Anyone have a Capes and Cowls to lend me or sell?

The owner of the game is looking to get the game republished. I have heard of the game on various forums including this one. Avery - I think you mentioned this game a few times.

Do you think it is worth pursuing?

If so, does anyone have a copy for me to try out (and of course I'll return). Or one to sell me (at a reasonable cost)?

Thanks!

This is kind of bizarre to me; surely the owner of the game has a copy you can borrow?

ZMan wrote: If so, does anyone have a copy for me to try out (and of course I'll return).

Be very skeptical of this commentary! LMAO!!!

Zev, 176 people are "wanting" this on BGG, which is a hell of a demand when you consider games like Mage Knight, that are stunningly popular, are only 3x as in demand using that metric.

I played this game at GenCon 2010 or 2009. It was really rather fun, although the production quality was pretty bad from a "technical" standpoint. I just don't like standies.

It really looked like a "Superhero Pop Up Book" skirmish game. The colors they used and the look really gave it a "comics come to life" feel, which would've been great if the guy who I played it with had some Heroclix miniatures or something to spruce it up.

All in all, better than average, and far better than average for a superhero game.

That's all I've got for you, Z-man!

Thanks, Superfly. Well, let me ask you this: if it was your money would you back this horse?

Dragonstout: he has one personal copy left and it is on loan to one publisher and there is another waiting for it when that returns. So I'm trying to find a copy on my own.

I liked the game. It is a straight up slugfest with some cool powers and a lot of dice rolling. He could have done a lot more with terrain ( many powers relate to a three colored checkerboard...ie you can do this when on red..or whatever color) also missions and objectives. It would be cool to make the board 3D and make it rooftops street level an sewer. Maybey put in some objective tiles...oh wait. I just reinvented heroscape.

Bottom line. I think publishable but I'd add more.
I think Richard may have scans. He of course made his own Marvel version after selling off the game.

Steve"battery man"Avery

PM sent.

I gave mine to Henning, as he is a supers fan. Tried to order another, and.....

It is good, but relatively abstract. The game is an 8x8 grid which makes it looks curiously chessboard-like. Each space has a color and number, which key into various powers and drive the strength of attacks and defenses. It plays like a very thinky Heroclix with every hero being unique (and there are 40) and matches being fast.

It really needs a component design overhaul. The colors and spaces are absolutely crucial information to know, but you have these pawns standing on top of them. If you have cars and buildings for terrain, they are just counters on top of the main board. But I think you still need to know the number and color underneath.

I don't own a copy, but I just wanted to say that if this came back in print it would be something I'd certainly take a look at it. I've always wanted to buy this game.

Right now I don't own any super hero style game and I've always had my eye on this one. For some reason the art reminded me of Irrational Games "Freedom Force". Also, I tend to get a kick out of super hero games that aren't based on popular comicbook super heroes.

There is also a thread over on TOS about this. Apparently, the boys over at Stronghold Games are trying to get their hands on this game as well.....I just hope that someone can come along and reprint it.

The description of a chess-like board scares me: sounds too abstract. But I have a lead on a copy.

It is slightly abstracted, but I think it still works and the abstracted powers tend to have a logic behind them for the different characters that doesn't take you completely out of the game. The big selling point of the game for me is the honest enthusiasm for the 60's/70's super hero genre (it pulls it off as well as Freedom Force), so if it wasn't a super hero game I'd have sold it off

I don't know how much pent up demand for it there is beyond a couple dozen BGGers who bid up the copies that show up on eBay (wild assumptions on my part) but the Sentinels of the Multiverse expansion pulled in 100K on kickstarter so it looks like there are enough folks who wouldn't care that it's not Wolverine vs. Sabretooth.

I always heard it was like the ultimate supers game but then I would hit BGG and it looks crazy abstract, which seems to be consistent with those of you who've actually played it.

Gary Sax wrote: I always heard it was like the ultimate supers game but then I would hit BGG and it looks crazy abstract, which seems to be consistent with those of you who've actually played it.

Once you actually get to playing, it is ALMOST chess-like. But there are dice which affect various powers and effects. The core of movement and combat is, however, diceless. You add the number on your space to your attack, and subtract the defense+space of the opponent. Ranged attacks automatically hit if they are on a ranged or diagonal.

What makes it work is the TON of powers. Each hero has perhaps 3 powers, and I believe that each power is unique. That's 120 different powers over the 40 heroes. That makes each game play VERY differently, and you are constantly discovering new tactical situations. That's the part that makes it feel very unlike chess.

The game also ends up being pretty dynamic. You end up having to move around to find a better space to use a power. This is a big difference over Heroscape and Heroclix which get into relatively static I-roll-you-roll dicefests. (This is why I'm fond of Battle Beyond Space. Movement is forced, and there isn't sitting in one place.)

So yeah, I adore the game, but the numbers on the board problem needs a good component solution.

But doesn't the idea of each super having multiple different powers take away from the supers genre where each superhero usually has one power (with multiple applications of that power)?

It almost seems to want to be a magic game rather than a supers game with the multiple powers thing.

ZMan wrote: Thanks, Superfly. Well, let me ask you this: if it was your money would you back this horse?

If I were in your shoes, I'd absolutely Kickstart it and let the suckers of the hivemind pay for my gamble. No bullshit, that's exactly how I'd do it.

But, to the "intent" of the question, there would have to be some considerations: As published originally, no. The art would have to be reworked, and miniatures would be a must if I were to print it. I mean, really, having PVC 3D terrain such as this...

...would be a hell of a stretch goal and would really make the game more attractive. You could blow mold it too, but PVC is becoming such a cheap replacement for resin (and requires no primer for painting) that it would be the best of both worlds, I'd think.

So, in a word, YES, I would run with it, but as a 2nd Edition product with some changes. I've played it all of one time, so perhaps it's premature, but I think that the market is begging for a good superhero themed game. Sentinels of the Multiverse, the new Marvel card game, the Avengers, Iron Man 3....the timing for superhero-related games is perfect. It's just got to meet expectations. If the owner of the rights is getting paid on a % of sales, if you Kickstart it, he's making more money as margins are higher, so he's happy, and if you put a 500$ advance on it, the most you're out is some time, maybe 1000$ (500$ for promotion/adverts/video and 500$ advance) which would be a win-win.

There's my 2 cents, brother. Go with God!

Thanks for your comments. I wouldn't kickstart it or rather Z-Man wouldn't kickstart it. We'd put in our own chips. And yeah, we would do a component upgrade. So really it comes down to making sure the game play making it a worthwhile product.