Mechs vs. Minions and the Battle of Good vs. Bad Damage
Jump into the driver’s seat of a unique contraption for another session report from Mechs vs. Minions.
The programming genre in board games sounded like it just wasn’t for me when I first came across it. I know CSS, HTML, and some PHP… But nothing that could truly be called coding knowledge. Mechs vs. Minions has completely changed my perspective, though! It’s not about memorizing coding. It’s all about sequences, and a fair amount of fun!
Spoiler Alert
This game advances through a campaign with sealed envelopes and a definite order for the missions. Please skip over this entry if you don’t want to know more about Operation: Swift Scouts. As usual, I won’t have specific strategy tips, yet there are a fair number of spoilers ahead in terms of the mission contents and objective. You’ve been warned!
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)
This system of opening an envelope for each new mission is a lot of fun. I still haven’t had the chance to rip into any since my fiancé played a partial campaign before. Soon!
It’s still early on, yet this seems to be a very enjoyable way to teach programming and coding concepts. Sequence it!
Across the Expanse
This is only a fraction of the play area needed for this mission. I had to rearrange my table to make more space in a few key areas… This is certainly a table hog!
There were my mechs, ready to defend the school. The only trouble was the need to head off to gather shards…
My previous experience allowed me to see what was ahead. This was my first truly new mission, and I was rather intimidated. A challenge lay before me.
Finally, if it isn’t obvious, the oil slicks on the map tiles are realistically shiny. There’s no way to miss them!
Helpful Damage
As everyone set to work, Heimerdinger’s command line began to take shape. He was prepared to stomp and destroy a fair number of minions.
Then, disaster struck. Rather, it was supposed to strike. A minion dealt him damage. Poor Heimerdinger.
This so-called “Rocket Whoopsie” was actually useful. I got him into a position where he basically just wiped out all of the minions from left to right every round. Nice!
Part of the strategy is finding ways to make damage cards helpful. It’s not always possible, as I would soon learn…
Paging Tristana. Hello?
The first Yordle to pick up an important element out in the field was Tristana. She was a valuable member of the team, and I had it all worked out. This would be quick!
Before I could get much further, though, the minions swarmed and handed out plenty of damage.
Regardless of the repairs, Tristana was trapped far away from the action. She could only move back and forth, continuously picking up the crystal shard.
I just pretended we lost communication with her. It wasn’t my fault she did so horribly… Right? Ha ha!
A Comedy of Errors
Nice job, Corki. He was protecting the left flank when everything suddenly took a turn for the worse. It was just a single minion who caused the beginning of the end.
This damage card isn’t usually dangerous. In fact, it allowed Corki to stomp the minion who dealt the damage!
But he ended up picking up another crystal shard. This created an immediate advance on the school from the other minions. And you might guess what happened.
Just like Tristana, he kept his back firmly pointed in my direction. We know what you did, Corki. We know. Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Operation: Swift Scouts (Mission 2)
Required Play Space: 52″ x 34″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 30 Minutes
Outcome: Loss
It only took a single minion, and he was very proud of himself! The school fell, and my correspondence class clearly didn’t go so well. All the same, I had a good laugh and learned a few important strategies for next time.
%
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 do you think of this mission from Mechs vs. Minions? Are you a fan of the programming genre? I’ve been enjoying the fun chaos of creating the command lines for each mech! My moves are still less-than-ideal, but this is a board game that rewards experience. I’ll get there little by little. That is, so long as the minions don’t cause terrible damage!
Be fair, programming PHP is still programming. It’s working with a tool that wants to bite your fingers off, but that just gives you tough fingers.
I’ve played solo Colt Express with the robo-bandits, and it worked surprisingly well. I should do that again soon. But adversarial programming games like Robo Rally tend not to be soloable, alas.
Very true! My skills in PHP are pretty amateur, though, and I haven’t touched it in years. I feel safer away from it. Ha ha!
Another programming-type game I gave up on far too soon was Tiny Epic Mechs. I think I needed more time to digest the rules and sequence of play before I packed it up. It was very unsatisfying when I tried it out, though. I’m hoping to get back to it eventually and give it another chance. At least it includes a solo mode!