Home Run Games Ultimate Soldier Reloaded

This, "Ultimate Soldier Reloaded" card game from Home Run Games, the first thing that comes to mind about this card game, is that I feel it could use better instructions. The instructions do explain all the rules, however it should have a bit more illustrations in there showing the actions of the game. The main illustration shown is how the playing field should look with the cards at the start, after that, the rest of the game is described with only text. For a new-to-me game, this required a bit more thought, same goes for the other person I was playing with. Searching on a search engine I found a bit more thorough explanation of some of the rules. You may need a bit of patience to get through the instructions before playing, and it’ll probably take a few games to get more of a feel for how the gameplay goes. The artwork is nice and reminiscent of a certain 1980s cartoon and toy line. The cards are made well, nice coating to them. There are 133 cards in this game. It's for 2-4 players, however I have only played a few 2 player games so far. The game is won when a player wins 3, “Battles” or acquires 4 soldier cards. The gameplay is alright, not too complicated, but I did find this game to be a bit slow to start and get the hang of. I am sure once we get the hang of it, it’ll be easier going. For a card game, it’s unique and something different, though once again, I feel more detailed instructions with more illustrations would have been a nice addition.

As a child of the 80s who enjoyed all things toys, cartoons, movies, tabletop games, and video games, I was immediately struck by the GI-Joe vibe this game gives to a viewer. So I knew I had to take a chance on it. After researching it I discovered it was a Kickstarter game and checked out the Kickstarter page. It turns out the maker of the game made it to purposely have that GI Joe vibe with box styling and character artwork.On receiving the game the box art looked pretty much exactly like what I saw in the product page. The cardboard of the box is really light weight, but it gets the job done of keeping all the cards in place. The box is not the high clay shiny finish that most game boxes have. This is a dull finish and appears to have a linen finish. I honestly can't tell if it is just embossed to look like a linen finish or if it actually is.One to the cards themselves, they are a light weight linen cardstock with a glossy finish. The cards are all evenly cut and the deck stacks up nicely without any irregularities in size which would make shuffling difficult. The four Rules of Engagement cards have a slightly smoother and different finish than the rest of the cards. I've discovered that this is likely due to having to reprint those cards due to some errors on the original cards. The card backs on two of the three different card types are all printed consistently, those are the Rules of Engagement and Soldier cards. However the backs of the common cards are inconsistent. Approximately half of them are printed darker than the other half. It's a slight aesthetic issue mostly because there are so many cards that it would be difficult to use that knowledge to your advantage.The character and equipment art is overall good work, although there are a few pieces that aren't up to the same quality of the others. In particular the commando, green beret, and 2 point training card. Nothing major wrong and I've definitely seen much worse from much bigger game companies. Over all it captures that 80's GI Joe look and feel quite well.Unfortunately we get to the point in the review where I talk about the really bad parts of it. The rulebook is a little 8 page pamphlet printed in about a 3 point font making it very difficult to read, even if you don't have old person eyes. So I went to find a PDF copy of the rules. There was a link to it on the Kickstarter page, which went to their website, but the link is dead. I looked other places but was unable to find a copy. They also recommend checking out their how to play video on their website. However, when I went to their website the video was also no longer there.So I was stuck trying to read the rules from the poor rulebook included in the game. So I read through it and the rules feel extremely incomplete, almost like a first draft, which for a Reloaded version of the game is quite baffling. So after reading through, I tried a learning game by myself like I do with most boardgames and cardgame. After going through the initial setup and attempting to play, I realized the game is nearly unplayable as written. The rules just don't make a lot of sense and they leave out tons of information. The battles in particular refer you to the Rules of Engangement card, but it is very dense and not clear at all. So off to my favorite site to find out information on boardgames, Boardgame Geek. I found it there but there was very little on it. I found a review and a link to an FAQ. The review and the FAQ helped figure out the game just a bit more. It helped me actually get the game working in a way which I thought was how it is supposed to play. However I'm not 100% certain I was doing it correctly.After this learning game playthrough I found, that if I was playing it correctly, it is a very light and fast game. There is almost no depth to the game or significant strategy. I can see that it is very swingy and there is a significant luck of the draw factor. There was nothing at all compelling about the play. This was with a 2 player game, so perhaps there may be a bit more with more player when you add in that extra dynamic. However I will never know as the rules are so poorly written and that I will not play it again, let alone play it with anyone or more than two players.I've not found a card game that was this much of a let down in quite some time. It's unfortunate as it looks good and has that 80s nostalgia going for it. However, i recommend steering clear of it. It will almost certainly just take up space on your shelf. The only people I would recommend it to are serious game collectors who have large collections of games for posterity.

I received this product free in exchange for an honest review. This game is for 2-4 players and takes about 20-40 minutes to play but my first couple of games took longer. The objective is to either win 3 battles or earn 4 soldiers who remain alive by the end of the game. 5he card graphics are great. The soldier cards are very detailed and list what type of soldiers each card represents, such as marine or navy seal. Training cards allow you to gain skills and once you collect 4 training g cards you earn a new soldier. Action cards allow for attack, blocking, activating a sniper, using a bomb, etc. The game is easy ro play but definitely is very strategic. The cards are regular playing card stock and the artwork is reminiscent of GI Joe. I highly recommend this product

I'm giving this game to my grandson for Christmas, and I think he -- a teenage boy -- is exactly the right audience. The cards are standard quality, and I think the artwork looks exciting and appealing for teens.It's a quick, active game involving both luck and strategy. It's packaged in a sturdy box so it's easy to take along in your backpack.

Very nice 2to 4 player game with great art work. Rules are straightforward, with more information on Boardgamegeek. Great for middle school or high school kid, or an adult gamer. Fast to play, good as a fill-in game.