Reliving Die Hard Through Hunted: Kobayashi Tower
Fight and sneak through a skyscraper to save hostages and survive before time runs out in Hunted: Kobayashi Tower.
I recently went back and watched some of the Die Hard movies, only to realize I had the movie in a game just waiting for me! Hunted: Kobayashi Tower follows a character’s journey from the ground level to the roof. Enemies pop up unexpectedly while time ticks down. There’s even an elevator shaft and air ducts… “Welcome to the party, pal!”
Game Overview
Game Name: Hunted: Kobayashi Tower
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Gabe Barrett
Artists: Drew Corkill and Jorge M. Velez
Publisher: Barrett Publishing
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Armed with a handgun and chocolates, hallways must be searched to travel through the locations and save the final hostage. Health and time are carefully managed, while limited ammo means that stealth can be vital. It all takes place in a small play area as the criminals close in…
First Play
October 9, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
October 9, 2021
Expansions
1
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
8
Game Area
20" x 16"
Low Score
0
Into the Unknown
The main deck is filled with everything from locked doors and hostages to surprise enemy attacks. Ultimately, though, it comes down to finding ways to explore.
Locations are randomly encountered. Some are excellent and provide amazing benefits. Others… Not so much!
A final showdown takes place on the roof, which can appear anywhere in the last few location cards.
It’s important to move quickly since time ticks away faster than expected, but surviving is necessary! Decisions are usually easy, yet there are still choices to make.
Crawling Away
Speaking of the iconic air ducts, I had a happy Calico Critter who wanted to demonstrate the proper technique!
I was immediately told to hush since this was a stealth scene. No commentary needed, lest the bad guys catch on! This was a regular ol’ John McClane, just a little tinier.
Although there are certainly unique locations, there are definite nods to the original Die Hard in many of the locations. So many great scenes to relive!
I continued setting everything up only to find out that my little friend had disappeared beyond the air ducts. Oh, my.
A Bit of Blue’s Clues
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the graphic design is the color scheme. Everything is presented in hues of blue, providing a very coordinated play area.
Although sticking to such a limited color palette might run the risk of feeling too uniform and boring, it’s done very nicely here! Lots of lights and shadow for better depth.
Most cards provide icons along the upper left, which are used to unlock other cards via the lower right icons.
It’s an interesting system that requires careful planning. Those doors and hallways are necessary to advance.
Defeated by the Enemy
My first attempt was very interesting. With noise icons to manage, it was important to clear a lot of cards before attracting too much attention. Sneaky, sneaky!
Yet as time ticked down, it looked like there were far too many locations to get through. I used the doors for their icons… Plenty of weapons, but I didn’t exactly move along.
In a deadly battle against a trio, reloading took up too much time. Too slow! My tiny John McClane was appalled.
There were some obvious adjustments and I was ready. Maybe I just needed a giant teddy bear to help me out!
To the Gift Shop
As luck would have it, I ran across a giant teddy bear in short order! The gift shop showed up a little too early, though, and I couldn’t make much use of its ability.
Every play features a slightly different assortment of locations, which definitely helps with the variety!
However, if I had to pick a favorite… This was it. Not only did I like the little nod to Die Hard, but I was pretty sure there were some Calico Critters in the shadows.
All the same, I had to focus and get to the roof! Not the “choppa” of course… Wrong movie. Ha ha!
A Key Tip
Dressed in a ninja costume and with no shoes to really get into the John McClane character, I wasn’t alone on this adventure! But how to handle all of these doors and items?
A-ha! A simple tip helped me remember the importance of keys. As tempting as some of those cards were, a locked door revealed 2 locations at once. Zooming right along!
The tower was still very difficult to climb. Health dropped as I failed skill tests, and time was running out.
Wounded and almost out of time, I flipped over the roof card at the last moment. Could I pull off the victory?!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 0 and 8 (1 Win and 1 Loss)
With a little luck and some handy weapons, I did it! With the final roll, Lars lost as I survived with 1 time and 1 health left. Talk about a close call! It was an exciting time, although I didn’t quite connect with the game. Maybe I’m not the world’s biggest Die Hard fan… Which is putting me in the doghouse with my John McClane impersonator. Uh-oh. Ha ha! I still enjoyed the path to success and the overall experience. I made it to the roof and won!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are multiple ways to use each card to either unlock it or use its icons to collect another useful card.
- Limited time and health add tension as they quickly decrease to make it feel important to move quickly.
- Various weapons and helpful items may be picked up along the way, many of which are very powerful.
- Ammo must be used carefully since it’s limited and reloading takes up precious time, making battles quick.
- Rescued hostages become single-use allies with unique abilities that vary widely and can make all the difference.
- Traveling through the locations is an interesting premise since the next card is unknown until flipped.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Skill tests are based on dice randomness with pretty much no way to mitigate poor rolls, which can be disastrous.
- Although some elements will change from play to play, there isn’t a great deal of variety nor unique challenges.
- The rulebook isn’t laid out as intuitively as it might have been and requires a bit of flipping around to find a rule.
- Black-edged cards often show signs of wear rather quickly, and the quality here is a little underwhelming.
Victory Conditions
Defeat Lars
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 5 points.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Hunted: Kobayashi Tower? Are there any other solo games that remind you of any particular movies? I had a fun time with this, although I don’t see myself playing that often. Even with some difficulty adjustments, I feel like I solved the game. Still, it was a great experience that let me replay Die Hard in my mind as I made it to the end!
“Lars”? So this isn’t actually using the characters from the film?
Stripped of the graphic design it looks a bit like Burgle Bros, or a dungeon-basher…
Nope, no actual characters from the movie! There are obvious parallels, but nothing directly tied into it.
Interesting about the comparison. I haven’t played anything in that realm, yet I have a feeling those aren’t quite the right sorts of games for me. Always good to try new things out, though! I’m getting to the point where I need to accept that I really can’t play every game out there… Mostly because I keep all of them and definitely do not have the space to house that many games. The Calico Critters need some space, too. Ha ha!