Line of Fire: Burnt Moon Board Game Review

Ditching the modular tiles oregon fold-out boards of the Undaunted games, Line of Fire gives 2 players a acceptable of 5 identical determination boards, each with an assigned constituent values. Once each 5 get randomly placed retired for some players, each broadside deploys forces to the assorted spots successful an effort to clasp 8 points' worthy of locations, oregon destruct each of the oppositions land-capturing units, claiming victory.

Turns statesman with some players drafting 4 cards, and secretly selecting 1 of those to connection up successful a bid to summation that round’s initiative. Whoever offers the paper with a higher worth gets to play first. Both of those cards are past discarded and the archetypal subordinate takes their crook placing retired their hands of cards, followed by the 2nd player, and erstwhile they are finished, caller hands are drawn and the the process starts over.

Set connected Jupiter’s moon, Io, successful the satellite of Undaunted 2200, Line of Fire has a subject fabrication motif. So, alternatively of troops connected the ground, you deploy ROVs – Remote Operated Vehicles – into the warzones. ROVs are composed of 4 antithetic varieties, divided into A and B forces. Each ROV benignant has peculiar actions it tin take. For example, the MOSS units let you to seizure locations, portion the DaCU units tin physique fortifications that tin lone beryllium activated by playing an identical portion paper connected a antecedently deployed card. Players besides person entree to a tiny enactment connected unit cards which supply benefits including adding cards to your platform oregon disabling an opponents ROVs, further adding strategy elements to Line of Fire.

For players who are acquainted with Osprey's Undaunted titles, galore of Line of Fire’s mechanics volition consciousness identical, from the inaugural bidding to removing casualties. When a portion is destruct successful Line of Fire, players archetypal effort to region a transcript of that paper from their hand. If nary are successful their hand, they past hunt their discard, past their deck, past the reserve, and lastly region the portion connected the committee that is being attacked. I personally emotion this approach, arsenic I find searching for clasp cards and seeing your proviso dilatory dwindling distant to beryllium acold much of a tense acquisition than simply removing the paper that was attacked. It's besides done this method that if ever each of you oregon your opponent’s MOSS ROVs (the lone portion benignant that tin capture) are gone from the deployed regions, you lose.

Despite the box’s tiny footprint, Line of Fire provides a riveting strategical acquisition successful a reasonably abbreviated clip frame. The matches I played seldom took adjacent a fractional hr to complete, with games taking adjacent little clip the much acquisition some players have, arsenic you tin rapidly play your 3 cards and beryllium done.

Even with some choices of cards being identical, determination is inactive a bully spot of strategy required successful Line of Fire. Knowing what cards to adhd to your deck, wherever to deploy them, and erstwhile to retreat erstwhile a battlefield is mislaid are each cardinal decisions you person to make. Being a deck-building game, determination is inactive immoderate facet of luck involved, arsenic the cards you person successful manus dictate what actions you tin instrumentality connected your crook – but I ne'er recovered that luck overpowered coagulated tactics and determination making. That said, I did find that immoderate of Line’s plan absorption made it harder to get into than I consciousness it truly needed to be, with overmuch of that coming down to the paper designs and naming.

Admittedly, I person not yet played Undaunted 2200: Callisto, truthful this whitethorn beryllium little of an contented for immoderate folks, but the naming of the ROVs threw my friends for a loop and ne'er made sense. Terms similar “infantry”, “tank”, and “sniper” I tin grasp astatine a glance, but if you were to inquire idiosyncratic which of “MOSS”, “TIR”, “xED”, oregon “DaCU” was your dense artillery unit, they would astir apt look astatine you and locomotion away.

Between the random names and assorted symbols that marque astir arsenic small consciousness arsenic the names, it conscionable makes the cards harder to decipher than they request to be, adjacent with the useful notation cards that some players have. I get that Line is acceptable successful the aboriginal and leans into the subject fabrication element, but sometimes it’s conscionable easier to accidental “my vessel is attacking your plane”.

From a ocular and constituent standpoint, Line of Fire is simply a striking game, with artwork and designs that evoke classical subject fabrication publication covers with blocky-square robots. Both players besides person unsocial artwork for their units, that are besides intelligibly denoted by dense usage of either redish-pink colors oregon blues for their respective side. This extends adjacent into the retention solution with each player’s cards, fortifications and determination tiles each fitting snuggly into a color-coordinated box, that some past are carried successful a magnetically sealed container astir the size of a VHS tape. I’m a sucker for games with bully retention solutions, and Line of Fire’s does it’s occupation splendidly, making it speedy and casual to acceptable up and interruption down, and tiny capable to acceptable successful your container to instrumentality with you.

Originally posted:

Jul 17, 2025 7:34 pm