If you have a Marvel fan living in your home, Marvel Remix is probably one of the best bang for your buck games on the market. Based on the award-winning card game Fantasy Realms, this card game has players curating their hand of 7 cards during the course of the game. Collecting heroes, allies, equipment, locations and other cards to create synergies is satisfying in this 20 minute game.
Heroes vs Villians
Up to 6 players get a hand of 7 cards at the start of the game. Your hand is made up of 6 Remix cards and 1 Villain card. Gameplay is as simple as picking up a card and discarding a card. It’s that easy.
You can you draw this new card from the Remix deck, Villian deck or pick up a card that someone else discarded faceup in the center of the table. Marvel Remix is all about pruning and shaping your hand of cards to be more valuable than your opponents. Most cards have a power value in the top left corner and abilities that add or modify the cards power.
Tags are the symbols that adorn the right side of each card and paying close attention to these tags is a must. Often, cards will give you a boost of power if you collect a specific number of these tags in your hand.
Players must finish the game with at least 1 Villian and 1 Hero OR Ally. Villain cards commonly work against the other cards in your hand in a number of ways. Villian cards can have a negative power value, require specific tags or even “blank” other cards in your hand. This “blank” term means that the target card no longer has a value, tags or special text.
Marvel Remix is all about striking a balance and finding the right cards to maximize your final score.
Running Out of Time
Each game of Marvel Remix ends when a total of 10 cards are discarded to the center of the table. Players delay the end of the game when they draw their card from the faceup display on their turn. Once you feel like you have the best hand you can have, drawing Remix cards to intentionally speed up the end of the game is a great strategy.
In games with 2 to 4 players, the game has a great pace but the end can creep up while you’re looking for the last card you need. In a 6 player game, the end can shows up so suddenly that it’s tough to accomplish anything significant. At the higher player count, Marvel Remix relies too much on luck in the initial set of 7 cards you receive.
A Universe of Possibilities
Marvel Remix works so well with the comic book source material. Locations are places where fights take place, while equipment card synergize with the heroes and allies that use them. The artwork on the cards are fantastic and many of the card combos make sense when you know the characters.
Every game of Marvel Remix is different because of the cards that are available during the game. During any given game, you’ll see less than 25% of the cards in the deck. After your first couple games, you start to recognize which combinations to look for in a game.
While the game only takes 3 or 4 minutes to teach, there’s a learning curve to making card combinations. Since a single game only lasts 15 to 20 minutes, it’s common to have a new player ask to play again.
In the past, I’ve suggested Marvel Remix as an excellent gift for kids and teens. With a price point of under $20, great superhero artwork and endless card combinations, this little box packs a big punch. Wizkids has a fantastic property with Marvel Remix and I’ve heard that an expansion is in the works.
You can purchase Marvel Remix through the Wizkids webstore or online through Amazon today.
Highs
- Marvel theme works really well
- Speedy gameplay means back-to-back games
- Small box and table presence
- No two games are the same
Lows
- At higher player counts, the game ends too quickly
- New players may need assistance calculating their points
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
