Flashback Friday - Magical Athlete - Love It or Hate It?

Perfect board game. 10/10. The fact that it's out of print is a crime. Magical Athlete forever.

I've never played this game. I wish I could buy it for a reasonable price.

There used to be an awesome X-Men homebrew version. You can make it relatively inexpensively.

Charlie, whatever you homebrew will be 1000x better than the actual in the box components. All my pieces are held together by painter's tape and sheer force of will.

This game is great and should be handed out at schools. Every kid should know the joy of romping along with Wrestler and the sorrow of trying to figure how Philosopher interacts with Cupid and Witch.

It's guaranteed hilarity 50% of the races and guaranteed tiresome dice rolling in the other 50%, but I've always found the fun you get from the good matchups far outweigh the ones that don't work.

Quite frankly the published game looks like a homebrew pnp anyway so might as well make your own!

mezike wrote: It's guaranteed hilarity 50% of the races and guaranteed tiresome dice rolling in the other 50%, but I've always found the fun you get from the good matchups far outweigh the ones that don't work.

Quite frankly the published game looks like a homebrew pnp anyway so might as well make your own!

This is right in IDing its flaws but somehow the game is also one of the best games ever made for a non-hobby audience despite a race or two being a dice fest in most games. I said last week that I have bought this game for several mainstream gamers for an extravagent price to myself after they played it and absolutely adored it. Meet people where they are imho gamingwise.

Love. I would consider this a desert island game.

I still pull this out from time to time for Game Day and it ALWAYS manages to get played.

So many characters, so many ways to screw over your opponents with them.

I will always play this game.

mezike wrote: It's guaranteed hilarity 50% of the races and guaranteed tiresome dice rolling in the other 50%, but I've always found the fun you get from the good matchups far outweigh the ones that don't work.

Quite frankly the published game looks like a homebrew pnp anyway so might as well make your own!

I think this is spot on. I sold my copy years ago once the hilarity got a bit repetitive. Good game, got a bunch of plays out of it. Might pick it up again for the kiddo if it comes back, or if there's a P&P that's easy enough for an idiot.

So.....

Does anyone have any homebrew files they'd be willing to share?

Sold my copy for $70. Way over priced. I really liked the game but $70 fucking bucks, really?

mc wrote: So.....

Does anyone have any homebrew files they'd be willing to share?

Check out the images section on BGG, there is a pretty good one posted on there.

I think it's worth spending a little to use Artscow or similar to print the cards nicely and then you only need some generic coins from any other game (or pencil and pad to track money/points) and a pawn for each player, print the track on letter paper and you're good to go.

I don't think it's worth making standees, and you could always put the playing cards into some of those little plastic grip stands as an alternative if you really want to see the characters marching round the track.

I love me some Magical Athlete.
I bought white plastic stands for all of the characters. It set me back $4, and it was one of my best "game pimps."
The illustrations are pure joy. They're very good.
The board is a pure visual disaster. It's not the construction, that's fine. The draft side is tolerable - just painfully bland. No, it's the race track. It's RIDICULOUS. A horrible dirt track graphic rendered in what looks to be free software. Seriously, why the illustrator couldn't have been paid to make an illustration of the track is just beyond me.

The first time I played it I stated “this is the best game I’ve ever played and also the worst game I’ve ever played”.

In other words, it’s a masterpiece.

Such a shame it’s OOP...the closest thing to it
Is actually the Iello Tales & Games Tortoise
And the Hare.

I will never forgive Z-Man for changing the name
Though- it was originally Magical Athelete.