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Battle of the Bands
Third
World Games
Rating: 0 1 2 3.75
4 5
It's your night. You've been preparing for this for months - even years! The long nights, the short days, the blood and the sweat and the tears. It all comes down to this.
The lights go down. Someone yells from the darkness "You're on - get out there!" The butterflies in your stomach are turning cartwheels with razorblade shoes on. Bile reaches up from the depths as you make your way forward to the stage.
There's no turning back - not that you'd really want to anyhow. Confidence starts to rise with every step. You grab your kazoo and strut your way to center stage. With Bethany on guitar, your good friend Pez on keys and your mom (a.k.a. "The Party Animal") on drums, you're set to blow this crowd away.
It's a packed house - you can see at least 20 people tonight, not including the bar staff. This night's even more special, however; In the crowd is a representative from Trashbin Records!
As you strike your best Roger Daltry pose, you prepare to put your kazoo where your mouth is. Three bands are here tonight, but only one will win the contract. It's just gotta be you!
Three chords and a butt-load of ambition - it's time to rock!
Does this sound like the lifestyle for you? Ok, it may seem like a lot of work to some of you, so instead of learning an instrument, forming a band (and possibly a small handful of bad habits) and trying to write the next big hit, you could just settle on buying Battle of the Bands from Smif Ink & Third World Games. It's much cheaper, too.
Battle of the bands started with a little black & white card game with squared corners - a real grassroots effort. It was pretty cheap, and people dug it and supported it. Now, it's here in all of it's full-color glory, and it will rock you.
You, played by none other than you, form a band. You and your band play gigs and try for that all-elusive recording contract. You can score points for gigs - score points for band members, and the best part - score points for hit songs. Will it be the one all of the kids are digging this week? Will it replace "Who let the dogs out" at the local sports arena? If so, it's worth points in your "star pool" and the first person to get to a certain value (depending on the # of players) wins the game.
Battle of the Bands is a card game (non-collectible for you haters of CCG's/TCG's). $20 will get you everything that you need to play, except 6-sided dice - you should have plenty of those lying around...
There are 8 different card types in Battle of the Bands: Band Members (including 4 "me" cards) that represent talented musicians that will join a band or play with a band as a "special guest;" Music Biz cards that represent the perils of the music business, as well as some contracts that will shoot your band to superstardom; Monkey Wrench cards that you use on your band or on an opponent's band that will enhance your point value during gigs or decrease an opponent's (or not allow them to show up at all - "How did we get 4 flats on the van, dude?"); 9 gig cards (worth the star points that you need to win the game); 5 Signed Gigs that if you win them, you also get a recording contract!; Hit Single cards that represent the tunes that your fans are digging; Reputation cards that can either enhance your band's rep, or destroy it, and finally; Instrument cards! C'mon - what else are you going to do while you are up on stage?
Grab a kazoo and jam!
During the trials and tribulations in your band, you will see members come and go. People will steal your band instruments. People will steal your music. But one thing that they cannot steal is your ambition.
So, you start with you (represented by a card) and you have a certain talent. Percussion? Techno? The card will list a
instrument-type, and if you can get your hands on one of those cards and play it on you, then it's worth a bonus.
During the process of the game, you want to build your band. You are limited to the number of band-mates, so choose carefully. According to Smif-Ink, you cannot fire band members, so keep that in mind as you form your band (or use "firing" as a house rule, like we did).
You can also equip these "talented" individuals with instruments, and some of them have a preference of what style of gear they like to jam on. You don't have to give them that specific type, but it is worth "Hip" points used to win gigs.
While you are jamming along, or still building your band, gigs will come along. Some are worth "Star Points" and you need those to win the game. Once a gig is announced, you and your band (as well as all opponents' bands) go into action. The gigs themselves tell you what kind of gig it is, and where it's at. That is all just flavor text for the game, but adds to the fun. (You HAVE to read the cards while you play - they are as entertaining as the game!)
This is where Monkey Wrench cards come into play. While everyone is heading to the gig, preparing for the gig, and performing at the gig things can happen. Have you seen Spinal Tap? That's a GREAT primer for playing Battle of the Bands, but is not necessary. Strings can break, tires on vans can go flat, it happens to be in your opponent's bands' home town (a bonus for them!) - you get the idea. The cards are exactly as they sound - they can throw a monkey wrench into your plans (or your opponent's if you get some of the nice bonus ones).
After the smoke clears, you count up the number of Hip Points that you have from you, your band members, hit songs, and monkey wrench cards played on you. The "hippest" of the bands is declared the winner, and you receive the Gig card to show how many Star Points you have. Gigs can be taken from you, however, so don't bank on those Star Points until the game is over. (Dude, the OTHER band ruled, not those guys!)
In the meantime, while you are forming your band and playing gigs, you and your band mates may get a reputation. It may be worth Hip Points (that dude/dudette is a sex machine!) or may take Hip Points away (that dude/dudette is diseased!). These options are actually on the same card, you just turn the card upside-down if you want to play the negative result on an opponent. These cards are not just put on the band members - it takes time to build a reputation! You have to roll a die to see if the rep sticks. Got it?
Also, while you are out gigging and working on those reputations, you may stumble across a hit song! Hits are not only worth Star Points, but also add Hip Points to your gigs!
Contracts are needed to play hit songs, however. Someone has to bribe DJ's to play your songs over and over and over again until the public is brainwashed into thinking it is a hit (I am using this in reference to Boy Bands, not real bands, by the way). That's what the nice people at your record label do! You can still play gigs if you don't have a contract, and as I mentioned earlier some of these gigs have contracts attached!
The card art is basic, but works well for the game. The cards are feel a little thin, or they aren't coated well, or something. Everyone commented on that, but it really didn't matter. I just wanted to point that out for all intents and purposes of a complete review.
Battle of the Bands sells for $20.00, but most non-collectible card games out there that don't come from Rio Grande games are around this price nowadays. Is it worth it? I would say so, but I also have an affinity for music and the music business. But take note that there were people that I played with that didn't share my passion for music that loved the game none the less. C'mon - in how many games out there can you have your mom in your band, and have her earn a reputation as a Party Animal or a Bad Ass? None that I am aware
of.
Be warned, though. If you are anything like
me, you will fine PLENTY of room for expansion materials with this game.
(Can you say "Boy Band?")
So, do you have what it takes to be a Rock Star?
Written by Gene Vogel
(Posted 05-16-2002)