Games

PAX '12: Hands-On - Rumble in R'Lyeh

By Sean Booker
September 8, 2012 - 12:57

One of the really great things about the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is that it focuses itself primary on anything relating to games and 'nerd'-culture. Though the majority of what you will find at the convention will center around video game software and hardware, there is a ton of support and space provided for additions like board games, panels, tournaments, etc.



Among those extras are card games, be it collectable, trading, deck-building and whatever else. One specifically that I got to sit down and play through briefly was Cryptozoic's new card game titled Penny Arcade The Game: Rumble in R'lyeh. A sequel to their first game: Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers vs. Evil. These two games are standard deck-building card games in which you spend half the game constructing a deck while the back half is about using the collected cards to complete objectives and, eventually, win the game. Both games feature the humor and art found in the Penny Arcade webcomic; so fans will find tons of in-jokes and other gags throughout the game.



The concept of this game (don't worry this won't turn into a write up on the complete rule set) is to choose a Hero Card for yourself to play and fight with. From there you begin to collect a number of cards each turn from specific decks that hold power ups/items/etc. you want. You begin to collect tokens, powers and other abilities to add to your personal deck to use.



For those who have played the original game, you will know that it was all about collecting green and red cards for the entirety of the game. Rumble in R'lyeh adds a new gold card to the mix. These cards require the use of both tokens and powers in order to collect. The new game also works as an expansion to the original Gamers vs. Evil so players can combine the two sets of cards for a more interesting and longer game.



Penny Arcade the Game: Rumble in R'lyeh can be played with 2-4 people with an approximate game time of 30 minutes. The game is recommended for ages 15 and up (as it draws heavily from the humor of the webcomic) and retails for $45US.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12