I love a good app game on my phone. Over the last few years there have ben some real classics that have gotten a lot of play in my free moments. Board games and app games tend to go hand-in-hand, but usually in sending a good board game into digital form. But what does it look like the other way around? Today we take a look at one such example and see if it lives up to the app.
Jetpack Joyride is published by Lucky Duck Games and designed by Michal Gotebiowski with graphic design by Katarzyna Kosobucka and Mateusz Komada. It plays 1-4 players in 30 mins.
Overview and Gameplay
Similar to the app based video game, players will try to fly through their lab collecting as many points as possible in 3 rounds. Each player starts with 4 Lab cards and a pile of all of the track tiles in the middle of the playing area. Gadget cards and Mission cards are set in a pile face-down as well.
To begin, 3 Missions are revealed to help decide the goals in the form of Mission for the round. Players have the option to try and fulfill any number of them for points. Each round is played in 3 phases: Run, Score, Cleanup.
Run
When all players are ready, the youngest player yells “Run!” and players grab lab track pieces one at a time to place into their lab. The first tile must be placed with one square outside of the start spot of your lab and each subsequent one must be lined up to touch at least one side of the previous one.
The Run phase ends when a player officially plays a piece that crosses the far right side of the lab or all players have declared that they have passed.
Score
The Score phase begins at the conclusion of the Run and each player’s score are calculated. This is where the majority of the points are going to be accumulated for players. Factors in scoring include:
-Players get 1 point for each coin they collected by placing a Track tile over it.
-Players get points equal to the number of stars on the missions they completed.
-Players may get points from any gadgets that the have.
-Players lose 3 points for each tile that breaks any of the placement rules.
After scoring is complete you will reveal Gadget cards and each player starting with the lowest scoring from that round will get to pick a Gadget. These will give you powers or extra points for the next two rounds so pick wisely!
Cleanup
During the Cleanup phase all players will discard all their track tiles played this round, discard the Mission cards and draw three new ones and pass their Lab cards to the left. This gives everyone a new Lab to work through for the next round. This will continue for three rounds and then the winner is whoever has the most points!
Impressions
Jetpack Joyride takes all the aspects of the popular app based game and brings them to the gaming table. I love the use of the polyominos in a speed-based time game that gives all the players at the table a chance to play together. Apps are fun, but this is a group game and I love that. From an entry position it allows people familiar with the app to jump into a board game, and I love that. The game does a great job of staying true to the IP and giving you an experience that feels like the app.
Although speed is a fun factor in this game it is a possible deterrent for younger players. Some of our games are played with kids, or newer gamers and if there is one person flying down the Lab it can be disheartening for them. I would recommend when you introduce this to others to temper down your speed and give players a chance to get a feel for the game.
I really like the Gadgets, they add some fun to the game and give you some variable player powers that add good replayability to the game. There are so many that come right out of the game, so that aspect of familiarity comes out again for newer players being introduced to the game.
Verdict
Jetpack Joyride lives up to everything I wanted to see in this ported video game to board game edition. It is smooth, fun and most of all a great representation of the original. The tiles are such a cool aspect and unlike anything else I have with placing polyominos in a speed aspect. I would really recommend this to young and old players alike, especially if you are looking for a way to introduce someone to gaming through an outside avenue. So go out and grab this great title from Lucky Duck Games and puzzle your way through the Lab!
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