Tie-in card games usually go one of two ways. They are either fun card games with a license slapped on as an after-thought or they attempt to become a simulation of the thing they’re connected to. The problem with the former is that once you strip away the fresh art and theme, you’re not really left with anything new. It doesn’t really feel like the thing it’s meant to tie-in to, making it just a differently labelled version of a popular game.
The other approach also has its own flaws. It’s taken multiple editions of a Game of Thrones card game to get the right balance of atmosphere and gameplay, and movie makers and storytellers don’t tend to write characters and plotlines with game balance in mind.
Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who: The Card Game doesn’t fall into either category, instead finding a balance between the two approaches whilst maintaining the feel of the TV show. Doctor Who: The Card Game – Classic Doctors Edition is filled with artwork from the old show and still has that mild peril tea-time vibe that has made the show so endearing over the years.
The mechanics are pretty straightforward; each player has a hand of special cards. These cards can be support, defender, enemy or location cards. Locations are played face up, and each location is worth time points and victory points. Time points let you do stuff in the game, victory points let you win the game at the end of play. Locations can be anywhere from Telos to Skaro, or even Perivale in 1989. You play enemy cards on your opponent’s locations and defend against your opponent’s enemy cards with defenders. Defend or attack enough locations simultaneously and you’ll win the game, though typically it all ends when an ‘end of the game’ card gets drawn and everyone counts up victory points.
Of course, The Doctor is the best defender card to have, but if you have enough companions and they’re clever enough then they can carry the day without his help. Adric may be annoying but blimey is he handy (especially if you need a sacrifice) and the Brigadier is amazing in a tight spot. Daleks tend to turn up in big forces and cause the player to have to use every trick in the book to stop them. The theme stays constant in this very, very pleasant game.
Doctor Who: The Card Game – Classic Doctors Edition is a fun game that all Who fans will be delighted to get in to. It also mixes in nicely with The Twelfth Doctor Expansion One, which adds a fifth player and some appropriately Capaldi-themed shenanigans (and pairs up especially well with the Tom Baker cards, strangely enough).
DOCTOR WHO: THE CARD GAME – CLASSIC DOCTORS EDITION / DESIGNER: MARTIN WALLACE / PUBLISHER: CUBICLE 7 ENTERTAINMENT / RELEASE DATE: JULY 14TH
