#Krosmaster arena 3d board full#

#Krosmaster arena 3d board full#

The presentation is excellent and the box is full of goodies to justify the somewhat hefty price-tag (it is worth pointing out, though, that the game components are light, so the box does not have as much 'heft' as we have come to expect from a box of this size). Marketability: While I have yet to meet anyone who is familiar with the online games that inspired Krosmaster Arena, I do not believe that is any obstacle for this delightful game. The custom dice are excellent molded quality with large, clear, and easy to read symbols. The figurines show excellent sculpting and detail, and are all pre-painted. The rulebook is lavishly illustrated, full-color and glossy throughout. The tokens and tiles are as good as any German-published game, all with nice artwork and easy-to-read icons.

The double-sided board is thick and sturdy. Quality: The quality of the components in the game are top-notch (aside from the crates mentioned above…). The piece de resistance, however, is the little plastic figurines, which are almost too cute to fight battles with. The 3D stand-up terrain helps make the board attractive and provides an intuitive system for determining line-of-sight and other game mechanics (though I did have some trouble keeping my crates from falling apart). The box artwork is colorful and energetic, capturing the chaotic feel of the game and setting. Everything in the game is lavishly illustrated in a cartoon style that is amusing, cute, and fun. Presentation: Japanime Games does a great job of picking beautiful projects, and this is no exception.

Add in a neat little 'timer' mechanic to keep the game from bogging down, and viola: you have a great new approach to the arena fighter genre. But, aggressive action is also rewarded, as it can be the quickest route to victory. Players are strongly discouraged from 'playing turtle,' since it is possible to win the game without ever attacking your opponent directly. But Krosmaster Arena can be forgiven that as it has put together a number of familiar mechanics in a creative way, and included some excellent ideas to prevent the most common problems that most arena games suffer from. Originality: Arena games are almost as old as arena fighting (well, okay, maybe not… but you get the idea). The Krosmasters can attack each other, or compete to collect the 'Kama' coins, which can be used to buy power-ups or take Gallons of Glory from your opponent. The terrain is cleverly represented by cardboard stand-ups, giving the game a 3D feel.

Which is pretty much what Arena is all about: You control a team of 'Krosmasters' who move around the arena, taking advantage of cover, and trying to eliminate the opposition by taking away all of their 'Gallons of Glory.' The Krosmasters are represented by adorable little plastic figurines with really big heads, and really tiny bodies. Before I played Arena, I had never heard of either online game and I have played neither one to date, so I cannot comment on what the games have in common, aside from a host of wacky little characters that apparently spend a lot of time beating on each other. Summary: Krosmaster Arena is at least loosely based on two online games: a MMORPG called Dofus, and a multi-player strategy game called Wakfu. For here I found a delightful little tactical board game that just happens to be based on a computer game. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down to try out Krosmaster Arena. It has been done well, but only on rare occasions. I am always hesitant when confronted by a board game that is based on a computer game.