I need all my psychic senses to put down this T-Rex before she eats me...
Unmatched
Designer: Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson
Artist: Oliver Barrett
Published: 2019
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 20-40 Mins
BGG Rating: 8.3
BGG Ranking: 894
Publisher: Restoration Games
Mechanics: Grid Movement, Hand Management, Duel Game
Sleeves: TCG 63,5x88mm,
Game Description:
Unmatched is a highly asymmetrical miniature fighting game for two or four players. Each hero is represented by a unique deck designed to evoke their style and legend. Tactical movement and no-luck combat resolution create a unique play experience that rewards expertise, but just when you've mastered one set, new heroes arrive to provide all new match-ups.
Quick play overview:
Players play cards to move around the board and attack the other player trying to push their HP to zero.
On your turn you can do two actions as move (and draw one card) or play cards from your hands to mostly attack your opponent.
Cards can be defensive, offensive or both types.
If you don't have defensive cards in your hand.. Should you go on an all-in attack that might win you the game..unless your opponent has a good defensive hand and he might survive just so you are left at his mercy for the next turn?
The concept is very simple and easy to learn but then add a gazillion (the number might be slightly exagerated) of different characters with different cards and movement speed and melee or range attacks… and you have very interesting games of cat and mice.
Characters vary from highly offensive to characters that don't want to be in a combat at all.. This game really provides a character for each playstyle.
Final thoughts:
The bane of every duel fighting game that uses terrain is that the movement is generally just for flavor. Once the enemies meet in the center the damage is everything that matters.
This is not the case with Unmatched. Moving around and causing passive damage or chasing enemies trying to kill them before your deck runs too low are only a few of the options… and all options are good.
This game is an amazing 2 player game as long as you like to log a lot of plays and get to know the strenghts and weaknesses of the characters.
SCORE:
Gameplay: 9/10
Once you know your character, you can plan ahead your strategy and hopefully you will get your opponent exactly where you wanted them. Unmatched is face paced without any dice rolling that would ruin your tactics.
Art & Graphic Design: 9/10
The art on the cards is crazy good. Some characters will cause you to have nightmares while others are just too cute. But all represent a specific character and their mental and physical state.
Graphic design is clean and well done. There is a lot of text on the cards which can be a bit scary in the first plays…
Rules & Complexity: 10/10
The rules are short .. amazingly short for a game with so many options.
The complexity in this game comes from different cards and how they connect together to make a character (deck) that has a general strategy of play. As you are drawing the cards slowly.. you have to change your tactics to what you have in your hand at that moment.
Theme: 7/10
Each box has a little story (like T-Rex vs Dr. Sattler) but the System altogether doesn't have one overarching story.
You can create your own backstory for each fight.
Fun & Replayability: 10/10
We are having a great time playing this game and discovering new characters.
If you only have 2 characters to choose from.. the replayability is low. Once you start adding characters to your collection, the possible combinations start to increase fast and with them the replayability. My vote is for the Unmatched System (with unlimited replayability) and not for one specific box.