Seth Brown
United States
North Adams
Massachusetts
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THE TOP LINE
You can play the base game perfectly fine without this upgrade pack. And while it may contain a bunch of stuff, none of it is really necessary, right?
Those of you who read my review of Puzzle Strike know that I'm a fan of the game. But what about this brand new upgrade pack thing? Here's some info:
COMPONENTS
4 mousepad-style playmats
4 screens with 8-bit art
Full set of 30 rebalanced character chips
3 new puzzle chips (5 copies each)
15 blank chips
Let's address it in reverse order.
BLANK CHIPS
Since we already had a few thoughtfully provided in the base game, I don't really need more to replace lost chips. (None so far, thankfully.) Eventually I may be industrious enough to invent my own chips, but so far not. So while I'll never turn down free blank chips, this is not that exciting for me.
NEW PUZZLE CHIPS
So, there are three of them. Custom Combo gives you a billion actions, which can be a lot of fun if you've filled your bag with action chips. Combinatorics is a bit more subtle, and works well against heavy combine strategies, presuming you're not playing a heavy combine strategy. And Dashing Strike is essentially a crash of a 1 gem that isn't a crash so it can't be counter-crashed.
These chips seem relatively on par with most of the chips in the base set. Interesting, open to clever little combos with certain other chips, and not game-breaking.
REBALANCED CHARACTER CHIPS
I suppose they could have just put some errata in a rulebook and/or included the few completely new chips, but they decided to go whole hog and include a full set of 30 character chips. This is great, as it means I just keep the old character chips in a separate bag and use the new ones.
Different characters were affected different amounts. Setsuki was not changed at all. Some characters had minor changes, like adding a piggybank to Rook's Stone Wall. And some characters were changed almost completely, such as Lum, whose Living on the Edge lost a draw chip and upgraded the action arrow from purple to black, and whose other two chips were replaced with entirely different effects that wildly change his gameplay.
I'm a little sad to see the panda get nerfed, but if I always wanted to play the panda, it probably means he needed the nerf. There are a lot of changes to the characters here, which definitely affect how they play. Some of the new character chips are fun, but with less than a dozen games with the new characters under my belt, it's hard to comment on the power levels.
Overall, the hyper-competitive tournament-minded folks seem to believe many of these changes were necessary for game balance, and while I may not believe every change makes the game better, I don't really see many changes that made the game worse (although I wonder about Lum's new Jackpot chip).
SCREENS
There are four screens, each a different color, each with cute little 8-bit art illustrating a different game rule. This is partially useful just because my partner (who always likes to play yellow) can now always claim yellow without having to play as Geiger. The screens are sturdy stock, a lot thicker than the wussy thin-cardboard screens you get in some games.
One of my few big complaints about the Puzzle Strike base game was that hand management was somewhat of a pain, especially once you start drawing seven chips a turn. Rather than trying to splay a half-dozen chips in hand, or place them in facedown piles and keep peeking at them to try to find the one you want to play next (which was what used to happen for me), you can now place all your chips face-up behind your screen, and move them around at will.
This sounds like a small thing, but believe me when I say that it makes taking your turn much less frustrating.
PLAYMATS
The mousepad-material playmats are high-quality and good-looking. They have the gem pile area that not only looks like a screen, but is conveniently sized to nine 1-chips, so you can see if you are about to overflow your screen, you are about to lose. This is awesome.
Also awesome is the fact that the playmats make it much easier to see what the hell is going on. They have solved a problem that I did not realize was bothering me. I kept attributing it to inexperience, because I've only played a few dozen games, but with the base set it's very easy to confuse the discard pile, gem pile, chips you've played this turn, ongoing chips, and accidentally put something in the wrong zone.
The playmats have neatly labeled areas for everything, not only making it easy to read opposing boards at a glance, but making it much less likely that you'll have trouble with your own board. And they even have a reminder for how many bonus chips you draw depending on gem pile height. With the base set, it never occurred to me that I needed a playmat. Now, I cannot imagine playing without them.
DOWNSIDE
There is only one major downside I can find to the Puzzle Strike Upgrade Pack, which is this: It does not conveniently fit in the Puzzle Strike box. Yes, you can technically tetris it all in under the chip tray if you want to have to take the chip tray out of the box bottom every time you play. And then take some extra chips out of the bags.
Sadly, this is a result of the base set box being designed perfectly for the base set components. The chip tray, pre-divided by sections, holds exactly all the chips you need. Even if you remove the blanks, there aren't room for 15 new puzzle chips in the tray. And the screens won't stack on top anyway. At the moment, I'm just using a separate box, in which I keep all the expansion stuff, the bags, and the screens.
THE BOTTOM LINE
What I said about the playmats pretty much applies to the screens too, and thus the upgrade pack as a whole: With the base set, it never occurred to me that I needed it. Now, I cannot imagine playing without it.
The three new puzzle chips are cute, and the character rebalancing will be most appreciated by hardcore players, but the playmats and screens really make the game a smoother and more fun experience all around. And I say that as someone who has already played a few dozen games; I imagine for a new player, the screens and playmats will make the game a lot easier to grasp and enjoy.
IS IT FOR YOU?
If you like Puzzle Strike enough to play a lot, and/or want to teach it to friends, the Upgrade Pack is something you'll be glad to have.
If you are only so-so on Puzzle Strike, and were hoping for something that drastically changes the game by adding tons of excitement, this ain't it.
*Review copy provided by distributor
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Scott Everts
United States
Foothill Ranch
California
MITCHELL!!!
Push the button, Frank!
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Thanks for the review. I've been on the fence about picking this up since we don't play it heavily and I already printed & laminated the excellent mats that apparently the same person made for this upgrade. The new rebalanced characters appear only to be an issue if you play tournys or a lot.
The screens might come in handy since it is cumbersome to handle them. But I think the big deal for me (and you too) is the problem of storage. Having another box for this extra stuff is kind of a problem since my shelves are already overflowing with games. The original insert is so awesome so don't want to throw it out.
What I hope they do is an expansion that also holds the upgrade stuff. If that's the case, I might pick up both in the future.
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Andy Andersen
United States
Newark
Delaware
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Excellent review. I'm on the fence also.
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The original characters have some real balance issues, and one chip that doesn't make any sense. I'm looking forward to trying this.
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Lasse Petersen
Denmark
Copenhagen S
A tip of the hat to papskubber.dk
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Thanks for the great review. Love the title!
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Bryan Lane
Canada
Victoria
BC
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my question is will they fit under the tray?
I always kept my bags under the tray, and disliked pulling the tray out and putting it back every time until I discovered a new way to do it so it pops in and out easily. When the insert is on the table, I take the empty bottom of the box and put it on top, then flip the whole thing over. Chips are tight to the bottom of the box, so they don't fly around, and I can put the bags on top. To get the insert out again, you just pull the bags off the top, hold the insert in the bottom and flip the whole thing over and lift the bottom off.
Ideal? no, but it lets me store stuff under (well, over I guess) the tray while keeping the chips in the insert. One day I'll craft some better storage solution, but for now, provided there's enough space between the box and the bottom of the insert for the upgrade pack stuff, I'm golden.
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Bryan Lane
Canada
Victoria
BC
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someotherguy wrote: The original characters have some real balance issues, and one chip that doesn't make any sense. I'm looking forward to trying this.
There are a couple of characters that don't hold up for super serious tournament play (Val being over the top and some being underwhelming such as Midori and Geiger). I play fairly casually though and was baffled by the Grave nerf, but I understand Grave's one chip was really limiting the design space as Sirlin felt he had to avoid 7-cost chips as Grave can get them first turn with the right hand. I'm not really sure what the draw to playing Grave is anymore. What's his power chip? What defines his character? He used to be this great Econ slingshot by training crash to 4-gem, but he can't do that anymore. It seems like every other character has something neat they can do, but Grave is just... I dunno... "meh." At least they didn't touch my Setsuki. Some characters really felt like they needed some help though, and it looks like they got it (and for the record OP, I felt like Lum was improved not nerfed)
Then again, I'm a noob, so take my rant with a grain of salt. I also haven't managed to play in a little while (which needs to be rectified... perhaps I'll finally start playing online).
I'm curious though, someotherguy... what chip is the one that doesn't make any sense to you? There's a few chips that just aren't good, but they make sense. Secret Move doesn't really make sense to buy (to me, anyway, but that might be inexperience talking), but what it does is clear enough to understand.
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Seth Brown
United States
North Adams
Massachusetts
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fastlane wrote: my question is will they fit under the tray?
It'll all fit, it's just a pain to do it. Although I may have to try your method; that sounds easier.
fastlane wrote: (and for the record OP, I felt like Lum was improved not nerfed)
Then again, I'm a noob, so take my rant with a grain of salt.
Hmmm. From my perspective, Lum's guaranteed $2 Poker Winnings was replaced with Jackpot, which is only $1 (and takes an action, thus worse than a 1-gem) unless you randomly draw a purple chip from your opponent's hand, and has the distinct possibility of being completely useless if you don't draw a gem from the opposing hand. That seems like a pretty big nerf to me.
Living on the Edge lost a chip, and since you're generally digging for combines/crashes anyway, the arrow changing doesn't help much. That's a nerf overall. Panda's Bargain is the only one that I'm not sure if it's a nerf; the new one seems useful, but I really liked the old one. The combination of the early purchasing power (from that and Poker Winnings) with the ability to trash 1-gems meant that Lum had incredible early economy. So I'm sorry to see it go, but the new one could also be good.
All that being said, I make no claim to be the world's greatest expert on character balancing. The character I always have the toughest time beating is Rook, and his only change was making one chip slightly better. So who knows about balance. But some of the super-powered chips like Pilebunker that got toned down made sense to me, as they were even more brutal in the base set.
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Bryan Lane
Canada
Victoria
BC
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Osirus wrote:
Hmmm. From my perspective, Lum's guaranteed $2 Poker Winnings was replaced with Jackpot, which is only $1 (and takes an action, thus worse than a 1-gem) unless you randomly draw a purple chip from your opponent's hand, and has the distinct possibility of being completely useless if you don't draw a gem from the opposing hand. That seems like a pretty big nerf to me.
That's a fair point. Most of the time it's probably worth 1 (I actually misread the chip and thought that for each gem revealed: +1; for each purple revealed: +chip +black). The upside isn't really that great - best case scenario is it's +1 to spend, 1 chip and an action. Take into account that +1 chip/+1 black is basically equivalent to it not existing at all (it replaces itself and replaces the action it used), That's pretty lame. Sometimes it'll be worth nothing at all if it hits character/wound/puzzle chips. I stand corrected, this chip sounds terribad. I like the gambling flavor, I hate that the gamble doesn't really ever seem to pay off.
Osirus wrote:
Living on the Edge lost a chip, and since you're generally digging for combines/crashes anyway, the arrow changing doesn't help much. That's a nerf overall.
The black arrow helps because you can play other actions. Maybe you dig up a dashing strike and no crash. Maybe you dig up a couple of roundhouses. Maybe you dig up a master puzzler. You can't play any of these off a purple arrow. 1 less chip for way more options. I consider this a buff (if not a particularly drastic one).
Osirus wrote:
Panda's Bargain is the only one that I'm not sure if it's a nerf; the new one seems useful, but I really liked the old one. The combination of the early purchasing power (from that and Poker Winnings) with the ability to trash 1-gems meant that Lum had incredible early economy. So I'm sorry to see it go, but the new one could also be good.
I'm of the same opinion. So it appears I made a snap judgment based on a misreading of one of the chips, and I consider Lum to be about where he was before, perhaps a bit better or worse depending on how PB works out. I'll just have to play him a bunch to find out. 
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Ken B.
United States
Fayetteville
Tennessee
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Great review. I completely dig this expansion.
Lum's Jackpot is total ass though, and I hate that Degrey's No More Lies got its balls clipped. Only two misfires in the whole shebang. But it's an awesome set with cool new chips, awesome screens, and extremely useful playmats, all at a very fair price.
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yuuji kousaka
United States
California
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Thanks for posting that picture, i had been wondering about the size of the playmats. Unfortunately it is as I feared, the discard area seems quite small for the way I've been playing. (since discard info is public, we keep all discards face up, not overlapping, allowing anyone to look through another player's discards without having to waste time manually going through a stack).
Ah well. I suppose the alternative would've been a comically large mat mostly covered by a discard area ^^; (and increased costs)
Nice review, can't wait for my copy to arrive~
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Apollo Andy
United States
Fort Worth
Texas
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Having been involved extensively in the play testing for the original set and marginally in the play testing for the upgrade, perhaps I can shed some light.
Were y'all playing Lum with Poker Winnings requiring an action? (A change that was retroactively made in the middle of the first printing). If Poker Winnings functions just like a 2-gem then yes, Lum is super duper overpowered (perhaps even better than original Valerie). If it requires an action, he's middle of the pack.
+action/+draw is actually deceptively good. It may seem like it's a total wash, but it means you get everything else in your deck one chip faster. Your 4-gem is one closer, your crash is one closer, your awesome character chip is one closer...it seems negligible, but it's actually a decent effect. That said Jackpot is still pretty darn mediocre.
The new Panda Bargain can be a super beast. If you can figure out a way (like through use of dashing strikes or getting some lucky counter crashes or just by buying an early combine before your play Bargain) to have some pile control without needing to buy a ton of purples you can doubly accelerate your deck cycling.
In the playtesting tournaments for the upgraded characters, Lum actually performed quite well (though you can never be sure it that's because of the people who play him or the strength of the character).
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Jackpot is also a reliable way to get $1 without playing your crash, which will let you combine height bonus with Panda's Bargain early on.
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Seth Brown
United States
North Adams
Massachusetts
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Even using an action (yes, I was playing correctly), Poker Winnings for $2 (and no drawback) was a reasonably strong opener. Jackpot, which MIGHT give you $1, and RARELY will cycle itself, just doesn't measure up for me. And remains strictly inferior to a 1-gem most of the time -- which is sad when you keep in mind people are usually happy to trash 1-gems.
(I'd apologize for derailing a review thread into a debate about Lum, but I guess I'd have to apologize to me, and I know I'd just write me off as a jerk.)
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David Sirlin
United States
California
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And yet tournaments and playtesting showed that the old lum was too strong and also very boring, while the new lum actually works. You can read more about why Jackpot is ok here: http://forums.sirlin.net/showthread.php?p=164328
Glad you liked the rest of the Upgrade Pack...
Oh, and I don't really understand the only downside you listed in the review. Yes it does fit in the box? I mean, it fits in mine. The screens and playmats fit underneath, where the bags go. (Upgrade Pack or not, you don't actually have to take the tray out to get to the bags and stuff. You can open the box upside down.) I replaced the old character chips with the new ones. That leaves only 15 chips to put somewhere. I put 10 of them where the blanks are. For the last 5, you could honestly replace Secret Move with them. Or keep them in a bag. Or better yet, store the starting gems+crash in a couple bags so it's faster to start next time, and put the 5 extra puzzle chips where those went. In any case, there are several options to fit it all and just carry the main box around.
If that was the only downside, we're doing pretty ok. 
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Trent Hamm
United States
Huxley
Iowa
See this text? It's a gratuitous waste of GeekGold.
The game itself isn't important. Spending time intellectually jousting with likeminded folks is the real reason to game.
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The upgrade pack is great!
To make mine fit, all I did was just replace all the character chips, then take three very small game piece baggies and put the three new sets in those bags.
These three bags fit under the tray along with the four cloth bags for drawing chips, the manual, the screens, and the mats. The box closes perfectly.
I'll be playing with the revised characters with some friends this weekend. Might even slip in a game tonight, but we're pretty deep into Descent: Road to Legend.
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Damon Asher
United States
Jefferson
MA
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I just put the new chips in the slot for the blanks and space made by taking out a few of the 1 gems (put them in a baggie). All those 1s are not needed unless you're playing 4p, and I usually am not.!
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David Sirlin
United States
California
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Actually that's a good point. All those 1-gems aren't really needed except for 4p. I can put my Secret Move back then, ha. (That chip should really have had +black arrow above the ongoing part, oh well.)
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How I fit the upgrade into the original box (Without having to lift the bank):
1) Cut an inch off the bottom of the bank. This allows room on the top for the play mats, screen and bags.
2)store old powers and blanks under the bank. fill the bags with the starting hand (minus hero powers) this frees up room in the 1gem row. I moved the wounds next to the 1gems and put the new powers in the wound section separated by a piece of plastic that I cut off the bank (from step 1).
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David Sirlin
United States
California
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Oh hmm. So, an earlier version of Puzzle Strike had the insert lower, like you're saying. It was a real disaster though because turning the box upside down made the chips go everywhere inside. So I think if you cut an inch off the insert to put the bags and stuff on top, you'd have that same problem where you can't turn the box upside down anymore?
Storing the starting decks (minus character chips) in the bags makes sense though. Faster to start playing next time, and frees up room for the upgrade pack chips. So that's cool.
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What does turning the box upside down do? I'm not familiar with that technique.
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David Sirlin
United States
California
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I mentioned turning the box upside down twice, so I'm not sure which you're referring to. In my last post what I meant is that you CAN turn the box upside down without having the chips go everywhere, so that's good. It means you can put the box in some luggage or whatever and it will be ok if it turns upside down.
In another post I mentioned you could open the box while it's upside down to access the stuff under the tray without having to take the tray out. I actually don't find that easier than opening it normally and taking the tray out, but some people do, so I thought I'd mention it.
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Nate Owens
United States
Olathe
Kansas
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Here's how you store Puzzle Strike.
 Remove the tray from the box bottom, and set it on the ground.
 Put the box bottom on top of the tray, so that all of the chips are held against the bottom of the box by the tray.
 Toss everything else (bags, mats, shields, instructions, extra chips) in the well that now exists.
You still need to remove the tray to play, but it's a lot easier to do.
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Posted Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:57 pm
