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Game Info
Year
2023
Players
2-4
Age
12+
Playtime
60 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
Stranger Things: Upside Down is a board game based on the Stranger Things television series.
Hawkins, Indiana seems like an average town. However, underneath the exterior lurks a secret. The Hawkins National Laboratory has been doing experiments that have unleashed the horrors of the Upside Down. It's up to the kids in the town to save it.
In Stranger Things: Upside Down, players take on the role of the kids of Hawkins who are trying to stop the operatives of the Hawkins National Laboratory and the evils from the Upside Down. Players must work together to clear stacks of tokens before time runs out. The game offers two seasons of play.
Stranger Things: Upside Down is a cooperative game in which 2 to 4 players take on the role of the series’ protagonists. At the start of the game, players choose a Character and 1 of the 2 Seasons to play,each with its own board, actions, and unique sets of cards. Characters use Action cards to move through iconic Hawkins Locations, get Items, control their Fear, and to beat the value of token stacks in order to gather Allies, escape a secret government agency,help Eleven and be aided by her Powers, and fight the horrors coming from the Upside Down. They perform their actions over a series of turns until they reach their ultimate goal: to stop the Upside Down
forces and rescue Will... or get terrified trying.
Actions are performed by the Characters during their turn, according to the Location they’re in, abilities (in Mike’s case), or the presence of Foes. There are 2 types of Actions:
UNCONTESTED: Characters resolve the action without any obstacles.
CONTESTED: Characters must beat the value of stacks in order to resolve the action. Otherwise, the action cannot be resolved and the Character gains Fear
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video GJxO3mwow5c
watch it played Rules Teach at 0:13 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 64197 · mention_pk 157668
Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Rescuing Will in a Stranger Things-inspired world
- Upside Down version of Hawkins, a dark mirror of our world
- Cooperative, scenario-driven with story beats and character abilities
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Ally recruitment — Succeed to recruit allies; allies provide ongoing benefits and are drawn from an Allied deck.
- Contested vs uncontested actions — Uncontested actions always succeed; contested actions may fail and involve token stacks.
- Fear track and terrified space — Using roads can gain fear; reaching the terrified space ends the game.
- Fight actions — Fight manages foe tokens; success moves foe; failure yields fear.
- Help Eleven — Make an action against a telekinetic ability; resolve its effect and remove stacks.
- Investigate the Lab — Choose one of three stacks to perform the action against; success yields benefits across labs.
- Movement and action points — On your turn you have a move value determined by your character, boosted by playing action cards; unspent points are lost.
- Rescue Will action — Commit cards to a token stack; succeed by matching/exceeding stack value to win by emptying Will slots.
- Reshuffling and 11 progression — When the action deck reshuffles, advance 11 on the track and redraw cards as needed.
- Scene cards and end-of-day resolution — Draw and resolve scene cards that affect the game and may reshuffle into a new deck; decide ties and consequences.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- two to four player Stranger Things upside down
- designed by Rob davio and published by Simon
- the game is played over a series of turns starting with the player who most recently rode a bike or someone you pick randomly
- on your turn you'll perform four steps in order starting with the move step
- you must play at least one card to perform an action
- you win the game as soon as all three rescue Will slots are empty
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IQ3zeRLgnt4
The Dungeon Dive Review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 61271 · mention_pk 153956
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Stunning board design and art that captures Hawkins and the Upside Down
- Beautiful multi-season boards with strong thematic integration
- Solid cooperative pacing that emulates drama and tension
- Good gateway potential and accessible for families
- High production values and components
Cons
- Moving as a single group is not streamlined; limited group movement options
- No item trading between characters limits synergy
- Only card-based threat knowledge; some randomness hidden behind cards
- Desire for more items/alliés and more variety between seasons
Thematic elements
- cooperative pursuit to stop supernatural forces, rescue Will Byers, and emphasize friendship
- Hawkins, Indiana, 1983 (Season 1) and 1984 (Season 2) with the Upside Down as a threat
- drama/television-inspired, season-based storytelling with tension and character teamwork
Comparison games
- Horrified
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- ally recruitment and items — characters recruit allies and acquire items to assist in actions and challenges
- Cooperative Game — players work together as a team to achieve the objective and withstand threats
- cooperative play — players work together as a team to achieve the objective and withstand threats
- investigation and lab mechanics — investigating the lab can ignore a number of scene cards, mitigating risk
- risk/tension pacing through hand management — five action cards per turn can be spent to move, overcome challenges, or trigger bonuses; hazard cards increase end-of-turn draws
- season-based boards — two boards (Season 1 and Season 2) with distinct layouts to reflect the different seasons
- threat / scene cards — scene cards drive misfortune and escalating danger; difficulty is tracked via token stacks
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Stranger Things Upside Down is a Cooperative game in which players take on the role of the protagonists of the series trying to stop terrifying Supernatural forces and save Will from the horrors of the upside down
- the art on the board is excellent
- this is a no-brainer this is a this is a fun game
- the board is one of the coolest looking boards I've ever seen
- it's a gateway game to introduce people into Hobby Games
- it does a really good job of emulating the ebb and flow and the building tension and release found in a well-executed drama series
- pulling, pushing and shoving trying to fight the game as you are trying to rescue Will
- there are a few little drawbacks you know this isn't going to be a game you play all the time
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video uJX9ak45cAg
Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 13:42 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11544 · mention_pk 33946
Click to watch at 13:42 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong IP flavor and theming
- family-friendly cooperative play with approachable rules
Cons
- heavily dependent on IP for appeal; mechanics may be familiar to co-op fans
- scalability to larger groups could be limited
Thematic elements
- cooperative exploration with fear mechanics
- Stranger Things universe, episodic adventures
- IP-driven, screen-to-table adaptation
Comparison games
- Betrayal at House on the Hill (Stranger Things variant)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — players coordinate with character-specific abilities to complete objectives
- fear track — progression of fear adds tension and alters available actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm already getting my wish of Terraforming Mars going into it.
- Stranger Things Upside Down is coming straight to retail in 2023.
- The global board game market size is growing and mainstream, and we're part of that wave.
- Happy Salmon is being given away as part of the festivities, which is a fun party game to kick off the holidays.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Bqd7G_d7_yU
The Dice Tower Top List at 17:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11216 · mention_pk 32994
Click to watch at 17:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- faithful IP feel
- multiple seasons with carried-over elements
- satisfying cooperative run
Cons
- can be complex for casual players
Thematic elements
- cooperative teamwork to save Will and collect evidence
- Stranger Things universe, Season 1–2 vibes
- season-driven, IP-forward adventure
Comparison games
- Arkham Horror LCG
- Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play with hand management — Players coordinate to pass skill tests and manage cards
- season-based decks — Different decks mirror season progression and character progression
- walkie-talkie communication — Communication mechanics emphasize teamwork and coordination
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- 13 games that we think you should check out for this Halloween season.
- This is one of the more immersive games I think we have on our list today.
- It's almost more of an activity than a game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video yqQtN_ZInLw
Dice Tower Top 10 List at 2:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6964 · mention_pk 80758
Click to watch at 2:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong IP integration and thematic feel
- Engaging for fans of the show
- Solid cooperative puzzle experience
Cons
- IP may feel dated for newer players
- Some players may prefer a more novel mechanism outside the license
Thematic elements
- investigation, mystery, and supernatural occurrences tied to Stranger Things IP
- Hawkins, Indiana; 1980s; episodic mystery solving across seasons 1–3.
- story-driven cooperative investigation with episodic progression
Comparison games
- Stranger Things board game mechanics (general IP-licensed co-ops)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative mystery solving — Players collaborate to solve Hawkins-wide mysteries and disappearances.
- role-based actions / character immersion — Players embody Hawkins kids with actions that drive investigation and discovery.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- My number 10 is Bomb Busters.
- It's a cooperative game where you are all bomb diffusing agents and you're trying to go in and work together to diffuse this bomb.
- You're going to be able to recognize the mechanisms from the pandemic system by the time you finish, but it feels thematic by then.
- This is a great one if you're a Christian and you enjoy Tableau Builders more than anything else.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5