# Smash Up ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2012 - **BGG Rating**: 6.7 - **BGG Rank**: #1299 - **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 45 min - **Weight**: 2.06 / 5 - **Designers**: Paul Peterson - **Artists**: Bruno Balixa, Carmen Cianelli, Conceptopolis, Crut, Dave Allsop, Pierre Raveneau - **Publishers**: Alderac Entertainment Group, Arclight Games, Bard Centrum Gier, Edge Entertainment, Galápagos Jogos, HaKubia - **Categories**: Card Game, Fantasy, Humor, Pirates, Science Fiction, Zombies - **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Card Play Conflict Resolution, Deck Construction, Hand Management, Kill Steal, Open Drafting, Take That, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up ## Verdict If you love chaotic card combinations and unique faction abilities, Smash Up is a fantastic "shufflebuilding" game that offers endless replayability through its diverse pairings. Unique faction combinations create diverse gameplay Simple premise, quick to learn High replayability with many factions Engaging minion and base mechanics Fun, thematic faction abilities Can feel random at times Player count impacts game flow Some combos are significantly stronger RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready for chaos in Smash Up, a "shufflebuilding" game where the fun begins even before the first move! The premise is simple and brilliant: you choose two factions, take their 20-card decks, shuffle them together, and voilà, your 40-card deck is ready. From there, the goal is to dominate more Bases than your opponents. Each faction brings a unique mechanic to the table – Pirates are masters at moving their minions around, Zombies love to bring cards back from the discard pile, and Dinosaurs? Oh, they bring a raw power that commands respect. The coolest part is that each faction combination creates a totally different gaming experience, ensuring that Smash Up never gets repetitive. During the game, the race is on to score points from Bases. Players send their minions to the Bases, and whoever has the highest total minion power when a Base is broken scores the points. Sounds easy, right? But what if an opponent's Alien-Ninja plays minions to your Bases that destroy your own? Or if a Pirate-Dinosaur plays a card that unleashes King Rex to trample your minions? And what about a Wizard-Zombie who, with their mystic power, floods a Base with minions from their discard pile, or a Zombie-Dinosaur who creates an epidemic of massive beasts? With eight different factions in the base box, Smash Up offers dozens of combinations for you to try. A Pirate-Alien team plays one way, while Ninja-Aliens act another. Which duo will you choose to crush your opponents? Oh, and yes, the Dinosaurs have laser beams! ## How to Play Game Objective: Dominate the World with Your Crazy Factions! Welcome, strategists of chaos! In Smash Up, your objective is simple, but the journey is pure madness: dominate the world! How? By using your minions to destroy enemy bases and accumulate victory points (VP). The first player to reach 15 VP is the grand winner and master of the universe! Setup: Assembling Your Hybrid Army Setting up the table for Smash Up is almost as fun as playing, because this is where you choose your insane factions! Choose Your Factions: Each player chooses two factions from the eight available (or more, if you have expansions!). Each faction comes with 20 cards. Create Your Personal Deck: Shuffle the 20 cards from each of your two chosen factions to form a single 40-card deck. This will be your personal arsenal of destruction! Prepare the Bases: Take all base cards and shuffle them into a single deck. Then, draw one base per player plus one more. For example, if there are 3 players, use 4 bases. Place these bases face up in the center of the table, ready to be invaded. Starting Hand: Each player draws five cards from their personal deck. Special Starting Hand (Minions): If you don't have any minions in your starting hand, don't worry! Reveal your hand, discard it, and draw a new hand of five cards. You must keep this second hand, even if you still don't have minions. Who Starts?: The player who woke up earliest in the day starts the game. The round proceeds clockwise. Point Markers: Keep the point markers handy to record each player's VPs. Ready! Your battle arena is set, and your minions are eager for combat! The Game Turn: Actions, Minions, and Destruction! A turn in Smash Up is divided into five simple phases, but full of strategic possibilities: Turn Start Some card abilities take effect at the start of your turn. This is the time to activate them! Play Cards (Main Actions) This is the main phase where the magic happens! You can play one minion and one action from your hand, for free, in any order. You are not obligated to play cards if you don't want to or can't. Playing Minions: To play a minion, choose one of the bases in the center of the table and place the minion card next to it, with the text facing you. The minion's abilities take effect when it is played (unless it's a "Special" ability, which works at unusual times). Playing Actions: To play an action, reveal the card and do what it says. Then, discard the action, unless it has a Permanent ability (which remains active as long as the card is in play). Extra Cards: If a card allows you to play an extra minion or an extra action, you can play that additional card in that turn. Remember: if the extra card was obtained by a Special ability, you must play it immediately. Otherwise, you don't need to play the extra card immediately. Check for Scoring (Bases Exploding!) After playing your cards, it's time to check if any base is ready to score. A base scores if the total power of all minions on it is equal to or greater than the base's breakpoint (indicated on the base card). If multiple bases are ready, you (the current player) decide which one scores first. Base Scoring Process: "Before" Special Abilities: Players can use Special abilities that happen "before" the base scores. Even if the base's total power falls below the breakpoint after these abilities, scoring continues! If more than one player wants to use a Special ability, the current player starts and proceeds clockwise. Receiving VP: The player with the most power on the base is the winner and receives the victory points (VP) indicated on the left of the base card. The second most powerful is the second place and receives the middle VPs. The third most powerful is the third place and receives the right VPs. You must have at least one minion on the base to receive VPs. Ties: If there is a tie in power, all involved players receive the points for the highest position they tied for. For example, if two players tie for first, both receive first place points. "After" Special Abilities: After scoring, players can use Special abilities that take effect "after" the base scores. Discard and Replacement: All minion cards that were on the base go to their owners' discard piles. The scored base is placed in the base discard pile and replaced by a new card from the base deck, if available. Check Other Bases: Check if any other base is ready to score and repeat the process. Draw 2 Cards Draw two cards from your personal deck. The maximum hand limit is 10 cards. If you have more than 10 after drawing, discard until you have 10. If your deck runs out, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck. Turn End Any ability that takes effect at the end of the turn happens now. Then, the turn passes to the player on your left. End of Game and Scoring: Who is the Master of the Multiverse? The game ends when, at the end of any turn, a player reaches 15 or more victory points (VP). At that moment, the player with the highest total VP wins. Tie-breaker: If there is a tie in total VPs, continue playing new turns until one player has more points than the others. There is no shared victory in Smash Up! Tips for Winning: Strategies for Chaos! To do well in Smash Up and dominate the world, here are some tips: Know Your Factions: Each faction has a unique playstyle. The Aliens love to annoy opponents, the Dinosaurs are pure brute force with lasers, the Ninjas are sneaky and fast, and the Wizards conjure actions in abundance. Understanding the synergies between your two factions is crucial for building powerful combos. Control the Bases: Keep an eye on the base breakpoints and the VPs they offer. Sometimes, it's better to secure second place on a high-scoring base than to risk everything for first and end up with nothing. Use your Special abilities to manipulate power on bases at the last moment! Manage Your Hand and Discard: Drawing cards and discarding down to 10 at the end of the turn is vital. Some factions, like the Zombies, even benefit from cards in the discard pile! Keep an eye on your opponents' discard piles too; they can reveal valuable information about their strategies. ## FAQ ### How many players can participate in Smash Up? Smash Up is ideal for 2 to 4 players, working very well at all player counts, but interaction and chaos increase with more people at the table. ### What is the average game duration? A game of Smash Up usually lasts between 45 to 60 minutes, making it perfect for a quick gaming session or to fit between other activities. ### Is Smash Up a complex game for beginners? No! With a BGG weight of 2.06/5, Smash Up is considered a low-medium complexity game. The rules are easy to learn, but the faction combinations offer enough depth to maintain interest. ### What are the main components of the game? The game is packed with cards! There are faction decks, Base cards, and some tokens for scoring. All of excellent quality with fun illustrations that reinforce the theme. ### Who is Smash Up recommended for? It's perfect for those who enjoy card games with lots of interaction, humor, and the possibility of creating crazy combos. If you like mixing improbable themes and watching chaos unfold on the table, you'll love it! ### Are there expansions for Smash Up? Yes, and many! Smash Up is known for having a vast array of expansions that add new factions and mechanics, further increasing replayability and combination possibilities. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 13.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=489169&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.64 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1435022&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 16.25 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=2228781&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 19.37 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=151807&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 20.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=5044784&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 21.24 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3923947&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 26.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=5973171&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 27.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4887199&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 27.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=164555&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 29.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6186805&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/653/smash-up?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com