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  • Hot Takes
  • Unmatched - A Five Second Board Game Review

Unmatched - A Five Second Board Game Review

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M Updated December 02, 2019
 
5.0
 
0.0 (0)
11331 0
Unmatched Board Game
There Will Be Games

Unmatched first burrowed into my brain simply with its art.  I believe the publisher said they wanted every piece of art to be able to be a poster, and they pulled that off spectacularly.  So while I waited for the game, I made the quiet chant to myself over and over, “please don’t suck”.  

When I got my early copy from Gencon I played it as soon as humanly possible and I was intrigued.  The battle system was so simple, but felt new and honestly weirdly opaque at first.  I didn’t understand what the ideal positioning was, I didn’t understand what to play and when, and I began to worry the game may just not be that great.  Then I kept playing, and it started to become clearer what to do.  So now, as I learned what better positioning looked like, I was worried that the characters may not be as balanced and thought maybe it still isn’t a good game.  Then I kept playing.  The balance issues lifted like a fog. Now maybe the game is too simple.  Yet I keep playing and playing.

After about 30 plays in not even nearly that many days, it has become clear that this game is just fantastic. The characters are evocative, the rules are simple in that beautiful way that sets a game up to be viral, and every single aspect of the product design, from the insert, to the dials(which are slightly different sizes depending on starting health), to the art, is absolutely perfect.  Restoration Games correctly deduced that skirmish games could be reduced to the simplest form possible and still be infinitely deep, and I’m beyond excited.


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5.0
Mason Sokol (He/Him)
Associate Writer

Mason plays games and has opinions.

Articles by Mason Sokol

Associate Writer

Articles by Mason Sokol

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edulis's Avatar
edulis replied the topic: #343394 11 Feb 2025 13:05
Just got this in a trade and played twice. Thought it was okay, I guess I should play more to really get a feeling for it.
Jackwraith's Avatar
Jackwraith replied the topic: #343395 11 Feb 2025 13:55
It's a really solid game, especially if you like card-driven stuff and getting so familiar that, like with other card games, you can start anticipating not only what you're going to draw but what your opponent might be holding. I still feel like I sounded too harsh on it in my comparison with Funkoverse (almost two years ago-!) but I really like the game and wish that I had a regular 2-player partner so I could play more of it.
Msample's Avatar
Msample replied the topic: #343396 11 Feb 2025 14:58
I playred it a few times. While its certainly good, its one of those games that given how unique each character is in terms of play style, it requires a level of repeat play that is hard to attain for a lot of people. Reminds me of the IMPERIUM deckbuilder in that regard.