and once you get through the rulebook and know the game flow by heart, a very fun game to play even on a week day.

To finish this review I'll just remind you all that this game is going to be unavailable soon so go buy it before it's only available on eBay for hundreds of dollars!!

-Jorge