To win each battle, you must throw a hand! Get the coolest cards, throw in the strongest hand, and watch them try to do something about it. Will you take away their stamina with a bunch of small hands, or will you go for their throat with a big one? The first player to take the most damage loses the round. Earn enough rounds to win the war!
Players play a run or set hand, targeting the opponent on the left. A 3-3-3 should beat a 4-4-4 or higher team because that player also needs to play a higher value run or set. And the 2-3-4-5 must beat at least a 3-4-5-6 or better team. If not, that player takes those cards as 3 points of damage, and anything they play becomes an attack on the next player.
However, be aware that many cards have additional effects when attacking or blocking. When a player takes damage to 10 cards, they are knocked out and the round ends. The player with the least damage and the player with the killing blow each receive a winner token. The winner with the most tokens after a certain number of rounds wins the game.
There are 161 cards in the game, divided into six suits. Five of the suits contain regular cards with various numbers from 1 to 15 (but not including). The final suit, yellow, has about 80 cards with all kinds of numbers (0-99!). It also comes with a card title and special effects, so you know it’s special.
First, shuffle all the regular cards into a deck and deal each player 9 cards from this deck. Next, shuffle all the special cards and deal one card to each player. Each player also receives a handy player aid card. This card shows the valid card combinations on one side, summarizing the suit colors and the range of numbers for that suit.
The game is played over five rounds, with two Ws (“win tokens”) being dealt in each round. At the end of the game, the player with the most Ws is the winner.
In a round, the starting player plays a combination of cards from his hand. This can be a single card, a set of 2-5 cards (all consecutively numbered), or a set of 2-5 cards (all the same number). Cards are played to the player on the left. That player must choose to block or hit. If you have a special card, the rules may change!
If you block, you must play a combination of the same number of cards with a number at least one higher than the cards in the combination that was attacked. The original attack is discarded and the newly played combination is presented to the left-hand opponent, who faces the same choices.
If they hit, you can also hit without playing a card, but take a card from the attacker’s combination and place it face up in front of you. Most cards are worth 1 damage point each, but some special cards have higher total damage. Check if there is more than 10 damage. If it’s 10 or more, the round ends immediately. If not, you will be able to play a valid combination as an attack next to your left hand.
Some suits have special powers. Playing a green card within a block allows you to draw a card from the deck. If you play a blue card in a combination, it is always worth 2 damage instead of the base 1. When you play a Peach Trap card on a block, you can choose one card from the attacking combination. That is, you take a card from your attack and add it to your hand. Each yellow card has its own rules, and there are about 80 of them in the box, so read them as you come across them during the game.
Continue around the table until someone deals 10 or more damage, then the round ends. The losing player receives an L token. A player who plays a “kill shot”, a combo that deals damage that ends the round, receives one of the W tokens. The player with the least damage at the end of the round also gets the W. This could be the same player, in which case that player gets 2 Ws.
Remove all cards from the field, add them to the rest of the deck, and shuffle them all. Therefore, special cards in play remain in play. Deal nine cards from the game deck to each player, and give everyone one new special card (from the special deck created in setup).
Play a total of 5 rounds. At the end of the game, the player with the most Ws wins (each L cancels out the Ws). There are no tie-breaks and in fact, if there is a tie, there is no winner. You will be prompted to play another full game.
my thoughts on the game
According to L99’s promotion, “Get ready for your next game night! The MegaGame library includes five new games from Level 99. Each game is packed with unforgettable moments of fast-paced fun. From wild western showdowns to adorable kitchen chaos with magical wish-granting, there’s something perfect for every group.”
I was given an advance copy of one of these five games to try out and requested Death Strikers. Partly because I like “big card deck” games, and partly because I love designer D. Brad Talton Jr.’s previous games (I’m talking about Millennium Blade, of course). The crazy special actions on the cards, interesting card interactions, and hilarious flavor text have both made this game an all-time favorite, and as a result, I was definitely interested in seeing this new card game.
Death Strikers doesn’t have as much flavor text as Millenium Blades, but what’s in the game is quite resourceful. I really enjoy reading all the card blurbs and trying to figure out all the inside jokes on the special cards. For example, there is a pen card with value 1. However, on its own, this blocks any combination involving swords. Because, of course, the pen is mightier than the sword.
At first I thought this was just going to be a shedding game, but it wasn’t. First, there is no need to follow the format of the previous play. You just need to create a legal combination with a higher number. Well, that is if you choose to block. Sometimes you just need to absorb the hits so you can play any combination you like (especially if it’s just basic cards). Heh, there are also some special cards that can’t be played until you reach a certain threshold of damage, so you might be incentivized to take damage to be able to play those cards.
I like how this game encourages you to be good at defense as well as attack. You get both rewards at the end of the round. If you can consistently land strikes against your left-handed opponent, you’ll be able to land the knockout blow that will win the round. If you can block everything that is played against you, you can minimize the damage you take and potentially get a W.
The game has a nice little element where N new special cards are added to the deck every round. If you have a good memory, you’ll probably remember some of the old stuff you might have to deal with. And there will always be surprises, as each time you will discover something new dealt from the special deck. Additionally, due to combinatorics and such, each game plays out a little differently based on the random special cards thrown into the mix (and the order in which they arrive).
And with a huge deck of special cards, it feels like you’re always discovering new cards or new inside jokes about one of the cards. Here, we have tried to give you a sense of the wide range of cards without introducing too many cards.
Death Strikers is a fun little filler, but it never takes itself seriously. There’s a lot of humor in the cards, and it’s fun to just go punch your neighbor over and over again. This game definitely rewards skilled play and hand management, and special cards give everyone a chance to make some fun and surprising plays.
This is the first game I’ve played from MegaGame Library, so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more. I love how there is so much prey in this little box.
Until your next reservation,
game doctor
Crowdfunding link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/level-99-games/megagame-library
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