Critical Mass: Patriot vs Iron Curtain cover
2018BGG rank #7,349

Critical Mass: Patriot vs Iron Curtain

by Kevin Chang · Arcane Wonders

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Players2
Time30m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age14+

About the game

What is Critical Mass: Patriot vs Iron Curtain?

Critical Mass is a fast-paced mech combat game. Players go head-to-head in this fighting-strategy game with deck-building aspects. Players choose their favorite mech to battle it out, with each mech offering a different loadout of cards to start the game and unique powers. Each turn, players play a card face-down. When both players have chosen a card, they reveal them. Cards resolve based on their speed if they haven't been interrupted. Weapons deal damage and interrupt the enemy, while defending avoids weapon hits. Upgrading offers you additional cards to add to your arsenal but is vulnerable to being interrupted. Lastly, recharge reloads spent cards. As cards are played, they go to their owner's cool-down pile, where they remain until they're reloaded. As players take damage, the armor on their mech is destroyed. When enough armor is destroyed, an armor core becomes vulnerable and can be destroyed to stun that mech for the next turn. The game ends when a mech's armor is completely destroyed down to the last core.

How it plays

Mechanics

Deck, Bag, and Pool BuildingHand ManagementRock-Paper-ScissorsSimultaneous Action SelectionVariable Player Powers

On the shelf

Categories

Card GameFightingScience Fiction

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in Critical Mass: Patriot vs Iron Curtain?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?