Game Overview

Game Name: Super Squad High
Publication Year: 2025
Designer: Michael Addison
Artist: Tan Ganguly
Publisher: Nerdy Pup Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

With a limited number of actions during each time of day, heroes must balance the standard teenage worries like going to class and interacting with classmates. But crime must also be fought, all while working to figure out the plot twist: The villain is one of the classmates! But which one?!

Robin, the Glam Tank

I expected the solo mode to recommend using multiple characters, but it looked like it was designed for true solo.

Enter Robin, also known as the Glam Tank! I liked the way student ID cards and superpowers were mixed, although these decks were exceptionally small and very limited.

Random classes set the stage for earning better grades, and costume cards provided the main way to fight crime.

There were a lot of lovely ideas here, along with a lot of unique classmates. However, I had a feeling I was going to see almost everything within a couple of plays. 

Classmate Topics

A big part of gameplay revolves around talking with various classmates to learn more about their preferences.

Ultimately, knowing what each token shows on the opposite side leads to forming relationships. But I played without the memory element, which is the standard way to play.

Setting up these tokens and classmates took a little longer than I liked, too, and there were only 8 double-sided cards.

I liked how there were different actions for different times of the day, although 2 actions per time period felt very limited. Just required a lot of careful planning and thinking!

Unmasking the Villain

The overall goal is to form relationships with classmates, which slowly uncovers the villain, scheme, and motive. Surprise: One of the classmates is actually the villain!

So this turns into a sort of interesting deduction puzzle, although it’s really more about guesswork at the start.

Villain powers are optional, and likely way too difficult to try out at the start. That did make the villain less intriguing.

Actually, the solo mode felt like it took away the biggest part of gameplay… Teamwork. And it seemed to point towards making this a solo journaling RPG, which I didn’t expect.

Difficult Dilemmas

I thought about trying out a dilemma, which was another way to add a little more flavor to gameplay. Yet these are very difficult and felt almost punishing, not challenging.

Most cards are in the form of costume cards, which include things like combat boots, sports tape, a police scanner, and much more. Icons are used to defeat dangers and dice.

Yet with all of this apparent flavor, the world fell flat for me. Locations had generic names. Classes were generic rooms.

And worst of all, I felt like I couldn’t do anything with the solo mode. It was like I was preoccupied and suffered for it.

Morning Superhero

A pair of crime cards came out at the start of every day, but each was only revealed at the start of the right time. For instance, this rampage triggered during the morning.

For a single character, I only needed to complete one task to stop the crime… But this was so difficult to keep up with on my own. I had no assistance, which is a key strategy.

Keeping up with classwork was stressful as my grades dipped down around C or D, and friendships were rare.

I felt like I was spluttering along, dangerously close to losing when I didn’t really have a chance to explore this setting.

Unexpected Roleplay

Managing actions and gaining costume cards to fight crime felt very strategic. I wasn’t really leaning into any sort of thematic experience since this was an optimization puzzle.

Finally, I triggered a nighttime action to get to know one of my classmates more. And suddenly, I was in a roleplaying game that I wasn’t quite prepared for. Or solo journaling?

These sorts of activity cards are optional, as the key is knowing the correct symbols on the classmate’s tokens.

It can be worth it to guess every now and then. I ended up avoiding these questions, as the roleplaying felt forced.

Team Upgrade

Playing as a single character was very unsatisfying. I never felt like I was doing well, and ended up losing without even figuring out who the villain was… Or making many friends.

Since this is a cooperative game, I decided to try it again with a pair of characters. Zee the Dusk Knight was on the case with Quinn the Meme Witch! That felt much better.

And it was! Teamwork is a crucial aspect of gameplay, and I had a lot more fun figuring out how to work together.

But gameplay was still very limited and I struggled to bring any flavor into the setting while I had to strategize.

Board Games vs. RPGs

Quinn, the Meme Witch, had some really excellent turns, particularly with the psychic focus ability. This team even made it to the final showdown, and defeated the villain!

Yet… It didn’t quite work for me. Gameplay felt too long. It seemed to oscillate between strategic board game elements and open-ended roleplaying, tossing around my thoughts.

That might have been the trouble for me: Strategy games require focus that’s very different from being creative.

I really wanted to love this experience, and appreciate what it was trying to do! Ultimately, though, it wasn’t for me.

Session Overview

Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 1 Win & 1 Loss

This time, I was unable to uncover the villain and set up a showdown with none other than Reese. It should have been interesting with the scheme and motive, but it really came down to figuring out how to use costume cards and abilities to survive to the end. It was very close, and Zee and Quinn barely won. Lots of neat ideas, and I wished the game was something that resonated with me. Can’t win them all, though… Not even as a teenage superhero! Ha ha!

Affordability

Price & Value

4

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

7

Originality

Design & Theme

5

Quality

Components & Rules

6