Enrico Nardini, Play Unplugged
Wiggity Bang is at it again! For those unfamiliar with their previous offerings, Wiggity Bang is the creative force behind games like QUAO, Magic Feather, and FURT. These titles definitely place them on the lighter side of gaming fare, but their games are entertaining and enjoyable, and great for a family game night.
Wiggity Bang’s latest offering is a “Scrabble-esque” word game titled: ALPHA BANDITS. This preview covers a demonstration copy of the game. It’s final contents and rules may change between now and the games publication.
ALPHA BANDITS
Contents
ALPHA BANDITS comes in a square black box with a magnetized flap. I like this design for its simplicity and reusability. Inside the box you will find a collection of Letter and Bandit Tiles, a Loot Bag (which holds the tiles), four Masks (to disguise your letters from the play area and other players), an instruction book, and a pencil.
The tiles included in this preview clearly differ from the final production tiles shown on the ALPHA BANDITS Kickstarter page. They are fine for what they are, but the tiles you will be getting if the game makes it to production are a clear upgrade. This makes me reluctant to pass judgement on the ones I was provided with. The book is a small, stapled pamphlet, that you can breeze through in a few minutes at start playing. The masks are printed on a thicker card-stock type of material and feature rules reminders and explanations of the Bandit Tiles.
Game Play
ALPHA BANDITS is a word building game. Players begin the game by reaching into the Loot Bag and grabbing seven tiles at random. Players then play any number of tiles by forming them into words of three or more letters. At the end of the round each player totals their score. Players then pull new tiles (up to seven) and play another round. Play is simultaneous, and the round ends when everyone stops playing letter tiles. The demonstration copy of the game and the Kickstarter instructions vary slightly in terms of ending the game. The booklet I received states that play ends when a player scores 100 or more points. The Kickstarter video states that play ends after completing four rounds. In both cases, the player with the highest score is the winner.
There are some unique mechanics that elevate ALPHA BANDITS beyond simple word building. One of those aspects is how the game is scored. You score a point for each letter in any word with a minimum of three letters. That seems simple and straight forward, but there are additional elements which add to the complexity and tactics. All letter tiles are double-sided, with letters in one of two colors on each side. If you can build a word in all of one color, it is worth double the points. You can also double your points by playing the tiles in an alternating color pattern.
Tons of tiles!
Once you play a tile, it stays in your play area on the side you played it. You cannot flip them, but you can rearrange them each round so that you can score even more points. Words with less than three letters or combinations of letters that aren’t words score you negative points. Why would you ever play them then? You wouldn’t, but thanks to the Bandit Tiles, you might not have a choice.
Bandit Tiles put the “bandit” in ALPHA BANDITS. These tiles feature special rules that allow you to manipulate the play field to your advantage. When played, these tiles can allow you to take, flip, swap, or remove other players’ tiles. Properly played, these will not only allow you to disadvantage others, causing them to score negative points, but also advantage yourself by improving the words in your play area. One of the more interesting tiles is the End Round tile. Normally a round lasts until everyone finishes playing their letters, but by playing the End Round tile, the round ends instantly. When combined with speedy word play or a properly timed supporting Bandit Tile, you can really mess with your opponents.
Conclusion
ALPHA BANDITS is an enjoyable new take on a time-tested idea. Though the word-building gameplay is hardly unique (in fact this is ground many games have tread in the past), it does enough new things to make play enjoyable. There is enough nuance here to keep you guessing and engaged. It also helps that the gameplay is quite fast, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome. This is definitely a title with a specific audience – this is a fun game to break out on a family game night, with the casual gaming crowd, or word game enthusiasts. If that sounds like you, you can check out ALPHA BANDITS on Kickstarter.
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