Take the evolving monsters of Pokémon, cross them with the fast-paced chaos of the hit party game Exploding Kittens, and you end up with something that looks a lot like Freak War, a new TCG party game that aims to deliver the fun battles of collectible card games without the effort of learning a ton of rules or building a deck.
Freak War is the brainchild of Nate Galbraith, aka cartoonist Sketchnate, who was inspired after seeing kids trying to have Pokémon battles using Uno cards, before suggesting they play the classic card game War (which you may also know as Battle) instead. The result was a mash-up of all three, with Galbraith adding a collection of strange creatures to the cards.
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Unlike the head-to-head battles of Pokémon, Freak War can be played with up to four (or more) players, who can simply split the shuffled deck between them to play, though there is the option to build your own custom decks if you really want.
Everyone plays a creature at the same time, and the highest attack level wins the battle. Much like Exploding Kittens, different cards can also introduce various effects that change things up, including the power to evolve into larger creatures (a la Pokémon) and equipping modifiers to your own or your opponent's cards to increase or decrease their strength.
Whether players choose a card from their hand or simply flip over the top of their deck depends on which mode they are playing: the more chaotic War mode or the more strategic Battle mode. Both modes can be further modified by King of the Hill and team rules.
If two players tie in attack level, they both discard a card before facing off by playing another creature. The overall winner takes all the cards played and adds them to their win pile, which is shuffled back into the player's deck – the person who manages to claim all of their opponents' cards wins.
The weird and wonderful creatures on the cards have a bit of lore behind them, as they were created by the rise of a second sun that mutated familiar animals like rabbits, foxes, and fish into muscle-bound fish-men, a time-traveling tiger, a party-loving platypus, a dog with a fishbowl for a head, a sad bee, and a Catman who appears to be basically a guy in a cat suit, among others.
Meanwhile, modifier cards range from a Super Sword (and a Duper Super Sword) to the power to trade cards with an opponent, cancel a modifier, or flip coins for a chance at a power boost. Some of the creature effects get fun, too, as you'd expect from a party game, with the junk-loving Fly Guy gaining power if there's uneaten food near the players.
As someone who admits to being tired of a lot of board games that are either copy-and-paste or just plain unpleasant (I’m looking at you, doubly offensive Cards Against Humanity clone), I’m pretty delighted by Galbraith’s silly creations and dash of chaotic play in the form of the TCG. (The card design is pretty explicitly inspired by Pokémon cards.) Sure, it’s not going to be for everyone, but as something deliberately silly to fill five minutes with friends and family (especially younger players), it seems like solid, relaxed fun for $20 a deck. With a bunch of different packs filled with dozens more creatures, from muscle-bound penguins to adorable-looking snails, I’m also pretty intrigued to see Galbraith’s take on the silliness of modern Pokémon evolutions.
Freak War has already surpassed its modest $10,000 crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter, where its campaign runs until June 13. The game itself is expected to secure backers next June, just in time for a vacation.
