The Luck of the Draw with a Mechs vs. Minions Mission
Tag along through an action-packed mission filled with puzzles and dangers in Mechs vs. Minions.
After failing another mission in Mechs vs. Minions, I was excited to return for another attempt! The nice part of the game is how losses typically lead to learning. Getting defeated often highlights unique strategies or other paths to explore in the future. Secure with the knowledge of how not to win, off I went to program up my mechs!
Spoiler Alert
As many know, I try to avoid revealing surprise elements most of the time. This post covers Operation: Tiny Evil. Run away now if you’d like to leave the contents of the sealed envelope a secret! Otherwise, settle in for some fun!
Game Overview
Game Name: Mechs vs. Minions
Publication Year: 2016
Designers: Cantrell, Ernst, Librande, Saraswat, and Tiras
Artists: Danny Beck and Tysen Henderson
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
The new command line introduced with this operation is amazing. It adds tons of strategic considerations.
Every decision has long-term consequences. It’s hard not to love the programming aspects of this board game. And that’s something I never thought I would say. Ha ha!
Tristana’s Opening
Perhaps there’s a little bit lost in the translation since I rarely take photos during gameplay. Why? It’s difficult to pause and step away from the important decisions.
As usual, I ended up snapping photos only near the end. Still, that’s better than nothing, right? Ha!
Everyone contributed in different ways, except for Corki. No matter what I did, he basically rotated in circles like a malfunctioning robot. I had to laugh at him. Sorry, Corki!
It all came down to Tristana. The boss was dangerously close to an instantaneous win… Go! Now!
A Bit of Luck
With his green and blue rune shields down, there were only 2 more points of damage he could take. Tristana was relatively close, but her damaged mech needed to work.
The Hexmatic Aimbot, which I wisely upgraded to its maximum level, just barely reached the boss. So close!
There was only a single way for the Ripsaw to do anything. The haywire controls had to be less “hay” and more “OK” in my book. The rune die rolled for far too long…
With just a 25% chance, it cooperated! Tristana moved in line with the boss, and sent a saw spinning towards him!
Face-to-Face
Take that! I love this boss miniature. It’s scaled properly to really show off the heft of the boss, yet who’s in the driver’s seat? Just a standard sort of minion!
Or, more appropriately, I suppose this is a throne. The end of this mission was absolutely exciting.
I was on the edge of my seat during the boss’s draft at the end of the last few rounds. 3 cards of the same color spell immediate defeat, and I had 2 slots sitting on the brink.
See Corki in the far left of this photo? This was the closest he came to taking part. ‘Round and ’round he went!
Useful Schematics
Besides the command cards, each mech has a pair of unique schematics to bring along. Each one comes into play after the mechs destroy a set number of minions.
Lower-level schematics trigger early on and provide some nice bonuses. The higher-level schematics can take time to trigger but are often worth the wait.
Everyone had something to contribute. This selection was the most helpful, although there were others in play.
Later missions continue to add more new schematics into the mix. So many possibilities, and so much fun!
Session Overview
Play Number: 8
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Operation: Tiny Evil (Mission 3)
Required Play Space: 52″ x 34″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour
Outcome: Win
Rawr! I was thrilled about my victory. There are still a fair number of suboptimal moves I continue to make, yet I’ve learned something new with every play. Now it’s onto another sealed envelope and more surprises!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about the missions in Mechs vs. Minions? How many plays does it take you to complete each one? I’m really enjoying this campaign-style system! The surprises might not be there in the future, yet I can see myself playing from the beginning in the future. There is a surprising amount of variety here. Go mechs!
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