I'm so geeked! My Kickstarter Pledge for CMON and Spin Master Games MARVEL UNITED finally arrived! MARVEL UNITED is a hybrid combination of a card game and a board game which involves deck building and moving miniature figures around a designated play area. Players cooperatively work together roleplaying as comic book-inspired heroes attempting to prevent a dastardly villain from completing a despicable master plan.
The core box for this fantastic tabletop game actually arrived at major retailers like Target and Walmart in 2020. It took awhile longer for me to get my hands on MARVEL UNITED though because in addition to the main game I also received an exclusive expansion of additional playable characters and villains to encounter that was provided as a bonus reward to those who supported the Kickstarter campaign. I also purchased an exclusive add-on playmat that was exclusively available through Kickstarter from CMON and Spin Master Games.
I'm really glad about purchasing the playmat because it really adds a nice visual element to playing the game. It also re-enforces the game rules and flow of play which is nice for family game nights when some extra structure can help keep my tween-aged tweens focused on the activity. The MARVEL UNITED playmat has a nicely stitched base and a neoprene skid free bottom providing a sturdy surface for a game that involves tossing cards and moving figures around. We've been playing the game a lot so this playmat really has been great to have.
Secondly, I also received an expansion box full of complimentary add-ons that were provided as fundraising stretch goals during the Kickstarter campaign. For those not familiar with Kickstarter, stretch goals are fundraising targets that if are met provides a reward to people financing the project. In this case, when the campaign met certain funding marks a new hero or villain was added to the game that is not available at retailers like Target and Walmart but exclusively provided to Kickstarter backers at no extra charge.
While the core box of the game has an Avengers focus containing a team that includes seven of Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Ant Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man and the Wasp) and three villains (Red Skull, Ultron and Task Master), the MARVEL UNITED exclusive Kickstarter expansion pack adds an additional 33 heroes and 11 villains. This opens up numerous gameplay options with heroes from the entire Marvel universe of comics, television shows and movies.
Along with a miniature, each of the characters included in the expansion pack include a deck of cards compatible with the MARVEL UNITED core game. Bring together Netflix's Defenders (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist) to tackle the King Pin's master plan. Create a supernatural team of heroes with Doctor Strange, Blade, Moon Knight and Ghost Rider to take on the demonic Dormammu. Show some girl power with Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, She-Hulk and the Scarlet Witch battling Hela. Or you could have Black Cat, Falcon, Howard the Duck and Squirrel Girl go head to head with Rhino in a wild duel. So much expanded playability with MARVEL UNITED with this exclusive Kickstarter expansion.
For those of you who may be interested in this expansion but missed the initial Kickstarter campaign last year for MARVEL UNITED there is some hope to get your hands on this fantastic expansion to the core game. CMON and Spin Master Games are hosting a sequel MARVEL UNITED Kickstarter campaign with an X-Men theme in mid-April 2021. They've announced that the expansion pack from the first Kickstarter campaign will be available to purchase as an add-on with the X-Men one. While you can't get it as free bonus content like I did, this still is a much affordable way to get these extra heroes and villains compared to through eBay scalpers. Plus there is sure to be a new expansion pack of stretch goal rewards with an X-men theme to go along with that sequel box set.
The expanded game play options with these extra heroes and villains has made playing an already entertaining game in MARVEL UNITED extra fun. I've really appreciated the attention to detail put into the characters and the chibi art style incorporated into the game. Though the game play is really fast-paced and fun have to say though the bland plastic coloring of the miniatures does become blah. I'm really going to have to get some hobby supplies and dip into painting miniatures for the first time to enhance this game just a bit.
The only dissatisfaction I have with the Marvel United Exclusive Kickstarter Expansion was that they didn't include extra battle locations for the game board within the stretch goal expansion pack or as a buyable add-on. The core box locations have an Avengers focus with sites such as Tony Starks' lab, a S.H.I.E.L.D. helocarrier, plus the Avengers' tower and mansion. It would have been nice to play with some more distinct locals tied to the newly included characters such as Sanctum Sanctorum, Hell's Kitchen, Wall Street and Ryker's Island. So that is my one gripe otherwise I've been very impressed by MARVEL UNITED.
An engaging super hero themed tabletop game that is exciting yet not too complicated to play, MARVEL UNITED gets a Geek Daddy nod of approval. Involving both strategic thinking and the luck of the draw this hybrid cooperative card game provides a dice free evening of gaming fun. Straight forward rules and the need for teamwork make MARVEL UNITED a great selection for a family game night. I've been having as much fun playing it as my twelve year old twins providing some quality family time and demonstrating this game can be appealing to both kids and adults. Highly recommend picking it up from Target or Walmart of joining in the MARVEL UNITED: X-MEN campaign coming to Kickstarter.
