Carl from the Play With It Podcast is tabletop correspondent and recurring guest on my DC Collecticast podcast. Carl points out that IDW has some experience making superhero themed tabletops. PWI: They’ve been putting out games for a little while now. So, this isn’t their first rodeo. But, this Rogues Gallery game is pretty cool.
IDW’s previously released “Batman: The Animated Series” Gotham Under Siege tabletop game; Photo: boardgamegeek.com
Rules of the Rogues
PWI: It is 3-5 players, and it takes about an hour to play. Takes 30-45 minutes to play, but all of those things are usually a lie, especially the first time you play. You’ve got to take your time, you’re looking through the manual. You’re making sure you’re doing things right, so I would say it’s probably roughly about an hour.
PWI (continued):You play as a Batman villain that takes down various heroes, until you ultimately face Batman. And, the player that defeats Batman is the winner. You’re all taking turns to do this.
BD: –as the Rogues Gallery. Nice!
PWI: Yea, so, you’re playing all these different characters.
BD: That is a great idea for a game.
PWI: Yea, it really is! You get to be the bad guy. You get to potentially take down Batman.
PWI: This is called a push your luck game. So, I want you to think of like Black Jack, and how you’re trying to get as close to 21 without going over. So, that’s the push your luck type of mechanic. That’s kind of the feel. Not exactly like Black Jack, but that’s just to give you an idea of what PYL type of mechanic/game is like.
PWI: So, basically each player chooses a villain and they’re all your big hitters: you can be Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, a whole bunch of characters. Again, it’s 3-5 players. They all have a special ability that’s unique to that character. And, each player is chucking a hand full of dice and flipping over these hero cards to face off with, that has requirements on the card to meet with the dice you’ve rolled, so that you can defeat the hero.
PWI (continued): You’re rolling dice, then flipping over the card, and you’re trying to meet the requirements of the card by using the dice that you rolled. Now, once you beat that hero, you decide if you want to escalate the situation by flipping over another hero card and using the remaining dice that you rolled previously. You can’t use them twice. Or, if you want to finish your turn and reap the rewards from your victories.
IDW’s “Batman: The Animated Series” Shadow of the Bat tabletop game; Photo: boardgamegeek.com
As Carl pointed out, this isn’t IDW’s first rodeo with superhero tabletops, and it certainly doesn’t seem to be the last for BTAS, in particular.
A miniatures-driven board game, Shadow of the Bat is part of the Adventures Universal Game System (AUGS), and is compatible with all other AUGS products. Arkham Asylum, a full-sized expansion, will also launch on Kickstarter alongside Shadow of the Bat. Both Shadow of the Bat and Arkham Asylum are expected to arrive to backers and in stores in Fall 2020.
