Flip Ships (Renegade Game Studios)

It was a calm and peaceful day. All was quiet and well...until the mother ship came... That was the day our lives changed forever. Waves of alien ships poured out of this monstrous vessel. We didn't have a chance to prepare or recruit our best fighters, but we vowed to fight it off bravely. This is Flip Ships! Flip Ships is game for 1-4 players, ages 8+. It take about 30 minutes to play and retails for $40.

Setup
1. Assemble the six Battle Zone Tiles from 0 to 20.
2. Take the Pilot Cards and shuffle the 1s, 2s, and 3s into separate decks. For each player, deal one card from each deck, lining them up to the right of the Battle Zone Tiles.
3. Each player then chooses color and takes the Ships (discs) of that color on the appropriate cards in a single column. Each player then takes two of their Level 1 Ships and places them on the table, just above their Level 3 ships, which is where they will stay until you are ready to attack with them.
4. Place the Docking Bay near the Pilot Cards.
5. Shuffle the Enemy Cards together and deal cards into a deck based on the number of players and difficulty level you desire. You will then deal Enemy Cards face-up to form two rows of Enemy Ships next to the Moon spaces furthest from the edge of the table.
6. Assemble the Mother Ship and place it above the middle Enemy Card in the back row.
7. Place the City Health Marker on Space 20 and the Mothership Health Marker on a space depending on number of players and difficulty.

Game Play - Each round is broken into four phases:
1. Flip Ships - Place a Ship so it is slightly hanging off the end of the table. Strike it upward with a finger. Leave it where it lands and do not reset any Enemy Cards that are disturbed.
2. Resolve Attacks - Discard Enemy Cards that were destroyed. Remove ships that landed in the Mother Ship or did not successfully attack Enemy Cards. (Note: If Mother Ship is hit, lower the health meter.)
3. The Enemy Marches - Straighten up any Enemy Cards that were knocked out of alignment. Then, move Enemy Cards forward a number of spaces based on what their card tells you to do. If any move past the last moon row, you lose health.
4. Cleanup - Move all Ships from Docking Bay to space above their Pilot Cards. Refill the back two rows with Enemy Cards. Rotate starting player clockwise.

The game will end in defeat when your city takes 20 damage or victory when you have defeated the Mother Ship and all Enemy Cards.

Review
Earlier this week, I reviewed Flatline (also by Kane Klenko), and I thought it would be appropriate to review another one of his this week. I would like to start by saying that it seems to me that Mr. Klenko designs games that I am horribly bad at. First, it was real-time games, now it is dexterity games. That observation aside, I did find the game to be enjoyable and difficult (for me). Those of you with a shred of coordination would probably excel at this game. However, I think I lost every game I played, much to the chagrin of my fellow pilots.

As I'm sure has been said a million times, this game reminds me of the old Atari game Space Invaders, which I also wasn't great at. The artwork in this game was the best part of the game for me. The colors and illustration style are amazingly vibrant and pop off the table, inviting you to play. As for the components, they are a mixed bag for me. With dexterity games, I like more wood than cardboard in the box, like Flick 'em Up! I'd even take plastic, like the cheaper version of Flick 'em Up! However, I understand the cost associated with wood and plastic and that by using cardboard, you can make this game more accessible to the masses.

For my final opinion, I think this would be a good game for kids and families. It has broad appeal, adjustable difficulty, and a good price point. Is it my favorite dexterity game? No, but I do see the appeal and merit of it.

This game was provided to me for free by Renegade Game Studios in exchange for an honest review.