Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 20-30 min
Age requirements: 8+
Set-up time: minimal

Resistor_ is a tense, quick-moving card game. You are trying to hack your rival computer to save your country from a nuclear attack.

Resistor Rules Description:

Two supercomputers, Deep Red and Blu9000, control their country’s stock of nuclear warheads. Launch sequences have been given and now the computers try to hack each other to guarantee their country’s survival.

To start Resistor you deal each player two cards and place seven cards between you. Next you put the mainframe cards of your color (blue or red) at the end closest to you. The cards have two circuit chips that might be connected by blue or red lines or both. Your goal is to have an unbroken line matching your color that extends to your opponent’s mainframe at the end of your turn. This increases their defcon level by one. Once your opponent’s defcon level reaches four and you score again, you win.

On your turn you are required to do three things, flip a card, switch a card and discard and draw a card.

When you flip a card it is simply that. You flip one of the cards without changing it orientation.

Switching a card lets you take a card off the board and put it into your or your opponent’s hand. Then you take a card from that same hand and add it to the board. The trick is when you add it to a hand you keep the side that was face up towards you. So your opponent might have more information about this card than you.

When you discard and draw you discard a card from either player’s hand and then that player redraws a card.

After taking all three required actions if you can draw an unbroken line in your color from your mainframe to your opponent’s mainframe, they gain one defcon level. If your opponent can do the same thing with their colored line you gain a defcon level. If either player can draw an unbroken line to both circuit chips on their opponent’s mainframe scores two hits. This increases their defcon level by two.

Resistor cards play a bit different and are resolved as soon as they are played or revealed. A resistor card has a diamond in the middle of the red or blues lines on the card. First if you can draw a line of your color from the resistor to your defcon cards you regain one defcon level. Next any cards connected by colored to the resistor are flipped. Then you remove the resistor card and close the gap it left.

If you reach defcon level 0 you lose. The game also ends if there is only one card in between the players. If there is a tie both players lose.

Quick Review of Resistor:

Resistor is an interesting mix of strategy, luck and memorization. It plays quick and is easy to learn and teach. It is accessible and can be enjoyed by a large age range. I played it with both my wife and son and both liked the game.

The components are very well done. The art and rules presentation are fantastic. The cards are well designed and everything helps convey the theme. The box is ingenious. It holds the cards yet keeps them hidden so you only see the side you should.

I like how the cards work and how what you see is important. The information you gain about cards matters. You need to remember it. Knowing what to flip and what to get out of the game can really help you win.

Making all actions required by both players ensures the game state will change. This adds to the tension and forces players to adjust. You cannot rest on your laurels.

I mentioned Resistor’s accessibility above. It can hit the table with most anyone anywhere. It is a great lunchtime game. And fun for couples too.

For a fairly abstract card game there is a bunch of theme in this game. Like I said above the art adds to the theme. Growing up in the 70s and 80s and being a fan of the movie WarGames, I enjoy the theme a lot. Even the rules are printed like they came off an old dot matrix printer. Such great attention to detail.

Resistor is a very good game but there are a few things you should be aware of. It can be pretty random since you don’t know what lines will be on the card you draw. One player can also have an uphill battle if they have a few cards without their lines on them. Also if you don’t like chaotic games or games that require some memorization it might not be for you.

If you are looking for a fun, two player card game that is accessible and plays quick, pick up Resistor. It is great for couples or at work over lunch.

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