Stats:
No. of players: 3-6
Amount of time to play: 30-45 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 min

Marvel Contest of Champions is a beat em up app and this boardgame is an analog translation of the app.

Marvel Contest of Champions Battlerealm Rules Description:

Marvel Contest of Champions Battlerealm is full of some of your favorite super heroes (and some exclusive to the game). And you start the game by choosing which hero you wish to play. You get their player board, cards and standee.

You set up the board by placing the Crystal Prison in the center of the table and location cards equal to the number of players plus one around it. To win you need to be the last character standing or score 21 PVP points.

On your turn you roll the six custom die and may re-roll any up to two times. Well any but those with a yellow Mutant or green Science result. Those are locked. The other four results are red Skill, blue Tech, light blue Cosmic and purple Mystic.

After you re-roll twice or are happy with the results you resolve them in any order you wish. A Skill die deals one PVP point damage to one other hero at your location. A Tech die damages a hero for one PVP point at another location. Cosmic dice let you move to another location. It takes an extra Cosmic die to move for every other hero at your current location. Mystic results let you gain one PVP each. One or two die showing a Mutant result does nothing. But three will send your hero to the Crystal Prison. You cannot fight there and to leave you must roll three matching dice on your turn. Likewise Science results do nothing until you roll three or more of them. They will set off an explosion damaging every hero at your location (besides you). Each Science result above three deals an additional damage.

Each hero has special abilities they can use to help them damage, avoid damage or gain PVP points. They also have a primary power printed on their board that grants them a character specific bonus. Lastly each hero has four unique cards of secondary powers. These are triggered by specific dice combinations and help your hero in a variety of ways.

On top of being somewhere to fight Locations have bonuses or penalties for the heroes on them. They also give you zero to three PVP points when you first move there. You may move multiple times on your turn to score these PVP points.

Once a hero has vanquished the rest or scored 21 PVP points they win.

Quick Review of Marvel Contest of Champions Battlerealm:

I play the Marvel Contest of Champions app and really enjoy it. When I saw Marvel Contest of Champions Battlerealm was being made I was excited for what it might be like. There are some cool ideas in this entertaining game but it has some flaws.

The components are really nice. The cards, player boards and dice look cool and mimic the feel of the app wonderfully. The rules are easy to read and follow but there are some rulings that are unclear.

This game feels like a more complex King of Tokyo with a bit of Smash Up added. I like how the heroes interact with the Locations and that you want to keep moving and fighting. The powers and abilities are cool too. I am not sure they are balanced but they are pretty thematic and represent the special powers in the app.

I like how they incorporated all the powers and keywords. But be aware that early on it is a lot of the information to keep straight. Once you have played a few times the abilities and their effects are easier to remember.

One of the issues with the boardgame is that you can knock another player out before they even get a turn. Different heroes start with a different number of PVP points but if everyone gangs up on the player going last they might not make it through the round.

Another thing is that the game can overstay its welcome. There is a tendency for a lot of back and forth on PVP point gain and loss but it can extend the game longer than you l like.

Marvel Contest of Champions Battlerealm is an entertaining board game that is not without issues. I like it better with less players since there is player elimination. Players of the app may like it as it has the look, feel and theme of the app. As will some comic fans because … super heroes. I would try it before you buy though.

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