Come With Me If You Want to Laugh- 'Countdown: Action Edition'
1982. The year of the BMX, of E.T., Poltergeist, and Michael Jackson's Thriller. The year John Belushi died and Emoticons were born. And it was in January of this year that I met Jacque Reil. There was a hostage crisis in the local mall. Members of a band were making an appearance, and someone wasn't happy about the content they planned to release. We had them cornered, covered on every side, but entering the building would surely mean doom for those being held. The police Chief had only one order, "GET REIL!"
Somehow, before anyone even knew he'd arrived, Jacque Reil had already scouted out the scene. The report was that 14 people were inside along with a number of explosives, and the hostages would be released so long as the album being debuted remained unreleased. But to Reil, well, that was a problem. A Reil problem. He infiltrated the facility, hooked the album up to the internal PA, and blasted Men At Work's "Who Can It Be Now?" from the speakers while he found out exactly who it was.
One by one, hostages were released. As the sound of saxophone split the night sky, Reil emerged from the doorway, and in a crescendo of infinite fury, the bombs detonated and set fire to the skyline. It took me a moment to realize that the chief was down. One of the released hostages had taken him out and detonated the bomb. Reil had released the wrong men. I surveyed the scene like a montage, taking in bits and pieces here and there, but all of it culminated on the expression of Jacque Reil... completely oblivious, smirking like he'd done the coolest thing ever as he continued to walk away from the explosion and the chaos that was left in the ash and smoke. And as I looked into Reil's eyes, I realized that the world couldn't rely on just anyone to handle the terrors of bad men at work.
In a crowd of a thousand faces, you never really know who people really are. Who's the Villain? Who's the Hero? Who's really Reil? We all have to be Reil. So here I am. They call me The Man-Eater, and I'm about to take you hostage.
From the excellent mind of Lindsey Rode, and featuring the totally tubular graphic art of Peter Wocken (Dinosaur Island, Dead of Winter) and Andrew Thompson comes Countdown: Action Edition published by Dog Might Games. Capable of handling anywhere from 5-15 players, Countdown: Action Edition is a hidden role deduction game with very non-hidden role playing elements. One player volunteers to take on the mantle of Action Hero, the game's built-in moderator, and the person who makes the final decisions in distinguishing who's who amongst the crowd of 80's inspired characters. In the end, their goal is to figure out who's being righteous and who's being bogus, triumphantly releasing the good and leaving the unsavory villains to suffer a most heinous end.
Role cards are distributed secretly to each player based on the number of people playing. Characters are then selected from a pool with each player selecting one based on their hidden role. The hostages will be tasked with acting out their character's role while the villains will want to try to blend in and try to persuade the Hero of their innocence and hope to get released when the bomb inevitably blows.
To keep the flow of the game going, the Action Hero will pull Countdown Cards from a pre-built deck determined by player count. There are cards with the number 1, the number 2, and the number 3 on the back. These cards will allow the Hero to gather information by asking everyone a question, by pulling individual players aside for a quick discussion, and by simply releasing or re-securing players. As the Hero flips through these cards, they are also counting down the time closer and closer to the BOOM! card which is hidden somewhere within the cards denoted by the 3 on the back. When that card is revealed, any unreleased players are "taken to the bank... to the blood bank!" (Mason Storm, Hard to Kill) and everyone alive checks their win conditions to see who was victorious and who needs to just "make like a tree... and get outta here!" (Biff Tannen, Back to the Future)
For the hero to achieve victory, they must use deduction, information, and pure intuition, and to help or thwart matters, everyone except the Hero is given an Action Scene card. Action Scene cards are a one-time use narrative-driven perk that allows hostage and villain players to take more control in the game, viewing another character's card, cancelling the Hero's action, doing the Hero action themselves, and even letting themselves go or keeping other hostages secured. These cards provide a lot of added chaos and fun into the mix along with extra opportunities for role playing, all of which really helps set Countdown: Action Edition apart from other games in the genre.
As a fan of 80's action and someone who enjoys games like One Night Ultimate Werewolf, The Resistance, Saboteur and Spyfall, I really loved Countdown: Action Edition. It felt like a fantastic patchwork combination of some of these games with a lot of extra flavor. I think they did a great job with the role playing opportunities, the Action Scene cards, the built-in Hero moderator, and the Countdown deck. Parts of the Countdown deck give a very Spyfall feel where you ask questions and try to figure out whose answer doesn't make sense while other parts make you feel more like Werewolf where you lean on what other players have found out to help you make your decision (if they're not bluffing).
Countdown: Action Edition provided some really hilarious moments with our group (and some phenomenally cringe worthy one liners). It was extremely enjoyable, an easy TWO HOOVES from WYLD Gaming, and it rockets up to the mantle of the MANE COLLECTION among other games in this genre. I'm excited to see what else Dog Might Games comes up with in the future!
If you're looking for a Die Hard game where you get to be the Terminator of Commandos using a Lethal Weapon, a Licence to Kill, and a lot of Over the Top dialogue, look no further than Countdown: Action Edition. The game is already past it's funding goal on Kickstarter and is burning through additional stretch goals as it nears it's close on February 2nd. You can back it here: http://kck.st/2Dls7Cd.
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!