Console Wars Review - Exploding Kittens For Video Game Nerds

I love getting stuck into a deep board game with friends, but that doesn't mean that every board game night should require a lot from you. Console Wars is a new video game nerd-themed party game where each player is trying to build up their portfolio of popular video games, poach titles from others, and accumulate a massive fanbase. Every turn has a chance to swing the tides of play, making it a fun and engaging experience for all, whether it's your turn or not.

The aim of Console Wars is to end up having four completed Genre Sets on your table. Each genre is comprised of familiar, but legally distinct takes on some of your favorite video games. While you're seeking to build up your own video game empire, you're also working to steal games from others and poach their fanbases. It's a 3-5 player tongue-in-cheek game of tug of war from start to finish.

Setting Up Console Wars

Inside the Console Wars box, you'll see a set of instructions and a whole lot of cards. You'll end up with a larger main deck of cards that consists of game cards, action cards, and fanbase cards. Then you'll have an additional pile of Perk Cards (with blue backs) and Global Event Cards (with pink backs).

Simple enough, every player gets five of the standard cards, a perk card, and three Global Event Cards are shuffled into the deck. From there, the simple goal is for each player to play three cards a turn and be the first to create four complete genre sets.

Build Up Your Defense, While Attacking

The core of Console Wars is that you want to keep yourself protected while launching attacks at other players around the table.

While players are always trying to steal each other's game franchises, they do this by demanding fandom, the currency of the game, and if you don't have enough loose fans you'll need to pay in the game franchises that you have on your field.

Each turn, you will draw two cards while getting to play three. Looking around the board, you can see whether it's worth moving yourself towards the goal of completing a set, playing cards to your fanbase to stay protected, or playing action cards to try to steal your opponents' fanbase or games.

The Game Is Always Moving

Immediately, you'll find yourself having a fun time as each player around the table reveals fun parody cards of well-known franchises. It keeps players engaged during the early setup phases while players are getting the stakes set on the board.

Something I loved about the action cards was that a large number of them weren't just antagonistic to one player across the table, but antagonistic to all. Every player needed to be paying attention to see when they'd have to be prepared to block, or all lose cards to the active player.

The two aspects that make this game really successful is that the rules are pretty light, all printed on the cards, and that everyone can always be engaged. It's not a game where you'll have a chance to zone out, but because the topic is always light hearted the game is always fun.

Console Wars Review | Final Thoughts

I went into Console Wars unsure of what to expect, and in the best way possible, I got to experience what is 'Exploding Kittens for Video Game fans'. Console Wars does an incredible job at making the game easy and accessible to everyone, pays homage to the great video game franchises in a cheeky way, and is fun to play whether it's your turn or not.

Console Wars is a game that I'm looking forward to playing not just with my board game friends, but with casual entertainment friends, and more.

Console Wars was reviewed with a copy provided by the Developer over the course of 8 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.