Funkoverse: Rapid Review
Information:
Mechanics: Skirmish, Variable Player Powers, Modular, Dice Rolling
Player Age: 10+ Player Count: 2 and 4 PlayersTime to Play: 40 - 60 Minutes
Game Designer: Prospero HallPublisher: Funko GamesYear Published: 2019BGG Weight: 2.18Disclaimer: cover game system as a whole and includes expansion content.
Player Age: 10+
Game Designer: Prospero Hall
Rundown:
Funkoverse is a skirmish game that includes content covering all of your favourite Intellectual Properties. Players will pick a map, scenario and pick two or three characters each with equal attachments (items or companions) to equip. These scenarios can range from simply defeating the other players to controlling specific areas. Some of the sets even include unique scenarios such as basketball or croquet. The gameplay is easy with each character having one turn in a round. Then everything on each player's cool-down track will move down one space and the first player will change. This will continue until a player has reached the victory point threshold of the scenario.
Actions:
On a turn a character can perform two actions and can do any combination of these actions; movement, challenge, interact, assist, rally, use ability, and use item.
Movement:
Move up to two spaces which can include diagonal as long as the character is not blocked by any obstacles.
Challenge:
The character will do a basic melee attack of two dice to an opponent adjacent to them. Combat works by the attacking player rolling dice equal to the attack and the defending player rolling dice equal to their defence value. Every attack that the attacking player rolls counts as a hit and for every shield the defending player rolls defends one hit. For either player, rolling the three exclamation points will count as a critical and does three attacks or three defence. If tied, the defending player wins. If a defending player loses the combat they are knocked down. Once knocked down, if they lose a combat again they are knocked out and the other player scores at least one victory point (based on the scenario). The knocked-out character will go onto the ‘one’ space of the cool-down track.
Interact:
This allows the character to interact with an object in their space or a space adjacent to them. Most scenarios will have point markers on the map that, when interacted with, will give the player an immediate victory point.
Assist:
Any of your characters can help one of their knocked-down allies to stand up if they are adjacent to them.
Rally:
When knocked down a player cannot perform an action, instead they can use both actions to stand back up.
Abilities:
Each player has three special abilities that can either result in a challenge or a different special effect. This is done by spending the resource that matches the ability and placing it on the matching number on the cool-down track. This is largely where the character's unique presence comes from.
Use item:
There are several items throughout all the various sets that can be mixed and matched with any character. They will often have an activated ability associated with them that will work the same way as a ability and will be placed on the cool-down track after being used.
Companion:
A companion is a mini-character that is attached to one of your standard characters. Every time your character is activated the companion will be able to perform one action from the listed actions on its card. A character can sacrifice one of their actions to directly give their companion one more action.
Characters:
The characters are a pivotal part of the game. On their card, they have listed their three abilities on the right side, their trait that is always active or activated when a requirement is met on the bottom of the card, their defence value to the left of the trait and the resources that are added to the player's pool during setup on the right hand of the trait. These resources do not have to be used on this character during the game, it instead works as a mana system where the player builds a collective resource bundle when choosing their team.
Alteration:
Funkoverse covers a lot of popular IP's including Harry Potter, Marvel, Golden Girls and Jurassic Park. All of these packs include characters, items, maps and scenarios that can be mixed and matched to create endless combinations and synergies. The characters in particular have three special abilities, a static ability, and sometimes tokens or cards that create a very unique play experience especially when different characters are used or different teams are created.
Production:
The production of Funkoverse is amazing as they use smaller Funko pop vinyl figures as the character's standee/miniatures. This creates an instant toy presence when the game is being played. To help with this there are plastic gems for scoring that are included with every set and come in unique colours that match the franchise of the set. My particular favourite is the Jurassic Park set that includes ember points with some of the gems showing a trapped mosquito.
One of the key points of every set is all packs but the one-character packs are completely stand-alone so this is one of those games that you can simply start playing by purchasing your favourite characters.
Improvements:
The game will constantly push itself through different character tactics and strategies, however, most of the expansions for the game adds more content (which isn't a bad thing). A lot of the newer sets have been further expanding this with new scenarios including free-to-play (expanding to four players), ultimate scenario that has one strong character against a team, companions that are like items but then work as smaller characters, and bonus objectives.
Determination:
- Wide range of characters and IP’s
- Great production quality
- Abundance of decisions in team synergy when creating your team and playing the game.
- The combat relying heavily on dice rolls can be too random for some players.
This is my favourite skirmish game that I own. It has a wide range of characters from a vast range of franchises that keep the game feeling fresh every time you play. The real value of the game is the decision space players have when setting up their team and throughout the game. There are many ways players can create synergies on their team from specifically choosing the same resource tokens to equipping certain attachments. You may have a heavy hitter with low defence so you bring in a supportive character to keep that character thriving. Seeing the personality and unique systems these characters have is really where the game shines. Add in the constant growth in scenarios, new mechanims and creative designs, this is an extremely promising system I look forward to watching grow for a long time yet. This is getting a seal of Go-To Golden Game. If you enjoy skirmish games with great capacity for team building and don't mind luck with your combat, then this is a great system to explore.
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