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In 1942, four soldiers vanished from the training program of the newly formed First Ranger Battalion, their names stricken from the roster. Chosen for their unique skills, they would fight in secret against terrifying supernatural enemies and overwhelming odds. This is their story.
Fireteam Zero is a cooperative game for up to four players who must cut a path through an endless swarm of deadly monsters in order to discover and defeat the ultimate evil behind them. Each player possesses a set of brutal combat skills that are represented by a deck of cards unique to that character. Play cards to devastate the creatures in your way, help your teammates survive the onslaught, or even reshape the tactical landscape with the proper application of explosive ordinance. The battle is fought across three maps of increasing difficulty, each one bringing more and tougher enemies than the last. Players must search for and complete mission objectives in order to progress and bring them one step closer to the final showdown.
Aiding them are two NPC Specialists, one with an uncanny ability to sense the location and nature of the supernatural energy in the area and another with an encyclopedic knowledge of the arcane. Use the Specialists wisely or risk failure no matter how many monsters you defeat.
Race against time as the creatures on the board become stronger and more cunning. The longer you take to complete your objectives, the more Monster Twist cards are revealed, each granting a new and terrible aspect to your enemy. In each set of missions you will face a different family of horrifying creatures, each with their own special abilities and twist cards.
Players must not only fight for their lives, but at the same time they must make smart tactical choices with their teammates in order to make the best use of a limited resource, the cards in their hands. Each card not only represents an action that they can take, but also their health. Spending too many cards can leave you vulnerable, while spending too few can result in being overwhelmed. Clever players will rely on each other to succeed.
Fireteam Zero is a story-rich board game of squad tactics and horror. Each map can be played separately in about 45 minutes or together to complete an entire Operation in about three hours.
Expansions:
1) The Africa Cycle:
Go head to head against the Thornspawn in this expansion!
New Miniatures! Receive the Thornspawn, an entire new monster family. Comes with 8 Scavengers, 3 Wooden Men, and Prime who is a massive 60mm tall boss figure.
New Mechanic! Add Gear to your hero as you progress. Gear can be easily added to the core set and all other expansions as well.
New Locations and Adventures! You'll encounter:
An all new, 3 Act Operation: Sticks and Bones. Plus, these standalone missions:
Lost and Found
Clockwork
Between the Bones of the Earth
And you'll face these challenges using 4 new double-side map tiles, giving you 8 new map sectors with all new terrain to explore!
2) The Europe Cycle:
Face the Bloodless in the Old Country!
New Miniatures! Receive the Bloodless, another entirely new monster family! Comes with 8 Spore Children, 3 Saprophyte Soldiers, and Black Tooth, a towering boss figure over 60mm tall!
New Mechanic! Enhance your Specialists with all new powers! Each specialist now receives their own deck, unleashing fantastic new abilities. The Specialist decks have been designed to work seamlessly with the core set and all other expansions!
New Locations and Adventures! An all new 3 Act Operation: The Dead of Winter. Plus, these standalone missions:
Artifact Vault Bravo
The Hunt
Sacrifice of Honor
Conquer your enemies on 4 new double-side map tiles, giving you 8 new map sectors with all new terrain!
- Tight game feel
- Epic boss fights
- Unique card mechanic (cards as health)
- Can feel like a neverending horde
- Losing the game if two players go down
- Cutting a path through deadly monsters to defeat an ultimate evil
- Alternative World War II
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Monster spawning — Monsters continually spawn each round, creating a horde-like feel.
- Multi-Use Cards — Cards can be used for player actions or to support teammates. These cards also represent the players' health.
- Objective Focus — Players need to focus on objectives rather than getting distracted by enemies, as they respawn.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I find that when I play games solo, I really enjoy having a reason to come back to them over and over again. And those campaigns are one of the best ways to get me to come back and play a game.
- Almost every single concern I had with the original Sleeping Gods was fixed in Distant Skies.
- As of this recording, I've yet to find a game that provides a better sandbox adventure.
- I just love how this game makes you feel clever as you find ways to defeat multiple threats in one turn.
- Although the game may look cute, the puzzles in the scenarios are no joke.
- Each scenario takes less than 20 minutes, so it's easy to get to the table as a solo player.
- Arkham Horror, the card game, is by far the best narrative driven campaign on this list.
- So many scenarios, I chuckle to myself on how clever a mechanic they used or a thematic tying that worked so well.
- With the revised boxes coming out now, it is easier than ever to pick this one up and give it a try.
- All of a sudden, Awaken Realms designed Dragon Eclipse, and now my dreams have come true.
- I cannot get enough of the puzzly and tactical combat, which is the backbone of this game.
- When you have the embers of a forsaken star expansion for Zia Legends of a drift system, this game becomes an epitome of a campaign sandbox game.
- The joy of leveling up your ship, running away from the scoundrel and racing the merchant for fame never gets old in a universe that's always changing in an unexpected ways.
- With the theme Lord of the Rings, the first thing that comes to mind is working together to defeat a common goal. That is exactly what Lord of the Rings the card game is about.
- I will never tire with finding synergies between different heroes or different cards and continuously appreciating the scenario design and how it challenges the players.
References (from this video)
- The game is being rebooted by SBG Editions with new content.
- New content will be 100% compatible with old content.
- Features a cool alternate universe World War II theme.
- Multi-use cards add strategic depth.
- Tons of monster families can be used in scenarios.
- The original company provided thematic MP3 files for mission briefings.
- The new cover art is 'cool'.
- The rebooting company is passionate and active with fans.
- The game offers excellent tension.
- The original game was very hard, requiring multiple players to beat the first mission.
- Expansions add special gear and radical new decks for characters.
- The original company went out of business, making the game out of print and expensive.
- There were balance issues in the original game.
- Uncertainty if upgrade packs will be available for first edition owners.
- The new cover art is somewhat disturbing (faces from chest, scorpion tail).
- Elite soldiers fighting creatures
- Alternate universe World War II
- Thematic readings of mission briefings
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Character progression — Monsters get more powerful and gain abilities as the game progresses.
- cooperative play — The game is pure co-op.
- Modular Board — Players deal with different maps and scenarios.
- Multi-Use Cards — Cards are cut in half diagonally, with one half for offense and the other for support.
- scenario-based gameplay — Players complete one-off missions that loosely connect into a mild campaign.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Um, this one for the price of the game and for what you get like all those monuments and stuff that you get or the you know the the wonders.
- They're like painted. They're all like chunky wood stuff. you know, it's a they're that's just retail relief and it's super nice.
- This game is just so good. I really this theme that I just absolutely love.
- That Cuphead style, what is a rubber hose animation?
- So it completely changes the way that you're that you fight them versus all the other ones.
- The components are outstanding for this game.
- This one was one of those that I saw the cover, I nabbed it, and it's was such a a surprise for me, you know, like uh it's it's because it uses that brand.
- Technically, you are not fighting the boss, but you're fighting things on the boss and the boss is fighting back for you.
- I this one I just absolutely love it.
- Every single boss is completely unique in in their their systems and mechanisms.
- If you played Shadow of the Colossus, uh, then you're going to love I I feel like it's just a shoe.
- Plays super well solo.
- Phenomenal cooperative game.
- It has so much content. There's so many uh spirits for this game that are all 100% unique.
References (from this video)
- Loved the theme
- Engaging multi-use card mechanics
- Community-focused development by the new publisher
- Original publisher no longer around
- Complaint about the number of bosses in the original game.
- A group of soldiers fighting against hell literally coming up.
- Alternate universe World War II
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Crafting — Enemies defeated become cards that can be used.
- Multi-Use Cards — Cards can be played on another player's turn to help them, with cards also representing health and the deck representing life.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It turns into one big puzzle because there's just a line of enemies that you have to defeat.
- So much stuff.
- And Vantage is just a masterpiece. It's so [ __ ] cool.
- Just the scenario ingenuity of these games is so cool because of different stuff just popping up and happening.
- Um this one [clears throat] is a a super and and this is the reason this is the sole reason why this game beat out Elder Scrolls when we were doing that comparison.
- It's just a masterful achievement.
References (from this video)
- cooperative play with strong thematic tone
- unique, demon-infused WWII setting
- varied mission design and narrative moments
- rules can be complex
- learning curve due to AI and campaign systems
- demonic warfare and human defense against otherworldly horrors
- World War II with demons; hellish enemies akin to doom lore
- campaign-driven, story-rich missions with a dramatic arc
- Cthulhu Wars
- Dead of Winter
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- AI-driven enemies — enemies are controlled by an AI system populating the board.
- campaign/missions — multi-mission structure with varied objectives and story moments.
- fully cooperative play — players work together against AI-driven threats.
- thematic variation — demons and hellish elements provide a fresh, distinct theme.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you are going to be astounded and a little bit afraid of the enormous miniatures
- there is a fantastic game underneath you see in Cthulhu Wars
- this game takes a symmetry beyond anything that I have ever seen in a area control game of its kind
- the main social thrust of the game everyone is a little bit suspicious of one another because you are having to make selfish decisions even if you're a good guy in order to try and fill your own secret objective
- the game is packed full of Awesome emerging gameplay
- this is a fully cooperative game that means that enemies are controlled through an AI system
- demons from world war ii is not a new concept but it is not something that's really present in board games
- highly recommend this Halloween you check out Fireteam Zero