Restart

Restart Deep Dive

What the Community Thinks About Restart

Restart is a time-travel engine builder from Teetotum Game Studios, and nearly all coverage of it so far comes from prototype copies shown ahead of its crowdfunding campaign. The early reaction is intrigued rather than settled. Board Stupid played a demo taught by a member of the Teetotum team and came away calling the core idea mind bending, unique and brilliant, while admitting the game has a lot of mechanics to follow. Board Gaming Ramblings praise its variability and its remarkable player board but warn that players with a strong aversion to luck may find it too luck driven. Kevin Delp of Tantrum House lists it among his most anticipated games of 2025 after playing a prototype, and the Dice Tower crowdfunding panel calls it intriguing while hoping the rulebook is up to the job. The common thread: an ambitious design with a striking production, whose final verdict will depend on how the finished game handles its complexity and its luck.

Core Mechanics That Define Restart

Pattern Building on a Shared Timeline

Board Gaming Ramblings describe pattern building as the core system of the game. Each turn a player moves an adult figure around the shared board, which cannot share a space with that player's own child figure, since meeting a younger self would break time. Cards from hand are then placed onto spaces on the board. A placed card offers its action, but its color also matters, because players are trying to line up colors that match the chain pattern cards on their player boards and then pay time to score them. Board Stupid add that the board is divided into past, present and future, so cards placed there alter events across the timeline. Because every player places cards on the same board, a carefully prepared pattern can be spoiled or completed by someone else. Board Gaming Ramblings note that void tokens act as a wild color and give some control back, and that the harder patterns, like the one that needs a specific color in a specific spot, may be difficult to finish at higher player counts.

Engine Building on the Player Board

The second half of Restart lives on each player's own board, which the Good Time Society hosts note represents the time traveler's mind. Board Stupid explain that cards can either be played to the board or kept for power in the player's own mind. Board Gaming Ramblings describe studying cards on the player board to change the bonuses gained from time fragments, which leads to income, extra actions, more card plays, more movement, and the ability to play cards where the child figure stands. Cards can also be buried, tucked away purely for end game points, and pills can temporarily supply a fragment that has not yet been earned. Kevin Delp sums up the structure as two big parts: what happens on the personal player board and the pattern building out on the main board.

The Restart Experience

A Game With a Lot Going On

Restart is a big game. Kevin Delp lists it at one to four players and two to three hours, noting that more players will push the time longer. Board Stupid describe the demo as a lot to follow, and the Dice Tower panel say that if the rulebook did not look like a 40 pager they would probably be down to try it. BoardGameCo, opening a sponsored playthrough, sum it up as three ages with a lot going on. Kevin Delp singles out the law passing part of the game as the confusing part, while adding that once players get hold of it, it becomes really interesting.

Luck You Can Lean Into

Depending on the module, Restart can feel quite different. Board Gaming Ramblings played two of them. One was luck based, with dice that felt like a Yahtzee kind of thing, while the other was more about moving things around and felt to them like playing some kind of weird solitaire. They are open about disliking luck in heavier games, but found enough mitigation that it did not bother them much. Even so, layers of luck remain, from the cards on display to whether the color a player needs ever arrives. At two players they felt a sense of agency; at four, they suspect it may feel too chaotic, because the board can change a great deal before a player's next turn.

What Makes Restart Stand Out

A Remarkable Player Board

Channel after channel comes back to the player board. Board Gaming Ramblings call it one of the coolest player boards they have ever seen and possibly the coolest card holder integrated into a game. It folds together with a magnet, lets pattern cards be swapped so they stay hidden from neighbors, has space to tuck cards underneath, and takes a switchable insert for each module. Kevin Delp compares it to a player screen, and the Good Time Society hosts react to its pop-up, 3D look, saying they have never seen anything quite like it. Board Gaming Ramblings add that the rest of the production is very good too, even at the prototype stage.

Modules That Change the Game

Board Gaming Ramblings count four main modules, plus smaller ones that can be mixed into any of them, and note that the rulebook includes a table showing how long, how luck based and how complex each one is. Each module brings its own board or components and its own way of scoring. Board Stupid describe scenarios about finding a cure to a pandemic, a political struggle and an environmental catastrophe. The Dice Tower panel point out that the Pandemia module is the recommended starting point and single out Ocean Rise as an intriguing theme. Board Gaming Ramblings add that the end of one game can be evaluated to decide which module to play next, and that there is a kind of campaign mode.

Potential Drawbacks

Complexity and Rules Load

The same ambition that excites reviewers is also the main warning sign. Board Stupid found the demo a lot to keep track of. Kevin Delp calls the law passing system a little confusing at first. The Dice Tower panel are hopeful for a good rulebook, recalling Age of Rome, which they believe came from the same company, as incredibly well produced but a little clunky. The Dice Tower panel also question the theme: the columns of cards representing time periods felt abstract to them, and they were not feeling the time travel from the campaign video alone.

Luck That Not Everyone Will Enjoy

Board Gaming Ramblings are clear that Restart has several layers of luck. Mitigation exists, through void tokens and the choice of module, but they caution that players with a strong aversion to luck may find this too lucky, and that it suits players who enjoy things changing up. They also suspect that four players will add more chaos to the shared board.

If You Enjoy Restart

The Dice Tower panel set Restart against Anachrony, saying Anachrony may have pulled off time travel best, so players drawn to Restart's theme should look there. Board Gaming Ramblings liken the dice module to Yahtzee, which will appeal to players who enjoy rolling for the right result.