Technically you aren’t supposed to play Smash Up with more than four people, but if you have expansions you can make it work. We recently acquired the Pretty Pretty Smash Up expansion; we felt it had groups that members of our gaming group would like (Space Cat – Kittens, Chubby Unicorn – Mythic Horses, Shutter – Princesses, etc.). Unfortunately Space Cat’s calendar had a catastrophic failure and didn’t tell her it was game night, so she missed out on this game.
Groups Chosen:
- Chubby Unicorn: Mythic Horses and Steampunks
- Shutter: Bear Calvary and Fairies
- Clumsy Ninja: Ninjas and Zombies
- Professor: Princesses and Wizards
- President Gamer: Dinosaurs and Pirates
No one was pleased with the initial draw, and we only had ourselves to blame for that. Some of us did have opportunities to draw a new hand or get rid of cards, but it was a bit of a slow start.
Scoring:
- Evans City Cemetery: Chubby Unicorn 5, Shutter 3, Professor 2
- Chubby Unicorn discards hand and draws 5 new cards
- Jungle Oasis: President Gamer 2
- Cool Cat’s Alley: Shutter 3, Professor 2
- The Great Library: Professor 4, President Gamer 2, Chubby Unicorn 1
- Professor, President Gamer, and Chubby Unicorn each draw a card
- The Grey Opal: Clumsy Ninja 3, Shutter 1, Professor 1
- Shutter and Professor each move a minion to another base
- Mushroom Kingdom: Chubby Unicorn 5, Clumsy Ninja 3, Professor 2
- The House of Nine Lives: Shutter 4, Clumsy Ninja 1, President Gamer 1
- Tar Pits: The Professor wins
Game play depends heavily on how competitive people are. For our group (we tend to be nice to each other), the game can move a little slow. There are enough bases that you don’t have to play where someone else has cards. At the same time, because of the leisurely pace of the game, it’s easy to overlook everyone’s scores until it’s too late. Also, some combinations don’t work as well as others. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the groups means you can choose two that complement each other. When you don’t know the groups that well, you can end up with cards that slow down your game play. Most of my action cards allowed me to play an extra minion or action, when what I really needed were ways to protect my minions and get rid of other player’s minions.
Before I sign off, a quick note about the Big Geeky Box. It is designed to hold all of the Smash Up Cards and has enough room to allow for a plethora of expansions. It is a great shelf saver.