Slothy

Been a while since my last post and I have nothing related to my strategy game prepared so I figured I talk about a game made by someone else.



Sirlin Games - Flash Duel: Deluxe

Flash Duel is a board/card game made by David Sirlin. Some of the fighting game fans here may be familiar with him. He was the man responsible for re-balancing Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, and has years of experience playing fighting games competitively.

All of that experience shows as well as he's been starting his own independent game company and has released his first two games Flash Duel and Puzzle Strike this year, with a card game called Yomi coming in a few months. All based on his own IP called Fantasy Strike.

Fantasy Strike is basically intended to be a fighting game one day, and Flash Duel is a simple, fun and surprisingly deep game that simulates a fighting game. You can check the link above for a quick explanation of it, but I have to say I was surprised at just how fun it was, and how well it represented a fighting game in card game form. After playing several games with a friend after getting it we started to see some real strategy emerge in our play as we focused on spacing and distance, dancing in and out of range trying to land a strike against the other and take the round. Each character plays quite differently as well with each having some very different special abilities, some powerful enough that they can win the round instantly if you aren't careful not to get caught by them.

Deserving some special mention though is the manufacturing quality. Sirlin has gone out of his way to make each of his games high quality, including going so far as to have deluxe versions of each which come in wooden boxes with high quality card stock, a wooden board and pieces with some excellent printing and artwork all around. Flash Duel is easily the simplest of the two games he's made and very quick to play making it easy to get into, but also a lot of fun, and well worth the money given how balanced and fun it is. He even has print and play options for those on a budget which can be a great way to try out some amazing games and support a talented indie developer. Be sure to check these games out if you have the chance.

Or I'll find you.