Some things just go together. Like peanut butter and jelly. Beer and Pizza Rolls. Magic: the Gathering and Chess!… Wait, Magic: The Gathering and Chess? Well, yes, of course, it goes perfect together! The tactics and strategy of the game of kings, and the rich colorful worlds that exist in Magic: The Gathering go together oh so perfectly in this edition of Kickass Kickstarter: Bellum: of Mutants and Men.
Bellum: of Mutants and Men: Your Goblins are Going Down
Taking place on a 5×5 grid, it’s your job to build your team of soldiers, mutants, and mercenaries to destroy the enemy keep. Each turn you will add one card to your hand, and the number of cards you have in your hand will be added to the available summoning points. You’ll use the summoning points to summon as many, or as few, monsters as you choose. Next, you’ll use your available action points to move your units into position and attack your enemy. In order to win, you’ll need to reduce the number of hit points for the enemy keep to 0. But watch out, while your knight unit is demolishing their keep, you can be flanked from behind.
Why Bellum: of Mutants and Men Works
The most impressive thing about the game for the Slickster Magazine team is its ease of play. You can really get into the game with minimal instructions. Your units only move and attack left, right, up, and down. You summon monsters based on the points, and you just try to destroy your enemy. When we found out about the game while going through Indy PopCon we were immediately hooked on the game. Even though we had a lot of work to do, we decided to stop doing the job that we are paid for, and sit down for a few rounds.
The game has that awesome combination of quick action during each round, and a long term goal to aim towards. So while you might reaallly want to bumrush the enemy, you have to watch out for that slick bastard’s end of the game rush. Each round you’re building up your victory to a glorious crescendo! The fool! They know not what is going to happen to them! They’ve fallen right into your trap just like you had predicted they would and now your plan shall unfold before you aaaaaaaaaand you just lost. The entire game can begin and end in a snap of the fingers.
Those Goblins Might be Ugly, But They Look Good
The game is just really nice to look at. The artist who did all of the work on the cards is a tattoo artist who managed to create a charming, and gory style. Further borrowing from the chess roots of its development, the game is all in black and white from the pieces to the cards to the board. And it just looks fucking awesome. The detailed and gory looks of the cards help create a story for the game beyond the one you are building against the enemy. So while you’re getting ready to figure out which cards will lift you to victory, take a moment to appreciate the art on the cards as well.
If you want to support the game (and you should) go here for the Kickstarter.