Stats:
No. of players: 1-2
Amount of time to play: 20-60 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 min

KAPOW! is a dice-building, superhero themed, fighting game. You have six characters to choose from and it can be played 1-vs-1 or solitaire.

Kapow! Rules Description:

To start KAPOW! take a player board, screen, and health tracker, then pick which character you want to play. Depending on which character you choose you put their starting health on the health tracker and take their starting dice. Some characters get tokens too. The player with lowest health gets the first player marker to begin the game.

There are two types of dice, trait dice and action dice. Trait dice are colored dice that have three sides of a particular result. For example, the green die has three dodge results, one defense and one wild result, and one blank result. Action dice start blank but you may gain die faces to add to them.

The game is played over rounds that are broken into four phases, Ability Selection, Attack and Defend, Power Up and After Power Up, and Clean Up.

In Phase 1 you put up your screen and roll your dice. Both players have the same player board with the same actions on them, plus their character’s unique sideboard. After rolling their dice both players simultaneously assign their dice to abilities. These abilities will grant them attack, defense, more dice, or other special abilities. Some trigger immediately or in another phase of the round. The more powerful abilities require more dice and they might need to be matching or of a certain type.

The Attack and Defend phase is exactly what you think. Attack and defense abilities are divided into three sections: base, kicker and multiplier. You must use a base attack or defense to use kicker or multiplier abilities. But you may only use one base ability in attack and one in defense. The first player attacks first using the following formula, base plus kicker times multiplier. You subtract the defender’s defense value and the remainder is taken as damage. Then you follow the same procedure for the second player. Most defensive abilities gain you one or more die faces that are added to action dice later in the round. Before moving on the player with the highest defense takes the first player marker. If tied it stays with the current first player.

Power Up and After Power Up abilities get you more trait dice or die faces for your action dice. You can also damage opponents when based on the die or dice faces they gained this round. Other character specific abilities might also resolve at this time.

During the Clean Up phase you add any die faces you gained that round to your action dice. You can even rearrange them if you like.

If at any point you reduce your opponent’s character to zero health the game ends and you win. It doesn’t matter if they had an ability that would gain them health later in the round.

Quick Review of KAPOW! Vol 1:

KAPOW! Is easy to teach, set up, and play. It appeals to a wide range of gamers and ages too. The theme is fun and adds to the action packed, dice-chucking battle. This game has some engine building and bluffing too. You can mitigate some of the luck factor but dice give random results.

The components for this game are very nice. The art and graphic design add to the super hero theme. Everything looks good on the table and is sturdy. The rules are well-written and have examples to follow. There is an FAQ that should clear up any questions about specific character abilities (or other questions), here. I do like the artwork but it is a little mature for young kids. This is not a big deal but something a parent should be aware of in this otherwise very kid-friendly game. This might not matter to you and depends on your kids’ ages.

This game has a nice mix of mechanics and I enjoy the bluffing of the action selection. Do you spend a round gaining dice and defending or go for an all-out attack? There are times when the dice will dictate what you can do but even if it is not efficient you can usually accomplish your goals for the round.

The six included characters all play slightly differently and you’ll want to try them all. Some have abilities that lean more offensively or defensively. Others let you lock abilities and use them every round. You can build your action dice to suit your characters powers.

Playing solo is fun but tough. You play against an opponent that you place dice on their board from top to bottom following priority rules. It moves quickly but like I said it is not easy.

You should be aware this is a dice chucking board game, and though there is some luck mitigation, you are still at the mercy of your rolls. If you are not a fan of randomness in games KAPOW! Might not be for you.

If you are looking for a fun, two player, dueling board game that is easy to teach and appeals to gamers and non-gamers, you will enjoy KAPOW! The theme is great, there is replay value in the box, and a Volume 2.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6