Thunder on the Horizon

 EVERYTHING IS SHINY AND CHROME!

I WITNESS!!!

HAIL READERS OF THIS WORDY PIECE OF INTERNET FILLED WITH PICTURES AND THOUGHTS, AND WITNESS THE COMING OF A NEW ERA. AN ERA WHERE EVERYTHING IS SHINY AND CHROME!

THE GATES OF VALHALLA WILL AWAIT YOU WITH OPEN ARMS IF YOU ARE FOUND WORTHY! FIGHT AND WIN AND BRING CHAOS AND FIRE TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU!

DRIVE FORTH BROTHERS AND SISTERS! BRING THE GLORY OF THIS THUNDERING ROAD TO ALL THAT YOU MEET AND SHOW THEM THE TRUE LIGHT!

Board games are an experience.

In one way or another, they look to capture the existence of an idea, a thought, an inspiration, and distill it down into a medium which can be played by many for enjoyment on the tabletop. They look to capture the essence of an idea and bring inspiration and fun to those that play the game in new and exciting ways.

And sometimes, just sometimes, lightning in a bottle is captured, and something greater than its parts is created to make an incredible experience that transcends the medium of the tabletop game. This becomes a genius invention that drives the player into something bigger and better and makes it true to life.

In my excitement about writing this blog and reviews, I seem to have lost myself and I realized that I had yet to cover one of my favorite games from 2023, especially now that the Maximum Chrome Edition and new expansion are on their way to shipping centers for fulfillment to the backers of the Kickstarter.

So here it is. A shiny and new review for my blog to review my favorite game of 2023. There were some absolutely amazing games that came in 2023, including Sky Team, Kutná Hora: The City of Silver, and Legacy of Yu, but they all pale in comparison (at least for me) to the game below...

My World is Fire. And Blood...

This box is truly full of bad intentions.

Game Name: Thunder Road: Vendetta
Release Year: 2023
Designers: Dave Chalker, Brett Myers, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Jim Keifer, Brian Neff
Artists: Marie Bergeron, Garrett Kaida
Publisher: Restoration Games

The Mad Max franchise at this point has become a cultural phenomena.

It's spawned several movies, an absolutely incredible video game, and my favorite board game of last year, Thunder Road: Vendetta.

I suppose that I should go into this review with a caveat: I love the Mad Max series and all of the chaos that it brings with it. It's more of a cult classic than an actual success, but there's something about the movies that just continue to ring true for me, especially the newest one, Mad Max: Fury Road.

Maybe it's because I spent a ton of time in a friend's basement playing the car combat game, Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense, or maybe it was just because I was a child of the 90's and everything grunge and dystopian rang true to me, but there's something about the series that speaks to me. It's probably my second favorite movie series, only being surpassed by the ever-incredible The Lord of the Rings Trilogy movies directed by Peter Jackson (the extended versions obviously).

When I heard that there was a board game equivalent of the series that I could play at home, I was immediately intrigued and knew that I had to try it out. I was fortunate enough to get not only one, but two separate plays of the game in February of 2024 at 2D Con Unplugged in Minnesota (home sweet home) and I was unfortunate enough that the game had all but one of the expansions for the game contained within, so I didn't get the true base game experience until I bought the game for myself.

When I bought the base game, I found that a few of the bells and whistles that I had played with in the initial few games were not included, but despite my disappointment, I found that the game still played absolutely brilliantly and that it was just as fun with the base game components as the game that I had played that was decked out with the expansions.

After 13 games playing with multiple player counts, I think I have a definitive feeling about the game and can easily voice my thoughts on the game. First, I'll go through the various components and gameplay of the game and then give my thoughts on how this masterful reinvention of the old Thunder Road board game has been updated for the modern era.

If you can't fix what's broken, you'll, uh... you'll go insane.

Road tiles, vehicles, and dashboards contained within the game box.

Firstly, the components of the game.

The following are found within the base game of Thunder Road: Vendetta:

- 4 sets of small (Doom Buggy), medium (Avenger), large (Eliminator) vehicles and choppers in four colors (orange/yellow, green, white, blue) for each player
- 4 sets of accompanying dashboards for each vehicle and a command board for each color
- 4 sets of four six-sided dice, each in the player colors
- 5 double sided road tiles
- 1 double sided finish line
- 1 Road die, 1 Stunt die, 1 Shooting die, 1 Slam die, 1 Direction die (These 5 dice are collectively called FX dice.)
- 20 Damage tokens
- 26 Hazard tokens
- 4 Wreck figures

For those familiar with the original Thunder Road game, they might find the extra pieces intimidating, but despite the extra equipment, it's still a fairly easy game to pick up.

Up close view of the wash on the green Doom Buggy.

The wash on the vehicles (cars and chopper) is exclusive to the Kickstarter version of the game, but even without it, they look and feel absolutely fantastic. The cars themselves are a molded plastic piece and feature fantastic detail, making it feel like you're moving around a post-apocalyptic vehicle that's been pieced together, just like those in Mad Max. The wrecks as well are the same molded plastic and feature significant detail of a burned out Doom Buggy

FX Dice and Player Dice.

The dice are also extremely well made, with the FX dice being the standouts from the normal six-sided dice. These FX dice are about twice as big as the normal movement dice and each feature distinctive colors and iconography that has also been recessed to make the dice look and feel great.

The road tiles are also well designed, each featuring two separate sides to mix and match with how the road proceeds. Each one features excellent designs to not only indicate where hazards are, but also to denote the road, dirt, mud and impassable terrain. With each side of the five road tiles being different, there are over 60 different permutations that the boards can be set up in, and once the hazards and damage tokens are added into the mix, the game becomes a chaotic mix of fun and excitement that plays differently each game.

Hazard and Damage tiles.

The hazards feature one of five separate hazards (road, mud, oil slick, wreck, or mine) that players could potentially run into, and as the tiles are placed face down on the road tiles until driven over, it is impossible to tell what they will be.

Each of the cardboard parts feels well put together and the road pieces especially fit well when placed together, which can be a concern when designing interlocking parts. The pieces are thick enough to feel weighty, but not so much that they feel overdesigned, and everything fits in the box nicely.

I also have the "Extra Ammo" expansion for the game, which was included in all Kickstarter versions, and that adds an additional set of mini-expansions which add extra rules for the game. This includes one-time use airstrikes, one-time use weapon cards, bounties for players to accomplish for an extra bonus, additional commands for the command board, and road hazards that change how different road tiles play. The cards themselves are printed on nice cardstock and while not the most premium-feeling cards, they do fit the theme well and feature additional cards for players to create their own additions.

If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on the Thunder Road!

An eliminated vehicle and dashboard.

Gameplay for Thunder Road is fairly simple and easy to teach, which is what make this game so fun for me. I can easily teach this to any of my friends or family who don't normally play games and they'll have no issues picking it up.

Players start by rolling all four of their movement dice and one person rolls the road die. The player with the lowest total goes first and may assign one dice to their player dashboard or then assigns one of their dice to their vehicle dashboard, moving that many hexes (technically it is a hex since it's six sided, even if it is a chevron) forward. If all hexes moved are the road terrain, they get the bonus shown on the road die and move that many spaces forward.

Cars cannot stop their movement unless they run into another car or a hazard and part of the game is learning how to best maneuver around the board to get as much movement as possible. Each road or dirt terrain piece takes one movement point to go through, but a mud tile requires two to move through (although players can move into a mud tile with just one movement point left) and hazards may or may not stop movement when driven over.

All movement is just a roll of the dice away from glory!

Players must choose to assign a command board dice first before moving their vehicle and each command has a dice number associated with it. The chopper can be utilized by any number, but the "Repair" function requires players to assign a dice with a "6" showing, thus reducing the potential to move a vehicle forward that many spaces.

If a player moves into a space with another car, a "slam" occurs and the "attacking" player (i.e. the player who moved the car into the space) puts their vehicle on top of the other car. That player then rolls the slam die (the red die) and direction die (the purple die) and moves either the top or bottom vehicle in the slam in the direction that the purple die shows. If there is a larger car in the interchange (i.e. a small Doom Buggy slammed into a medium Avenger) that player can choose to reroll one or both of the dice should they choose.

Do you Hazard a guess as to what each one is or is that going to Damage your reputation?

If a player moves into a hazard space, that hazard is resolved and depending upon the hazard, the car's movement may or may not be halted. Hazards with a black background indicate that the car's movement stops immediately (and a little "x" is shown on the top right corner), but other terrain allows the car to keep moving and finish up their movement.

Once the first player has finished their turn, play moves clockwise around the table with each player choosing a vehicle to assign a dice to. The first round, weapons are not "active" and players may not fire at other player vehicles, nor use the airstrikes, although slamming is still allowed. After all three cars have been moved and dice assigned, the round ends, the first player moves to the next person clockwise around the table and players reroll their dice.

Green thunders down the straightaway to the end of the tile.

After the first round concludes, players then are free to shoot at one another. If they end their turn within one space of another car in the front arc of the vehicle, or choose to assign a dice to the "Airstrike" command, players roll the shooting die to see if they hit the vehicle. Larger vehicles have a greater potential to be hit with a 4/6 chance, whereas smaller vehicles only have a 2/6 chance of being hit, making each vehicle have advantages and disadvantages.

When a vehicle is hit, either by chopper or another vehicle, they take a damage token, resolve the effect listed on the back of the token and then place the token below the vehicle dashboard. After a vehicle has taken two points of damage, it becomes inoperable and is unable to move until repaired. If at any time, a vehicle passes into impassable terrain, or moves off the board, it is immediately eliminated and removed from the board.

When a player's vehicle reaches the end of a road tile, the first tile on the left is removed and any vehicles and hazards left on the tile are removed, eliminating any inoperable vehicles. A road tile is added to the right side of the boards, and the boards are slid to the left, creating another three-tile road. Hazards are added to the indicated spaces and play proceeds as normal.

In a two-player game, the road end appears after five tiles, but in a 3-4 player game, the end only appears once one player has all their cars eliminated or made inoperable. When the finish appears, it becomes a race to see who can cross first as the first car to cross the finish line wins the game.

I live, I die. I LIVE AGAIN!

A game in progress.

With that description of the gameplay, it's hard to really capture the essence of what Thunder Road: Vendetta is. It is far more dry than I would ever describe the game, but I want to make sure that I'm providing an accurate description of what the rules state in the game to give a good understanding of why I love this game so much.

As I noted above, I love the Mad Max franchise and this is the perfect distillation of the game down onto the table. There is some slight strategy when it comes to being the first person to cross the finish line, but more often than not, the game devolves into an epic chaotic mess and all strategy goes out the window. Any potential for a well-thought out plan on how to avoid the obstacles that are laid out on the table are often shredded to bits when the first round is over.

I absolutely love it.

While I'm not fully able to turn off my strategic brain while playing the game, it does allow an oft-ignored side of me to come out: the chaos and horror-fueled monster that resides within, demanding to be let out and cause terror to those around me.

As much of the game is based on the dice rolls (which are excellently implemented), I'm able to lean into the full-on chaos monster and just have fun with the game. Often times just the act of playing the game removes all desire to win and the desire to cause as much chaos as possible becomes overwhelming. I'll abandon all sense of competitiveness and choose moves that make no logical sense but cause the most potential chaos, just for the heck of it, all while yelling "WITNESS ME!" at the top of my lungs. It's glorious.

If there's a chance to shoot at, slam, pass through a hazard, or just otherwise cause mayhem on the board, I'm going to take that opportunity.

The Chopper awaits to be assigned to a space.

See a vehicle that could potentially be slammed into impassable terrain? I'm going to take that move, even if that means that my vehicle might be destroyed in the process rather than my opponent's vehicle.

Have a choice of moving over a hazard versus some open terrain? You better believe I'm going to see what's under the hazard and forget the consequences of that action!

I will attempt to win the game, but I'd say half the time of playing this, I usually go out in a blaze of glory and every time it's been incredible. There hasn't been a game that I've played yet that hasn't ended with everyone involved going "NO WAY!" and it's such a blast to play.

If I had to write a few negatives about the game it would be these: the game plays far better at three to four players as that truly allows the game to ramp up the chaos and fun factor. The two player game is serviceable, but I much prefer to play the game at a three to four player count. I would also like to mention that there is a certain level of chaos expected with this game, so if you have friends who prefer a more strategy-based game, this might not be for them as much of what occurs in the game is complete chaos, especially with the dice rolls.

Additionally, while the base tiles are great, it does feel significantly better with the "Carnage at Devil's Run" expansion included, not only due to the new hazards, but also the addition of new tiles and effects. It's not a requirement to make the game fantastic, as it's great on it's own, but it does help with changing up the hazards and adding new effects to horribly wreck your vehicle (or your opponent's vehicles).

Positives
- Fantastic production
- Simple, easy to learn gameplay
- Strategic-lite mechanics
- Potential for lots of fun
- Theming is spot on
- WITNESS ME!

Negatives
- May be too much chaos for some players
- Two-player game serviceable, three to four player game better
- Base game is great, but expansions help with changing up the feel of the game

Overall, this is easily a 100/100 game for me. The pure chaos that stems from this game always ends with a fantastic end to the game and I haven't had a game yet that I've played where I've been disappointed. If you're looking for a game that is both fun to play with gamers and non-gamers alike, I can easily recommend Thunder Road: Vendetta.

Additionally, with the Kickstarter this last year, there's a new expansion coming to the three that are already out, and new ways to bring more chaos and fun to your game.

- Carnival of Chaos, the newest expansion, offers a new arena-style map that forces players to fight it out in a multi-stage battle for supremacy and forces cars to come together for ultimate car-nage!
- Carnage at Devil's Run adds in additional road tiles, new hazards, ongoing damage effects, and even the "ON FIRE" effect to your races for more fun
- Choppe Shoppe adds in player powers for each command board, so each game will feel extremely different, and weapon mods for your cars allow you to customize and change what your cars are capable of
- Big Rig and the Final Five adds in an additional fifth player option with two very different playing vehicles (or sets of vehicles) that each have their own command boards
- Extra Ammo Mini-Expansion Pack is great for those looking to change up their base game without spending too much on an expansion and offers five separate ways to add rules to your game that can also be mixed and matched with themselves and other expansions

As the world fell, each of us in our own way was broken. It was hard to know who was more crazy... me... or everyone else.

There you have it. A review of my favorite game to come out of 2023 that I've been able to play. I'm sure that there are other games that feel just as good and that others might prefer to play, but there's something about Thunder Road: Vendetta that's hit the right notes for me.

It's so much fun to just cause chaos and destruction while vaguely holding onto the notion that I should be working towards a win. With the Maximum Chrome Edition coming later this year (theoretically) I'm absolutely going to be playing this more and more. I cannot recommend this enough for those who are looking for a medium-lightweight game to share with others to get them into board games, and to just have fun. If you get a chance to, pick this game up and you just might find that it's one that will shoot to the top of your favorites.

Give me your thoughts: What's your favorite post-apocalyptic movie/book/game that you've experienced and why? What integration of a popular theme or media franchise have you played in a board game that you could recommend? Do you play games where you can let loose and not focus on the strategy of the game and just have fun? Or do you prefer to keep it all based around tight gameplay and clever moves?

As always, thank you so much for checking out this blog. If you liked it, please hit the green thumb at the top of the page and feel free to leave a comment on the post. I appreciate all interactions and will respond to everything that I can. If you really liked the post and want more ramblings, feel free to subscribe and get new posts every Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

*Originally posted on BoardGameGeek on 30/8/2024*