Okko

Tank Top and I got in the first basic scenario in this skirmish game with a Japanese Anime horror kind of theme.

It is actually quite good, and a steal at $25.

It is your basic skirmish game with some nods to Hybrid. Characters have powers, as well as a step reduction Shaken state which changes powers and stats. (A couple actually have BETTER powers in their Shaken mode. Very Anime.)

You move, roll a contested D6 for combat. A difference of 1-2 causes a retreat, 3 causes a step reduction, and 4 or more is instant death. No hit points.

The game mostly ends up being a jockey for position, and to try to assemble enough modifiers to take something down for good. But mostly is about always rolling 6's.

The cool part are element dice. You roll 4 at the start of a turn and they can be used for modifiers or to activate skills. You can also park one on each character to either save for later or use defensively. This also adds a nice bit of wackiness to the game. My arbalest was worthless in melee, but a fire symbol would allow him to shoot a pretty nasty shot. So you never knew when he would be utterly worthless for a couple of turns.

Scenario design is decent, the modular tiles are quick to set up, and equipment rules vary the game a bit so you can have different buildouts for each character.

I ended up liking this rather more than Tannhauser. Themed scenarios are in Okko, and the mix of melee and ranged fire draw me more to this than the oddly bland but far prettier Tannhauser.

Hadn't heard of this one. Looks interesting. Is it exclusively 2 player or can you go with more?

Strictly 2 player.....

...maybe. In theory, you could write 3 player scenarios. The game centers around Demon Hunters and Demons, so things naturally fall into two teams.

I think 2 teams of two would work just fine (and would probably be insanely fun) but you'd need counters to mark saved dice. This instantly made my "must get" list even though I was completely decimated by franks Oh so scary demons.

Steve"Onkyo Slayer"Avery