Unmatched meets Robot Wars, Steel Colosseum by ZATU and Needy Cat Games is a thematic, fast paced, bot battling, box of gaming goodies!
Publisher: ZATU Games, Needy Cat Games
Designer: James M. Hewitt, Sophie Williams
Artist:
Release date: Kickstarter Launch TBC
2- 4 Players
Age: 8+
45-90 mins
*Minis * Team Mode * Card Drafting * Engine Building * Battle * Asymmetric Powers* Grid Movement * Hand Management * Line of Sight * Modular Board * Variable Set Up * Market * Simultaneous Actions * Communication Limits * Market*
ZATU, usually known for being the brightest orange retailer around, has been so blown away by a game idea that it is dipping a toe into publishing! In collaboration with Needy Cat Games, ZATU is branching out into game production, and its first outing is most definitely an eye-catching one!
Unmatched meets Robot Wars, Steel Colosseum is a thematic, fast paced, bot battling, big box of gaming goodies!
Kickstarting the K.O!
Before diving in though, I just need to make it clear that Steel Colosseum is currently a Kickstarter project. And Kickstarter isn’t a guarantee that it is going to look or play exactly like it does right now if it funds. It isn’t even a guarantee that it will get to tables at all. As will become clear, I think the risk is pretty low. But all I can do right now is to give you my thoughts on the prototype version I have played. As such, when I refer to Steel Colosseum, the final game might be a little (or a lot!) different.
What happens in the arena stays in the arena!
So, Steel Colosseum is a game based on the late 90s TV idea in Robot Wars, right? No. Well, yes. Sort of. It does involve customisable robots going into combat in in a junkyard arena. I remember watching the house Robots, Matilda, Sir Killaot and Dead Metal on telly with fiery fondness.
But in actual fact, it is a re-implementation of a 2020 game from the same designers called Robot Fight Club. Trouble was, only two people could play that game at a time. And fun is always better when it is shared around, right? So the idea for Steel Colosseum was born! And these designers have pedigree. Heard of Blood Bowl and Blitz Bowl? What about Hellboy: The Board Game? Of course you have! Well, that’s them. And ZATU have managed to partner up – pretty big for a newbie publisher on the block!
Box of Bots!
So, instead of having to get down and greasy with your inner engineer (or Jeremy Clarkson!), Steel Colosseum is card driven bot battling of the fiercest order!
Played to the best of 3 “bouts”, your team controls two independent asymmetric bots. Each bout, all 4 bots will be placed in the arena ready for the fight to ensue!
Essentially, during each bout in the arena, you have to hit the other team’s robots enough to knock off their armour tokens (which flip over into scrap to be collected by either team and used to buy Trick Cards or later sold at the Parts Market for upgrades). Hit your opponent’s robots enough times to rid them of all their protection, and the serious damage they suffer causes them to deactivate completely. And what does deactivation mean? Ding Ding! A point for your team!
Bot Bashing!
“But how do you inflict bot bashing?” I hear you cry! Well, every robot has a Control Deck which is basically their suite of available actions. The cards will give a number of possible options; manoeuvre, attack, activate a system action, or make a unique action. And utilising these is how you move your bots around the arena and do battle.
So every round in a given bout, you choose and simultaneously reveal a Control Deck card for each of your robots. With actions resolved in speed order (from fastest to slowest bot), those cards are then placed into their respective “Command Chains” and can’t be used again that round until or unless you choose to risk powering down your bot for some much needed Deck assistance!
Your bot Operator(s) (one to control both robots in a 2 player game and two each in four player mode) also have basic asymmetric powers which you will be able to trigger a specific number of times stated on the Operator Cards.
After making an action, you can also purchase a Trick Card with your scrap tokens which can inflict surprise booster attacks on your opponents. After deactivation and before the next bout, it’s time to repair. And any scrap you have left over can be used to upgrade your battle-scarred bots.
Moving around the board and battering opposing bots every round until one team is deactivated is a combination of strategic Control Deck picks, foresight, scrap management, and downright metal mettle!
Mega Mechanicals!
You may have noticed a very long list of features at the start of this review. And there’s good reason for that. Steel Colosseum has a LOT going on! It also has minis to paint which makes it feel even more like a full on fight!
But, in order to make Steel Colosseum work, they all feel necessary. They weave into each other like, well, parts of a machine.
Managing your Control Deck is vital. Combined with the asymmetric abilities of your bots (“Onboard Weapons System”), use of Upgrades, and Operators’ skills, you are going to need to implement specific actions at particular times. And, of course, as a round goes on, the number of choices you have diminishes. You could power down to grab more, but that vulnerability is risky business! Similarly, you need to spend your action points wisely in order to move your bot into just the right position at the right time. After all, you want to be able to exploit your unique abilities when an opposing bot is in the right line of sight. Choosing between collecting scrap for upgrades and evading a tail-chasing bot is another dilemma that has to be processed quickly and acted upon even more quickly than that!
The way the trick cards work is a clever addition. Spending scrap to buy them is to be expected. But knowing you could be paying more than they are actually worth is like an electric shock to the soul.
Final thoughts!
I must confess to being a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of mechs and elements in play in Steel Colossuem when we first went through the rules. But, once we had the game set up and were familiar with the turn actions, we took it in bites until we were comfortable with the basic card play and flow. The rule book also helped to walk us through our first game with newbie specific hints, tips and suggestions. So after that we were gunning through rounds and resetting ready for the next bout like steel super soldiers!
And the game feels almost infinitely re-playable. With so many variable elements, not to mention a real mix of open and secret information every turn, I can’t envisage one game playing out the same as another. Even if you picked the same Operators and the same Robots, the decisions in terms of movements, timings, use of actions, trick cards, and everything in between would take the rounds and bouts down different routes.
Some of the robots feel very powerful. But that could also be down to the human behind the Operator. My gaming partner is very good at spatial games. So when we played a solo-team match, one of his robots, Juggernaut, felt like a particularly fierce force to be reckoned with!
The game is super thematic. From the box art to the boards, tokens (which are multi-use in the prototype!), to the cards, everything about it feels like it’s set in a gritty, comic styled world. And the minis (which you can custom paint!) are a great addition. To my mind, having cardboard or just a token to represent your robots wouldn’t have the same atmosphere.
The writing and instructions on the cards are clear, and although colour is present, the use of symbols has also been liberally applied. The Designers’ notes in the rule book also adds a personal touch – it’s like they are letting you into the games’ secrets somehow.
Now I know this is only a prototype and things could change of course. But as it stands I am pretty certain that that Steel Colosseum is going to be a massive hit when the Kickstarter Campaign launches. There’s so many ways to do battle, and so many elements to consider, that there is sure to be something in there for everyone! But it is not just dumb-bots bashing it out. The route to victory takes strategic steeliness, and achieving (or suffering!) deactivation delivers a player worthy punch!
If you are interested in knowing more, head over to the Kickstarter campaign page and be sure to click so that you get notified when it launches!
