- Original Platform: Board game
- Original release: 2019
Sonic the Hedgehog: Battle Racers is quite a meaty Sonic board game. It can be played against each other, or you can have a card-controlled boss character (if you have a boss expansion – I have Dr Robotnik and Shadow, but Metal Sonic and Infinite were also available. Bosses can also be played as a normal character). The aim of the game isn’t simply to reach the finish first (although that does trigger the end of the game), but to score the most points by collecting rings and defeating badniks.
The track is built from very large card pieces, with rinks, badniks and rocks placed on them accordingly. You place two, followed by a turn (the person who first enters the turn will then place the next two). In total, there will be two turns and six sections of track. Each round, all players will pick an agility card form their hand and place it face down, flipping them over once all players have picked, they’re flipped over and resolved in order of the number on the card.
Each card consists of two sections. The top will have an optional action, this can increase your speed, let you perform a spin (to defeat enemies) or move a couple of spaces. Movement in this section can include moving to the side if you want (which lets you change lane). The second option is the main movement, which will be running, jumping or a choice of either. The distance is based on speed and must be forward (the rulebook is very unclear about this, as it’s quite poorly written), even if it means running into enemies.
There are four badniks which have different rules. Motobugs affect players running through them, but not jumping, Crabmeat will hurt enemies jumping past the spaces above and below them. Buzz bombers will hurt players running in front of them, and spinners will affect jumping enemies moving through them. Landing on them (or spinning through crawling enemies) will destroy them, giving you one point. You get a card explaining how they work, but it is a lot to remember to do while playing the game.
As you collect rings, they go on five piles, with the rings this round going on the smallest stack. When you get hurt, you lose all your rings and place them on the spaces around you. This can be devastating near the end of the game, so you’ll want to defeat badniks as you won’t ever lose their points.
There’s also a bit more regarding terrain types and how they affect speed, and expansions will add even more options. Battle Racers has a lot of maintenance to remember, so it’s very easy to mess up a game by making a mistake because you missed something that should affect your speed. It all feels a bit more complicated than it needs to be, but is a lot of fun nevertheless.
When playing against a boss, the boss will have a stack of cards that determines their actions. The next card is revealed when all players reveal their agility card and their action will take place based on the number on it. Bosses will have different abilities. Dr Robotnik will place new obstacles, while Shadow will defeat enemies and collect rings as he moves through them. Bosses start with 10 rings and hitting them will make them lose two. If they get hit with no rings remaining, then they are removed from the game (this rule only applies to players during a solo game, so nobody is eliminated and forced to wait for the others to finish).
When playing with other players, you are still competing to get the best score, but if the boss passes the finish line first, all players lose. When playing Solo, you still need to finish first and are awarded a rank based on how many points you have. I managed an A rank against Shadow, but got hurt near the end of racing Dr Robitnik and only got a D.
Each character has a special ability, but the retail game only has Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy. The deluxe version I have (which was Kickstarter only) has a lot more, while a few more were at an even higher tier. The models are quite nice, although Sonic does fall down quite easily. It’s a really nice looking game, with fun gameplay (once you get the right rules), but the amount of stuff you have to remember and pausing the game to set up the next sections of track add a lot of maintenance that makes it a pain to play at times.
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