Massive vs the Masses Review

In my never-ending quest to find decent unknown games, I came across a geeklist:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/67150/item/1669772#item1669772

It had Flash Point on it, so I've been slowly mining it for ideas. (I see an old Ariel game called Seastrike on a related list, that may become my next listing. As it turns out, I think I have one. )

This was one of the ones that lured me into purchasing based on the strength of Karnaxis, and the promise of a decent Kaiju game that wasn't a battle royale scenario. I was always a fan of Crush, Crumble, Stomp and The Creature that Ate Sheboygan. I don't believe there have really been any good, iconic  big-monster-attacks-city since. 

Thus enters a challenger: The Massive vs. the Masses. Which is part of a "system" that also somehow also allows you to mix and match with Zombie vs Ash, or a Vickie drilling machine vs the Molemen. None of these promised sequels have appeared, as the guy has probably sold like 3 of the original "Gamorzilla vs the Army" set. 

Price $40 + shipping 

Bits:

Box with professionally applied label but primitive art. 

two lasercut hex boards from masonite with laminated graphics on the top.

One pewter Gamera mini.

60 or so Rubble counters from masonite. 

two decks of cards. 

60-70 plastic standees with labels. 

No dice.....

Rules:

The rules and bits are structured to mix and match sides. There are 4 pages of basic rules. Each side has his own board and card deck, as well as a single page of custom rules for that side. Each deck also has 5 Weak Point cards which go into the opponent's deck. 

A turn is simple, play  a card. Move all pieces, attack with all pieces. Pieces have a movement type restricting the terrain they can cross, a range and a fixed damage. Buildings block LOS. Pieces cannot move through other pieces. That's most of the rules. Nothing interesting. 

The special rules are where the magic happens. 

Gamorzilla plays cards to attack. Each card does something crazy.  From a base attack, to an area effect, to throwing a figure, to doing the crazy jet turtle blast flight attack. And 100HP. 

The Army starts with 10 civilians, and loses a point of hand size for each one that dies. He also has a single scientist, which allows him to play the weak cards. His hand tends to spawn military units, protect unmoving units, and creating the Giant Robot and Death Ray. And dropping a nuke and electrifying the railroad tracks.  The cards he can play from Gamorzilla's Weak Spot deck tend to restrict Gamorzilla's movement. 

End Result:

It is a short game, lasting perhaps 30 minutes and driven heavily by when cards come up. The diceless nature means that games go really fast, and the rules are simple enough that you can kind of breeze through it. 

There aren't going to be a huge number of surprises. A full game is going to just about run through the deck. The replayability is  driven by how the cards interact. Gamorzilla can take control of the Death Ray. The Nuke does collateral damage, and has to be played a turn before it takes effect. This means the Army has to kind of set up a plan to make the Nuke useful. 

The game ends up being a succession of little plans, counter cards, bits of drama, and it is all great. It is a light, fluffy game. Longevity is the worry. It is a 2player game without massive depth, but also without the variability of something like Heroscape. 

So you may have some reservations. Me--I want you to buy it so I can pit Gamorzilla versus the Mole Men. And support an indy designer who done good.