Months ago, I helped Kickstart a new game called ‘IncrediBrawl‘ by Vision3Games (V3G). The game looked right up our alley with great art/theme, easy learning curve, a good bit of luck, and lots of fun. And, to top it off, V3G is based out of Indianapolis! How often do I get to see a game from a LOCAL game company??
The campaign was a big success for V3G. They made all but one stretch goal and the game would be produced. Here we are, months later in January, and the game is ready to be delivered! EARLY, no less! And then V3G announces they’re going to do personal releases at two of the local GamePreserve locations.. w00t! It’s rare that I get to participate in something like this locally outside of GenCon, so I jumped at the opportunity. Since Brynna is my big ‘play tester’ (ALWAYS ready to try out a new game), I asked if she wanted to go with. She thought it sounded fun, so I picked her up after piano lessons and away we went!
We arrived at the GamePreserve, and our FLGS staff directed us to the back room. There were a few guys playing some game I didn’t recognize (and that Brynna said she’d NEVER play after finding out how long it was!) and the guys from V3G setting up. The embarrassing part, here, is that I can’t remember their names (I’m HORRIBLE at names). *sigh* They looked up my name and gave me our copy! Step 1, complete!
Brynna REALLY wanted to get a demo of the game (I think mostly so she could go home and lord it over her sister that she already knew how to play.. Not to mention that she’d have an early advantage…). The V3G guys were kind enough to provide us one of their copies to demo, and one of the guys sat down to play a game with us.
I take it as a sign of a good family game for us if the instructions can be explained quickly, make sense, and are easily recalled without constant checks of the manual. IncrediBrawl fits the bill! At its heart, IncrediBrawl is rock-paper-scissors – a simple enough mechanic that Brynna was already on board. Add to that the crazy cast of characters, fun take-that power-ups, and quick mini-battles, and she was ready to play before V3G was done with the basics 🙂
Another good characteristic of a Funk Family Game Night game is that everyone has a good, solid chance at winning the first few times we play. Nothing turns the girls away from a game faster than if they feel they’ll never have a chance to win. Early in our play-through, I had a pretty steady advantage (beginners luck). I threw some lucky cards and had an early lead. I thought Brynna might get frustrated, but the funny characters kept her engaged and looking forward to her next draw. THEN she started to figure out some of the special powers that allowed her to steal glory (the points needed to win) and mess with the adult players, and she was hooked!
Before long, we were able to throw down our cards and tell who would win each ‘scrap’ and the overall ‘brawl’ without having to study the cards. The Win/Lose/Play actions became easier and easier. I had to help Brynna, on occasion, with some of the more subtle abilities. But as she got used to the cards, she understood more and more. She started helping the V3G guy gain glory because he was losing and I was winning. (Quick aside: she now claims she’s friends with the guy who designed the game because he said “Thanks, friend!” when she gave him some glory on an action. Heh.) And, to top it all off, she WON the game! She had been steadily collecting glory and only needed one more to win. Right after she lost the first scrap of the last brawl, she tossed down her one-and-only card, basically stating to gain one glory when you lose. BAM! 10 glory, game over. She started a little chant of ‘the kid beat the grown-ups’ and had a big grin on her face 🙂
While we didn’t play the full set of rules (we didn’t touch locations at ALL), I know that with the quick play, easy rules, and fun theme, this’ll be a game we play quite a bit. Brynna insisted on holding our new game the entire way home and has ALREADY stated that she’s choosing it for our next official Funk Family Game Night selection. I don’t believe for a second that it won’t be on our table sooner than that, though… 🙂
Anyway, I’m long-winded. The guys at V3G were great to meet. You can always tell when someone is proud of their work and happy that you enjoy it as well. They were obviously grateful to the backers who helped make their game a reality. To top it off, my daughter and I got to play a game, together, that was just released. And we had a great time! I am truly thankful that V3G and the GamePreserve made my daughter’s first experience with the gaming community, outside of our home, such a fun and memorable one. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it here.. I think that V3G has created an IncrediBrawl fan for life in Brynna (and Dad, too)!
Let me know your thoughts!