{"id":20509,"date":"2020-10-01T00:58:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T00:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=20509"},"modified":"2020-09-15T16:19:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T16:19:16","slug":"super-skill-pinball-boardgame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/01\/super-skill-pinball-boardgame\/","title":{"rendered":"Super-Skill Pinball (Boardgame)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Super-Skill Pinball is a great example of how a boardgame\u2019s mechanics and theme can be interwoven to produce a gaming experience that gives the \u201cfeel\u201d of the original theme.\u00a0 Playing the roll and write boardgame Super-Skill Pinball: 4-Cade feels like playing a pinball.\u00a0 Someone rolls a pair of dice and then players use either die to record the movement of their pinball on their personal dry-erase game board, marking off locations as they are \u201chit.\u201d\u00a0 Eventually, a player will \u201close\u201d their ball off the bottom of the board and will need to start again.\u00a0 After everyone has played through three balls, players total up their accumulated points to record a winner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Super-Skill Pinball<\/strong>: 4-Cade
\n<\/span>Designer<\/strong>:\u00a0 Geoff Engelstein
\n<\/span>Publisher<\/strong>: Wizkids
\n<\/span>Players<\/strong>: 1-4
\n<\/span>Ages<\/strong>: 12+
\n<\/span>Time<\/strong>: 30 min
\n<\/span>(review copy provided by publisher)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Boardgames in the \u201cRoll and Write\u201d genre have a central mechanic where a set of dice are rolled and then players use them to fill in choices on their personal scorepad.\u00a0 These games are typically quite portable and can be played in a short time frame.\u00a0 As a result, the field of Roll & Write games has exploded in the past few years.\u00a0 While at times it seems like the genre has been over-explored, along comes something like Super-Skill Pinball to demonstrate there are always new ways to look at things.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In Super-Skil Pinball, players are aiming to score the most Stars on their player board.\u00a0 Play begins with a \u201cball\u201d token at the top of each player\u2019s board.\u00a0 Each board is covered in numerous ball locations represented by a box with a particular die value.\u00a0 To begin, two dice are rolled and then players choose one of them to move their ball.\u00a0 Balls may only move to another location that displays a box displaying the name number as their chosen die.\u00a0 In addition, the game board is broken into layered zones and a ball typically must also move down to a lower zone.\u00a0 Thus, a player\u2019s ball will eventually end up at the bottom of their board. \u00a0 However, moving a ball onto one of the two bottom Flipper locations will allow players to shoot the ball back up toward the top of the board again.\u00a0 As play progresses, more spots are filled in, which score points, but also limit where the ball can land.\u00a0 When a player runs out of valid spots to move the ball, the ball is lost.\u00a0 Squares are then erased (some carry over) and a new ball is begun.\u00a0 Once the third ball is lost, players add up and bonus scores they have obtained and the player with the most stars wins the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Of course, moving a ball up and down a page is not a pinball simulation.\u00a0 Where the game shines is in how aspects of the board are used to simulate situations that might be seen in an actual pinball table.\u00a0 Features include Drop-Targets (hit them all to reset them and gain a special ability), Bumpers (that let you bounce between them without having to fall down a level), lighting up a set of top lane (alleys) for bonus points or abilities, and even ways to enter \u201cMultiball\u201d mode where you have two balls moving around at once – one for each die.\u00a0 For that true pinball experience, there\u2019s also the ability to \u201cnudge\u201d the table to change the value of a die – with the added danger of Tilting and losing the ball entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As noted in the title (4-Cade) Super-Skill Pinball contains four different possible game boards to play.<\/span><\/p>\n