Programming Through the Glitches with Mechs vs. Minions
Step into a quirky world of programming, commands, missions, and endearing glitches with Mechs vs. Minions.
Aside from a large collection of completely unplayed solo board games, I have plenty that I packed up after 1-2 plays. Unacceptable! I vaguely recalled playing Mechs vs. Minions sometime in 2019… But that was the tutorial. My fiancé suggested I get this one back to the game table for more fun. Get ready to experience programming at its best! Or worst?
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 is a bit of an oddball in terms of theme and mechanics, though I mean that in a good way! It all begins with an acceptance letter for a correspondence course.
Programming is the name of the game. However, there are plenty of secret mission envelopes to crack open!
Command Lines
The bulk of gameplay centers around the 4 different Yordles inside the various mech suits. Each one has a play area to stack command cards and program a sequence.
I’ll cover more of this in a bit, but it’s brilliant! There are 6 slots to slowly build a complex sequence over time.
Command cards can be placed individually, while those of the same type may be stacked to grow more powerful. Actions might include moving, rotating, or attacking.
Perhaps it sounds like a lot to manage the maximum number of characters, yet I quite enjoyed the chaos!
Quirky and Whimsical
The production quality is surprisingly awesome! The storage solution is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
More than that, the command cards are simply excellent. There are many duplicates, yet the ability to stack cards makes this far less noticeable than it might be.
It’s interesting to program a command line. Sometimes, it makes sense to instruct a mech to do many low-level actions. Other times, stacking is a necessity!
I was excited to get back into the tutorial and re-learn how to play. My programming skills weren’t exactly polished.
Dangerous Learning
One thing that can quickly turn me away from a new game is a lengthy and convoluted rulebook. I love reading the longer ones, yet it still can seem daunting.
Here, there isn’t a rulebook. A tutorial booklet introduces the basic concepts, and a glossary contains everything.
It didn’t take me long to remember the fundamentals. My mechs didn’t crash into the walls too often. Ha ha!
Yet I forgot what happens after the tutorial objective is reached. I won’t spoil it, but just when it all seemed pretty mundane, I had a new task to complete. Watch out!
Programmed to Win
Enjoy this very rough overview of a few of my final command lines. There are so many possibilities!
Naturally, the tutorial is impossible to fail. It teaches the mechanics in a straightforward way but also introduces a bit of the unique humor within the game.
Don’t think it was all that easy to put together decent programs, though. A couple of mechs had to push others around when the movement cards were scarce.
Even the tutorial wasn’t without its challenges. I had to work through the programming, yet there was more…
Losing Control
Most of the attacks come from the minions. But how do they attack? With troubling glitches, of course!
Missions are only failed when the objective can’t be reached. Mechs never die, which takes away some of the pressure. Yet it’s not all fun and games out there.
Glitches can reprogram part of a command line, swap the positions of various commands, or do even worse.
This is one of the best parts of the game. Whenever I ran across stuck controls, there was a necessary sound effect as the mech moved out of control. Ha ha! Such fun!
A Rousing Success
Celebrate, Corki! His companions joined him in victory when the last of the minions fell and the mission ended.
There was a time when Corki himself took out 4 minions all at once! His own program worked out well, yet a glitch actually worked in his favor. All’s well that ends well.
Another excellent addition is the pre-painted miniatures. They’re surprisingly detailed and quite colorful!
I did a rather poor job of highlighting the main play area, but there will be plenty more where this came from. Corki’s friends will need their own proper introductions!
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Tutorial Mission
Required Play Space: 52″ x 34″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 40 Minutes
Outcome: Win
Stop those minions! There wasn’t much of a challenge with the tutorial, yet I appreciated how well it explained the concepts. It looks like future missions add on new layers. I’m looking forward to opening up the envelopes!
%
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 like about Mechs vs. Minions? It’s certainly a unique sort of board game that presents a different sort of challenge. Have you had any experience with programming games? My own skills are rather questionable, yet fortunately, the missions ease into the difficult concepts. I’ll be back with the Yordles and mechs shortly!
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