Treat the game for what it is. For some groups it will be a warm up game, for others a filler game and for others a game you could play 4-5 times and keep wanting more. It’s so easy to teach and a ton of fun.
I don't know how you managed to break one, mine have stood up to repeated plays. I find it a fun and simple family game and enjoy it solo too. You can budget buy this game. I waited for the Avengers base box and X-Men box to be on offer and picked them up then bought the Season 1 Kickstarter box from eBay for a reasonable price and have more than enough to play with. Will probably pick up the multiverse box and equipment when it's available in retail.
He came in the box "weak" already - didn't much effort for him to break in my fingers. Rule #1 of making models - Don't Make Models Stand On Spindly Bits for Support!!
Quick note for US viewers - we get that you have a bonkers economy right now which prices games at $15 at Walmart or the like. Unfortunately in the UK, prices are a little wee bit different. Your base set of this + 2 expansions to get the game modes that CMON should have put in the base box to begin with, will cost a UK citzen £105 or around $120. That is not good value. And chopping up game modes that were in the base game, but got shoved into paid DLC is not acceptable for ANY game good or bad.
@@Static442 If so, then again I only get about above average (6/10) entertainment out of it. Turn decisions are easy, and bosses can be pure swings of good/bad luck. Again not bad, but not £75+ worthy for me. Many have said to me "play with X set because of Y mode" - I'd be curious to check them out, but not at my personal expense for each separate box.
I kicked myself that I didn’t kickstart this. Bought the base game then spent even more buying up the heroes and villains on eBay. My youngest loves black panther so that was also found. Backed the xmen kickstarter and now have an insane amount of characters to play. Love the simplicity of it and variety of characters I have now. Did spend more than I wanted. Probably, but that shipping and tax which I think has started to put a damper on Kickstarter for me now.
Got this for $25 at Walmart, then went all in on the second Kickstarter and currently backed at the Herald pledge for Multiverse because they put my favourite hero Frank Castle as Cosmic Ghost Rider in that base set. The game is light, fun and it’s the perfect family game to play with my kids. For that it’s worth every penny. Extra bonus is my wife and I started painting with it during the last two dark years and it’s become a regular date night event so that’s awesome.
Expansions and KS content really expand the gameplay, with lots of option to raise or lower difficulty with challenges, and now in the new Season with equipment and team powers.
Honestly, my main takeaway from this review is that you really haven't tried anything but the core box. The core box is meant to be the most basic of basic. Taking out the wild cards from hero decks was one step to not only making the game more challenging and making the coop/strategy more important, but also made the heroes feel quite unique and specialized, which is amazing with only 3 different action types. The expansions, especially once we start getting into the X-Men season, really open the game up. Again, it's amazing how much diversity you can get with a master plan deck and three action symbols; I was skeptical and didn't back the first season, but my experience with the content beyond the base game really sold me on the game system. Overall, there's a reason it's so high up on pretty much everyone on the Dice Tower's rankings, including Zee's #1 coop game of all-time.
I will also add, I think the value comes from two things: the fact that it is so light, and the fact that there's so many miniatures. For the first, it means that playing all of the content is actually feasible. Tom at the Dice Tower has played through everything. I haven't yet, but I know I will. The fact that it's plug and play and I play a game in 20-30 minutes brings a really low barrier when it comes to replaying. As for the second, if you're into painting/collecting, this will keep you entertained for hours OUTSIDE of the game. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the chibi style, but I have to admit that the minis in this game are fantastic. Even if I never played the game again, I'd probably end up buying the expansions just to paint and display the minis.
The painting aspect has no bearing on me as I will never paint the minis. And painting is a separate hobby entirely from the board game experience. I get that it's really light but it also means there's only so much game present, which is semi enjoyable but not amazing levels. And if it's forcing me to spend hundreds of pounds just to get a decent experience, that's not value or great business practice. If I had cardboard stands with great art, I'd have a much cheaper game that would make buying further sets more desirable..... And less chance of one breaking his legs 😏
@@TheBrokenMeeple I will agree to disagree. The base game is like $10-20 at most, which is super high value for what you get. Assuming that you only play through every hero once (which would mean playing every villain only twice each, with one villain 3 times), you get 7 plays, roughly 30-45 minutes each. If we assume the lower end, we're talking less than $5/hour for solely your entertainment. Then from there, if you decide to expand to anything else, you're exponentially increasing the replayability. Different heroes interact differently with each villain. Every hero I get in addition to the base game is like +3 plays of new content, and each villain added is +7, and the numbers only continuously increase as more content is available. You're not forced to spend hundreds to get a "decent experience", but if you enjoy the experience every expansion purchased will only further increase both the variety and overall experience. Plus, since the content is so modular and quick to play, none of the content feels out of reach. If someone just really doesn't like the game, I get it, but honestly this is by far my most expensive board game purchase, yet I guarantee it'll be one of my best valued purchases; I know that I will play through everything and will be playing it for probably decades. The value is only increased for me because I love collecting and painting through them. While I'm admittedly not particularly fond of the art style (I'd prefer more realism, less chibi), the minis in the game are phenomenal. I can fully agree that a cardboard standee option would be decent for people who have no interest in collecting or painting minis, but I also understand that would probably be a logistics nightmare. Cheers.
You are aware that I'm from the UK right? We don't have these crazy prices the US has with their economy. A basic set for us is £35 or $40-45 which is considerably worse in terms of value.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Fair enough, I think that's excessive for the base game. I honestly doubt I would've gotten into the game at that price point; however, knowing what I know now with having played some expansion content I'd probably still be willing to pay it just to have the characters. Really at that point, though, one would be better off just backing it on Kickstarter, even if just for a base pledge, and get the loads of variety provided by the stretch goals.
I had played it on TTS, backed by the double all in with Xmen then as the I had the core sets from you retail I couldn't find a enough interest in my game groups so sold it when it delivered. I agree with your assement. I enjoy the game but it should be a retail thing like unmatched not some sprawling KS - and I say this as a fan of several large CMON products.
This game shines with more hero’s modes and expansions. Even just getting the X-men base set makes the game better. I agree the base set is ok, but this game with more options is amazing. We love it!
Just a few though is £100-£150 in our neck of the woods though just to get the odd game mode addition. More heroes is nice, but it's not like the fundamentals of the game change.
That core box is not great. Heroes are a bit boring..get the xmen one..much better. You don't need tons of expansions just a few to get more variability.
Just a few though is £100-£150 in our neck of the woods though just to get the odd game mode addition. More heroes is nice, but it's not like the fundamentals of the game change.
Having toddler twins my wife and Kathy love the game when we are wanting that co op feeling but don't have the brain power to think much like in for marvel champions which I also have.
sure, for 35 it is quite expensive. but keep checking amazon. sometimes they lower it to $10. and for $25 you can get a bundle of avengers base game + spiderverse + dr strange. just wait.
@@TheBrokenMeeple im in asia. and here the prices for boardgame are even way worse. hehehe... but i got the x-men core base from amazon(us) on a discount that sweetened the deal a bit.
Jealous of the US people picking games up for such low prices. Here in Europe just the core set is 40 dollars, and any discounts are usually 35 with a rare sale at 30
You probably got a lot of hate for this one. I don’t disagree with you on many points. Especially the value for money is not there I think. The money indeed went to the minis and card board standees would have been better or, if you want a bit more bling, acrylic. I saw it late last year in Target while on a business trip to the US and did think about buying it because it was on sale. Decided in the end that I have enough games I only play three or four times and which then end up unplayed in my kallax.
I wonder if this would be simple enough for an 8 year old? My niece is currently obsessed with Spider-man. And Amazon has this plus Enter the Spider-verse bundle for $38 on Amazon.
For me it’s a game for people who enjoy marvel and miniatures with a lightweight game wrapped around it. Zero criticism for those who enjoy that but I need more meat on the bone gameplay wise.
@@TheBrokenMeeple 100% agree. The actual value for this game decreases significantly with added content. Most games suffer from this problem (LCGs, TTR, etc) but not to the same degree. Still, I think those who invest in a small subset of the content there is fun to be had.
Shame you got the original. I hated the original. The X-Men one is harder and I feel more intelligent. The first one was too simple and felt like a "kids game"
How does it suddenly feel more intelligent when it's plug symbols and see what the villain does? It may be harder, but that just sounds like it's either more swingy or more punishing on the cards.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I played the X-Men one 3 times so can't be too sure they are all like this but every villain turn magneto always would add a civilian opposite to him. He wins when all civilians are removed from the board. And overfilled locations turns civilians into thugs in adjacent zones. So there was strategy in trying to keep civilians on the board while making sure locations didn't overfill next to civilians. Still just matching symbols. But realising the strategy was a nice Ah ha moment and you felt smart playing around the villain rules. Didn't get those feelings in marvel united cause the villains were too random and straightforward
@@TheBrokenMeeple its mostly the same but the villains are a little more complex and the heroes have more special cards. The big improvement is a super villain mode where one can play as the villain (there are some extra cards for both the villain and the heroes in this mode)
@@TheBrokenMeeple xmen adds a ton more variety with bad guys and lets you play as some bad guys. A few extra rules and good guys have more specials. It’s subtle changes but xmen is much better.
Granted I'm not crazy about Marvel at all, but I can't really ever see myself buying any of this - far too simple to be interesting to me personally. Nice review Luke!
I think he's specifically referring to the Kickstarters, which many reviewers have claimed are pretty essential (raising their scores of the game by 2 points at least!)
Not just that, but remember we're in the UK, we don't have these crazy deals like the US does where I swear shops are putting themselves out of business with crazy discounts. In the UK, the cheapest you will find a base set of Marvel United is £35 so what's that $40-45?
Even for families, kickstarter all in is way too much in my opinion. I went basic and even after couple of months we didn't passed third villain in it. I also don't see my boys playing it at 15 or later.
Liked your review for this one. Nothing new here. Pandemic style bad thing good thing flow to game play. Random bad thing comes out. You play 2 of 3 possible symbols. Hopefully you do more good things than the villain does bad. Super basic game that is shouted about as much as it is because of Marvel minis. But take away the minis and what's left on the table leaves such little decision space. Not much to get out of this game if you enjoy coop games at a medium weight or higher. Great for mini painting, kids and those that like very simple/low ruleset games
The mini's are certainly a factor - I bet money that if it was just SPin Master games and CMON had no involvement so there wasn't minis - this game wouldn't ever have been talked about.
I play games like spirit island with all expansions which are pretty high in complexity but also have a ton of fun playing marvel united. Depends on mood, time available for set up etc. Not everyone wants to play complex games all the time. If you only have 1 or 2 friends who only like complex games this might not be for you. But I have a large group of friends who like a range of games from super complex to simple. This game is so easy to get to the table, almost no set up time and a ton of fun. I am yet to find anyone that dislikes the game and most people generally either like it or love it. Each to their own!
@@move3spaces246 agreed it's super easy to table and set up and works for a game group who likes lower complexity games. I used to own it for this very reason. For me it felt the same very quickly though. Each games difficulty was shaped by how hard the villain decided to RNG the game. So then we looked at the game without a marvel paint job and thought it was a fine game. Great value for £20 for the core game. Not worth any of the prices on Kickstarter.
I have every figure. None have every broken. This might be the most off balanced review. The goal of the game is as Eric Lang said, a LIFESTYLE game. So reviewing something on a core set would be as moronic as reviewing a Starter Deck of a TCG LOL. 500 + plays, all the minis painted, this game between full coop, team vs team semi coop, supervillain vs the heroes, super villain vs player vs player (using super villain mode + team vs team) and the hidden traitor challenge make this a game I have put in front of almost 100 people at game stores and not one has not asked to play more or again. I am about 50% on your reviews, I agree with but man this one is hard to chew through. My 6 and 7 year old understood this after a simple instruction. So this game can be taught to anyone with ease. Player aides would be absolutely a waste of time. Like I said, the equivalent here is reviewing a Magic the Gathering Starter Set 6/10 because to get the most you need to buy boosters. Silly. That was never the intention of the game from both Spinmaster and Eric Lang's mouths. So I guess sure, if we want to ignore the designer and publisher's original intentions, ok. When looking at the model correctly, compare getting a full marvel season to a complete set/rotation of Magic or Pokemon, in which the value is substantially more.
Sorry, but no I don't agree with Eric Lang's excuse. . . . one to add to a list of many, but I digress. What he calls a "lifestyle" game is his excuse (and CMON because this is what they do) for overcharging for a product that doesn't need to cost as much as it does. And a game with as little depth as this is hardly a lifestyle compared to other more intensive lifestyle games. There is no reason for it to be split into a million different sets. There's frankly no reason for this to even be miniatures, it could be cardboard standees with fantastic artwork. It would look frankly nicer, be cheaper for mass audiences etc. Glad your Iron Man wasn't as flimsy, but this one literally arrived already bendy as hell, it didn't take long for it to give up - but when designing models, Rule #1 is don't make them support themselves on anything too spindly. Every game is based upon its core set. If these "extras" that you say are so important and turn this game into a masterpiece, then put them with the base game and actually have the mechanics up front. Then you can make whatever expansions you like which just feature more heroes and villains. Same outcome, but people aren't forcing themselves to buy extra sets to get new modes of play. Especially when all these modes were already designed on the outset - don't ever believe anyone who claims that the expansions came later. CMON had all this prepared in advance - they just did what EA and a bunch of video game companies do - chop up their product into DLC and force the consumer to purchase them separately. But if the core fundamentals of a game aren't up to par, then adding more stuff isn't going to suddenly transform it. Magic The Gathering was a solid game from the get go, it didn't become a solid mechanical game after a few extra cards were added. LCG's like Arkham Horror, LOTR, Netrunner, Marvel Champions (a superior Marvel game) again gave us good mechanics in the core set to begin with. Marvel United gives us an OK set, but leaves out content that could SO EASILY have been included here - there isn't exactly £35 worth of stuff in the box. The problem is, because people are so forgiving of this practice, publishers like CMON will continue to butcher wallets using Eric Lang's name as a crutch - and a weak crutch at that as frankly most of his designs aren't that great.
@@TheBrokenMeeple If a game can be played for hundreds of hours (and has been easily at this point by me) then surely it is and can be a lifestyle game? An all in for this is way cheaper than any LCG and honestly this game blows Marvel champions out of the water.
So basically every board game is a lifestyle game, pretty sure you can play most games for hundreds of hours. That literally makes no sense. And most of those in my collection that meet that requirement didn't force me to buy multiple expansions to get the standard content. I get you both love it which is fine, but don't defend business practices like CMON and disregard any opposing view for the sake of it.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I don't like Eric Lang nor do I own any CMON game other than this one, so most of what you say in regards to CMON or Lang are in my experience, wildly incorrect. How is this overcharging? I have gotten more hours out of this game than any other in my collection. Isn't that the definition of value? There is a reason to split this into themed sets, and its the same way VS the card game and Marvel Legendary have done things. I could understand that argument if you wee some sort of kid new to board gaming but to be in review industry and not know that this is the exact same as legendary's model but all in 1 Kickstarter per set is..... I will say irresponsible at best? Why does it matter when the expansions come or are designed? Are you naïve enough to believe Magic Sets are not developed all at once per rotation (side note, they are), or are you ignorant enough to think Marvel Legendary didn't develop with Devin 4-6 sets ahead at any give time (they did). This is how games are developed. The difference between CMON and FFG for instance, rather than drip an expansion out per month like a shitty LCG, CMON just drops it all in one KS, which BTW, is better for the bottom line and the environment (as the freight shipping does more damage than any part of the industry and is all at once not monthly). Would you say all of Legendary's expansions are just chopped up DLC? Wait!? whay does magic release sets in rotation, according to your logic, they have it done, why not just release it all at once as a 600 dollar product?! What charlatans. I played Magic day 1... and Pokemon. No. Those starter decks were a JOKE and the game did not become fun for any normal player UNTIL boosters were bought... you know, the very thing that made those companies and games successful (ala CMONs model but less fair). This box was 30 bucks at walmart MSRP. There is more value in this set and game than Catan, which is 50-60 USD.... so the value is astronomical. And the minis are top notch.
Treat the game for what it is. For some groups it will be a warm up game, for others a filler game and for others a game you could play 4-5 times and keep wanting more. It’s so easy to teach and a ton of fun.
I don't know how you managed to break one, mine have stood up to repeated plays. I find it a fun and simple family game and enjoy it solo too. You can budget buy this game. I waited for the Avengers base box and X-Men box to be on offer and picked them up then bought the Season 1 Kickstarter box from eBay for a reasonable price and have more than enough to play with. Will probably pick up the multiverse box and equipment when it's available in retail.
He came in the box "weak" already - didn't much effort for him to break in my fingers. Rule #1 of making models - Don't Make Models Stand On Spindly Bits for Support!!
Quick note for US viewers - we get that you have a bonkers economy right now which prices games at $15 at Walmart or the like. Unfortunately in the UK, prices are a little wee bit different. Your base set of this + 2 expansions to get the game modes that CMON should have put in the base box to begin with, will cost a UK citzen £105 or around $120. That is not good value. And chopping up game modes that were in the base game, but got shoved into paid DLC is not acceptable for ANY game good or bad.
What game mode do you feel is missing? The core gameplay is the best game mode
@@Static442 If so, then again I only get about above average (6/10) entertainment out of it. Turn decisions are easy, and bosses can be pure swings of good/bad luck. Again not bad, but not £75+ worthy for me. Many have said to me "play with X set because of Y mode" - I'd be curious to check them out, but not at my personal expense for each separate box.
I kicked myself that I didn’t kickstart this. Bought the base game then spent even more buying up the heroes and villains on eBay. My youngest loves black panther so that was also found.
Backed the xmen kickstarter and now have an insane amount of characters to play.
Love the simplicity of it and variety of characters I have now. Did spend more than I wanted. Probably, but that shipping and tax which I think has started to put a damper on Kickstarter for me now.
Just a bit more money and you might be able to get all the game modes that were designed up front and then chopped up into DLC.
Got this for $25 at Walmart, then went all in on the second Kickstarter and currently backed at the Herald pledge for Multiverse because they put my favourite hero Frank Castle as Cosmic Ghost Rider in that base set.
The game is light, fun and it’s the perfect family game to play with my kids. For that it’s worth every penny. Extra bonus is my wife and I started painting with it during the last two dark years and it’s become a regular date night event so that’s awesome.
A nice setup indeed, shame the UK doesn't get the same awesome US prices.
Expansions and KS content really expand the gameplay, with lots of option to raise or lower difficulty with challenges, and now in the new Season with equipment and team powers.
Perhaps, but it's a costly venture to find out. And I already have to superglue an Iron Man as Spin Master won't replace it......
Honestly, my main takeaway from this review is that you really haven't tried anything but the core box. The core box is meant to be the most basic of basic. Taking out the wild cards from hero decks was one step to not only making the game more challenging and making the coop/strategy more important, but also made the heroes feel quite unique and specialized, which is amazing with only 3 different action types. The expansions, especially once we start getting into the X-Men season, really open the game up. Again, it's amazing how much diversity you can get with a master plan deck and three action symbols; I was skeptical and didn't back the first season, but my experience with the content beyond the base game really sold me on the game system.
Overall, there's a reason it's so high up on pretty much everyone on the Dice Tower's rankings, including Zee's #1 coop game of all-time.
I will also add, I think the value comes from two things: the fact that it is so light, and the fact that there's so many miniatures. For the first, it means that playing all of the content is actually feasible. Tom at the Dice Tower has played through everything. I haven't yet, but I know I will. The fact that it's plug and play and I play a game in 20-30 minutes brings a really low barrier when it comes to replaying. As for the second, if you're into painting/collecting, this will keep you entertained for hours OUTSIDE of the game. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the chibi style, but I have to admit that the minis in this game are fantastic. Even if I never played the game again, I'd probably end up buying the expansions just to paint and display the minis.
The painting aspect has no bearing on me as I will never paint the minis. And painting is a separate hobby entirely from the board game experience.
I get that it's really light but it also means there's only so much game present, which is semi enjoyable but not amazing levels. And if it's forcing me to spend hundreds of pounds just to get a decent experience, that's not value or great business practice. If I had cardboard stands with great art, I'd have a much cheaper game that would make buying further sets more desirable..... And less chance of one breaking his legs 😏
@@TheBrokenMeeple I will agree to disagree. The base game is like $10-20 at most, which is super high value for what you get. Assuming that you only play through every hero once (which would mean playing every villain only twice each, with one villain 3 times), you get 7 plays, roughly 30-45 minutes each. If we assume the lower end, we're talking less than $5/hour for solely your entertainment. Then from there, if you decide to expand to anything else, you're exponentially increasing the replayability. Different heroes interact differently with each villain. Every hero I get in addition to the base game is like +3 plays of new content, and each villain added is +7, and the numbers only continuously increase as more content is available. You're not forced to spend hundreds to get a "decent experience", but if you enjoy the experience every expansion purchased will only further increase both the variety and overall experience.
Plus, since the content is so modular and quick to play, none of the content feels out of reach. If someone just really doesn't like the game, I get it, but honestly this is by far my most expensive board game purchase, yet I guarantee it'll be one of my best valued purchases; I know that I will play through everything and will be playing it for probably decades. The value is only increased for me because I love collecting and painting through them.
While I'm admittedly not particularly fond of the art style (I'd prefer more realism, less chibi), the minis in the game are phenomenal. I can fully agree that a cardboard standee option would be decent for people who have no interest in collecting or painting minis, but I also understand that would probably be a logistics nightmare. Cheers.
You are aware that I'm from the UK right? We don't have these crazy prices the US has with their economy. A basic set for us is £35 or $40-45 which is considerably worse in terms of value.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Fair enough, I think that's excessive for the base game. I honestly doubt I would've gotten into the game at that price point; however, knowing what I know now with having played some expansion content I'd probably still be willing to pay it just to have the characters. Really at that point, though, one would be better off just backing it on Kickstarter, even if just for a base pledge, and get the loads of variety provided by the stretch goals.
I had played it on TTS, backed by the double all in with Xmen then as the I had the core sets from you retail I couldn't find a enough interest in my game groups so sold it when it delivered.
I agree with your assement. I enjoy the game but it should be a retail thing like unmatched not some sprawling KS - and I say this as a fan of several large CMON products.
CMON want money money money!!
I think I'm the opposite. I generally despise CMON, their products, and their tactics, but MU is the one exception for me.
This game shines with more hero’s modes and expansions. Even just getting the X-men base set makes the game better. I agree the base set is ok, but this game with more options is amazing. We love it!
Just a few though is £100-£150 in our neck of the woods though just to get the odd game mode addition. More heroes is nice, but it's not like the fundamentals of the game change.
@@TheBrokenMeeple For just the retail versions?
Each big set is 35, the smaller ones are 25
That core box is not great. Heroes are a bit boring..get the xmen one..much better. You don't need tons of expansions just a few to get more variability.
Just a few though is £100-£150 in our neck of the woods though just to get the odd game mode addition. More heroes is nice, but it's not like the fundamentals of the game change.
Having toddler twins my wife and Kathy love the game when we are wanting that co op feeling but don't have the brain power to think much like in for marvel champions which I also have.
My mates with kids would agree with you on this front! :D
sure, for 35 it is quite expensive. but keep checking amazon. sometimes they lower it to $10. and for $25 you can get a bundle of avengers base game + spiderverse + dr strange. just wait.
Remember Ian, we're in the UK, Amazon UK doesn't give us crazy deals like the US does. We're stuck with expensive.
I snagged the set Ian’s talking about around Christmas for $19. Still haven’t played it yet but that was so cheap I couldn’t pass it up.
I paid $12. I’ve seen it for $7-8
@@TheBrokenMeeple im in asia. and here the prices for boardgame are even way worse. hehehe... but i got the x-men core base from amazon(us) on a discount that sweetened the deal a bit.
Jealous of the US people picking games up for such low prices. Here in Europe just the core set is 40 dollars, and any discounts are usually 35 with a rare sale at 30
You probably got a lot of hate for this one. I don’t disagree with you on many points. Especially the value for money is not there I think. The money indeed went to the minis and card board standees would have been better or, if you want a bit more bling, acrylic. I saw it late last year in Target while on a business trip to the US and did think about buying it because it was on sale. Decided in the end that I have enough games I only play three or four times and which then end up unplayed in my kallax.
Oh trust me I got more hate for the Superclub review I had to pull down!
I invested 5k into this game and hope to play it soon.
5k??????
I wonder if this would be simple enough for an 8 year old? My niece is currently obsessed with Spider-man. And Amazon has this plus Enter the Spider-verse bundle for $38 on Amazon.
If your 8 year old loves Marvel and you know the rules well, then this is a great game for kids.
Yeah it should be easy enough.
For me it’s a game for people who enjoy marvel and miniatures with a lightweight game wrapped around it. Zero criticism for those who enjoy that but I need more meat on the bone gameplay wise.
It's not bad by any means but for example DT had two people put it at No 1 and I think that's because they didn't have to pay for all the content!
@@TheBrokenMeeple 100% agree. The actual value for this game decreases significantly with added content. Most games suffer from this problem (LCGs, TTR, etc) but not to the same degree. Still, I think those who invest in a small subset of the content there is fun to be had.
This review is value for “money”!
Glad to help!
Shame you got the original. I hated the original. The X-Men one is harder and I feel more intelligent. The first one was too simple and felt like a "kids game"
How does it suddenly feel more intelligent when it's plug symbols and see what the villain does? It may be harder, but that just sounds like it's either more swingy or more punishing on the cards.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I played the X-Men one 3 times so can't be too sure they are all like this but every villain turn magneto always would add a civilian opposite to him. He wins when all civilians are removed from the board. And overfilled locations turns civilians into thugs in adjacent zones.
So there was strategy in trying to keep civilians on the board while making sure locations didn't overfill next to civilians. Still just matching symbols. But realising the strategy was a nice Ah ha moment and you felt smart playing around the villain rules.
Didn't get those feelings in marvel united cause the villains were too random and straightforward
@@TheBrokenMeeple its mostly the same but the villains are a little more complex and the heroes have more special cards. The big improvement is a super villain mode where one can play as the villain (there are some extra cards for both the villain and the heroes in this mode)
@@TheBrokenMeeple xmen adds a ton more variety with bad guys and lets you play as some bad guys. A few extra rules and good guys have more specials. It’s subtle changes but xmen is much better.
Yeah ita a fine fun play didnt have staying power for me
Whats really missing right now is the option to buy separate villains. Each expansion comes with only 1 villain making them way to expensive.
Granted I'm not crazy about Marvel at all, but I can't really ever see myself buying any of this - far too simple to be interesting to me personally. Nice review Luke!
Understandable!!
7/10 for me. Good but not great.
It costs less than $20 on Amazon...sometimes it's even under $10
I think he's specifically referring to the Kickstarters, which many reviewers have claimed are pretty essential (raising their scores of the game by 2 points at least!)
Not just that, but remember we're in the UK, we don't have these crazy deals like the US does where I swear shops are putting themselves out of business with crazy discounts. In the UK, the cheapest you will find a base set of Marvel United is £35 so what's that $40-45?
I wish I had the Amazon US prices people talk about
You are free to buy from Amazon US, you're not banned even if you're British 😉
@@rb3152 lol you should see the prices we get on our Amazon US store
I got the base for less than $10. I would be unhappy if I paid more than $15 for the base set.
Even for families, kickstarter all in is way too much in my opinion. I went basic and even after couple of months we didn't passed third villain in it. I also don't see my boys playing it at 15 or later.
Agreed, the KS was a complete cash grab.
Liked your review for this one. Nothing new here. Pandemic style bad thing good thing flow to game play. Random bad thing comes out. You play 2 of 3 possible symbols. Hopefully you do more good things than the villain does bad. Super basic game that is shouted about as much as it is because of Marvel minis. But take away the minis and what's left on the table leaves such little decision space. Not much to get out of this game if you enjoy coop games at a medium weight or higher. Great for mini painting, kids and those that like very simple/low ruleset games
The mini's are certainly a factor - I bet money that if it was just SPin Master games and CMON had no involvement so there wasn't minis - this game wouldn't ever have been talked about.
I play games like spirit island with all expansions which are pretty high in complexity but also have a ton of fun playing marvel united. Depends on mood, time available for set up etc. Not everyone wants to play complex games all the time. If you only have 1 or 2 friends who only like complex games this might not be for you. But I have a large group of friends who like a range of games from super complex to simple. This game is so easy to get to the table, almost no set up time and a ton of fun. I am yet to find anyone that dislikes the game and most people generally either like it or love it. Each to their own!
@@move3spaces246 agreed it's super easy to table and set up and works for a game group who likes lower complexity games. I used to own it for this very reason. For me it felt the same very quickly though. Each games difficulty was shaped by how hard the villain decided to RNG the game. So then we looked at the game without a marvel paint job and thought it was a fine game. Great value for £20 for the core game. Not worth any of the prices on Kickstarter.
I have every figure. None have every broken. This might be the most off balanced review. The goal of the game is as Eric Lang said, a LIFESTYLE game. So reviewing something on a core set would be as moronic as reviewing a Starter Deck of a TCG LOL. 500 + plays, all the minis painted, this game between full coop, team vs team semi coop, supervillain vs the heroes, super villain vs player vs player (using super villain mode + team vs team) and the hidden traitor challenge make this a game I have put in front of almost 100 people at game stores and not one has not asked to play more or again. I am about 50% on your reviews, I agree with but man this one is hard to chew through.
My 6 and 7 year old understood this after a simple instruction. So this game can be taught to anyone with ease. Player aides would be absolutely a waste of time.
Like I said, the equivalent here is reviewing a Magic the Gathering Starter Set 6/10 because to get the most you need to buy boosters. Silly. That was never the intention of the game from both Spinmaster and Eric Lang's mouths. So I guess sure, if we want to ignore the designer and publisher's original intentions, ok. When looking at the model correctly, compare getting a full marvel season to a complete set/rotation of Magic or Pokemon, in which the value is substantially more.
Sorry, but no I don't agree with Eric Lang's excuse. . . . one to add to a list of many, but I digress.
What he calls a "lifestyle" game is his excuse (and CMON because this is what they do) for overcharging for a product that doesn't need to cost as much as it does. And a game with as little depth as this is hardly a lifestyle compared to other more intensive lifestyle games. There is no reason for it to be split into a million different sets. There's frankly no reason for this to even be miniatures, it could be cardboard standees with fantastic artwork. It would look frankly nicer, be cheaper for mass audiences etc. Glad your Iron Man wasn't as flimsy, but this one literally arrived already bendy as hell, it didn't take long for it to give up - but when designing models, Rule #1 is don't make them support themselves on anything too spindly.
Every game is based upon its core set. If these "extras" that you say are so important and turn this game into a masterpiece, then put them with the base game and actually have the mechanics up front. Then you can make whatever expansions you like which just feature more heroes and villains. Same outcome, but people aren't forcing themselves to buy extra sets to get new modes of play. Especially when all these modes were already designed on the outset - don't ever believe anyone who claims that the expansions came later. CMON had all this prepared in advance - they just did what EA and a bunch of video game companies do - chop up their product into DLC and force the consumer to purchase them separately. But if the core fundamentals of a game aren't up to par, then adding more stuff isn't going to suddenly transform it. Magic The Gathering was a solid game from the get go, it didn't become a solid mechanical game after a few extra cards were added. LCG's like Arkham Horror, LOTR, Netrunner, Marvel Champions (a superior Marvel game) again gave us good mechanics in the core set to begin with. Marvel United gives us an OK set, but leaves out content that could SO EASILY have been included here - there isn't exactly £35 worth of stuff in the box.
The problem is, because people are so forgiving of this practice, publishers like CMON will continue to butcher wallets using Eric Lang's name as a crutch - and a weak crutch at that as frankly most of his designs aren't that great.
@@TheBrokenMeeple If a game can be played for hundreds of hours (and has been easily at this point by me) then surely it is and can be a lifestyle game? An all in for this is way cheaper than any LCG and honestly this game blows Marvel champions out of the water.
@@Static442 exactly. This is the first and weakest straw man argument I have seen Luke use and it's not a great look. Weak all around.
So basically every board game is a lifestyle game, pretty sure you can play most games for hundreds of hours. That literally makes no sense. And most of those in my collection that meet that requirement didn't force me to buy multiple expansions to get the standard content.
I get you both love it which is fine, but don't defend business practices like CMON and disregard any opposing view for the sake of it.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I don't like Eric Lang nor do I own any CMON game other than this one, so most of what you say in regards to CMON or Lang are in my experience, wildly incorrect.
How is this overcharging? I have gotten more hours out of this game than any other in my collection. Isn't that the definition of value? There is a reason to split this into themed sets, and its the same way VS the card game and Marvel Legendary have done things. I could understand that argument if you wee some sort of kid new to board gaming but to be in review industry and not know that this is the exact same as legendary's model but all in 1 Kickstarter per set is..... I will say irresponsible at best?
Why does it matter when the expansions come or are designed? Are you naïve enough to believe Magic Sets are not developed all at once per rotation (side note, they are), or are you ignorant enough to think Marvel Legendary didn't develop with Devin 4-6 sets ahead at any give time (they did). This is how games are developed. The difference between CMON and FFG for instance, rather than drip an expansion out per month like a shitty LCG, CMON just drops it all in one KS, which BTW, is better for the bottom line and the environment (as the freight shipping does more damage than any part of the industry and is all at once not monthly).
Would you say all of Legendary's expansions are just chopped up DLC? Wait!? whay does magic release sets in rotation, according to your logic, they have it done, why not just release it all at once as a 600 dollar product?! What charlatans. I played Magic day 1... and Pokemon. No. Those starter decks were a JOKE and the game did not become fun for any normal player UNTIL boosters were bought... you know, the very thing that made those companies and games successful (ala CMONs model but less fair).
This box was 30 bucks at walmart MSRP. There is more value in this set and game than Catan, which is 50-60 USD.... so the value is astronomical. And the minis are top notch.
One of my biggest complaints about this game is the set-up time for what feels like a filler game is annoyingly long.
Yeah it's not the shortest thing ever and if you've got a ton of content, I'm sure it's a mission to get it out.
Thank you for saving me a lot of money skipping this game. Low quality and ugly miniatures are a no go. Sticking to C:DMD.
Comparing those two games is like comparing a bicycle to a Jaguar (the car)
Glad to help!
@@sAKecOkE I assume C:DMD is the muscle car in this analogy.
Interestingly enough, I play both, but I enjoy MU a lot more.