What Contains Twins, Stars, & the Word 'Solo'? : Our Review of 'Twin Stars: Adventur

Sorry to get your hopes up about Star Wars talk. Perhaps it's another galaxy far, far away, but Twin Stars by Button Shy Games is a different series all together. The "twins" are only titular (as far as I can tell from the included cast of characters), and although there are a couple of characters who do remind me of Chewie and Han (with maybe some Star Lord influence as well), the Solo alluded to in our title is an allusion to the form of gameplay. This is intended to be a solo game and a micro or wallet sized game you can take and play anywhere.

So, how does Twin Stars work? Well, for the most part you have one scenario and two characters and you have to utilize dice and a random assortment of coins, buttons, or what have you to serve as tokens to track a variety of things in that scenario. Generally, scenarios only require roughly 10 or so tokens, but this can vary. This simplicity is meant to allow gamers to take the game around just about anywhere and play it in their downtime.

This particular Kickstarter campaign for Twin Stars contains 6 scenarios and 12 characters, and you can opt in for the Deluxe edition which contains the dice and tokens needed to play all of the included scenarios. For review purposes, I was given 4 scenarios and 8 characters. As small as the game is, I found the character variety and the variety in the scenarios to be interesting. Each scenario serves as it's own different game complete with it's own special rule set that makes it feel a bit different from the others (although the core rules and gameplay still apply). Characters are considered to be interchangeable for the different scenarios although scenarios do come with suggested characters for use.

In every scenario, you will have two characters of your choice, at least two dice (one for each character) although four dice are suggested (for use in skill checks), something to track each character's health, and something to track a communal energy pool (the amount decided upon your choice of difficulty). You will then set up the scenario you choose, include the necessary tokens to track it, and begin the scenario. You will roll two dice, place one on each character, and resolve the rolls. Instants are optional but effects are not optional and must be done. You then check for combinations in the scenario. If no combinations occurred, then you have to knock one of the dice down a pip and reroll the other dice. This will occur until a combination is met. Some instants and combinations will result in Skill Checks. Skill Checks require that you roll two dice (preferably that extra set we discussed above so the others can remain on the character cards) and fit those two dice in the Skill Check limits of each character (denoted on the leftmost side of the character card). If you were able to fit both dice within the Skill Check limits of the characters, you pass the Skill Check. If you fail the Skill Check, you have to deal with the results of that failure. Keep in mind however that some things can be influenced by Energy. All scenarios have a win condition and a lose condition. Gameplay continues until one of those are met or until one of the characters lose all of their health.

As a game reviewer, I have a regular gamer group that comes by almost every weekend, but I do spend a lot of time playing through games myself. Especially when I get a game in to review. I'll always try it out by myself to learn everything I can about it and ask any questions that may need clarified. There are only a handful of games in my game closet that I can truly play by myself, and some of those tend to be my favorites because I can play them whenever. I don't have to throw together a shin dig and get people to agree on what they want to play that weekend, etc. I just have to be in a gaming mood, grab the game, set it up, and play. I like this about Twin Stars for two reasons. It is something I can do alone, and it is very portable. Most of the scenarios have a relatively quick play time as well meaning that I can take one with me and play it just about anywhere while I'm waiting around. Stuck in traffic? Let's Escape the Brig! Waiting on your family in the mall? Let's Stop the Virus! Got Jury Duty? Let's see if we can't, dare I say it... RULE THE WORLD!

Twin Stars delivers that capability of being that quick, easy, solo, pocket game provided you have some creativity to come up with the necessary tokens to play it (or you spring for the Deluxe Version). My only complaint in the scenarios that I played was that, although you can change up characters to make the scenario play a bit different, a lot of the core game is still not quite different enough to scratch that itch of having it be very replayable. It will keep you entertained from time to time, but don't expect this to be something that you will always want to pack around and play. Another issue I had was that, since the rulebook has to apply to pretty much all scenarios, some of the rules of specific scenarios could be somewhat vague and unclear as the special circumstances were so different than other scenarios and could be a bit confusing. Other scenarios could get really crowded up with tokens for as small as the game is making it occasionally difficult to ascertain where certain tokens should be when tracking various things. The game could easily be bumped, shifted, or even wind swept making you have to do some guess work or start all over again.

Twin Stars is a good and quick solo venture. The Adventure Series allows for more possibilities and more replayability, and the price isn't bad for what is there. The art work is fun, the characters all feel fairly unique and interesting, and the scenarios are different enough to provide you with variety, although some of them can be difficult to understand though it will clear up as you attempt it. WYLD Gaming found the game enjoyable enough to carry and break out for a bit, but don't expect it to keep the attention of gamers who are in to longer and more strategical games. But if you're looking for something quick, compact, and capable of going it alone, then pick up Twin Stars: Adventure Series I from Kickstarter today!

Please note, this is a review of a game that is in pre-production meaning some mechanics, appearances, rules, and other components may change. WYLD Gaming was provided this copy for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated in any manner, nor were their words, results, or review scores influenced in any way by anyone outside of the author's own opinions and perspective. If you've enjoyed this review, we encourage you to share it with others to help WYLD Gaming get similar opportunities in the future while also helping the game being reviewed get more attention for their Kickstarter campaign. Thank you!