Tabletop Tuesday - Smash Up Expansions

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...a return look at absurd combinations and its various expansions that is Smash Up.

Players: 2-4*
Time: 45-60 minutes
Genre: Strategy Card Game



For those unfamiliar with Smash Up, I suggest you check my previous post on such here.  If you enjoy this clever game of wacky combinations and hidden strategy, there are an abundance of expansions to further the scopes of this game.  With each expansion, the core of the game remains very much the same: Play minions and actions to conquer bases and earn victory points.  Rather than changing these solid fundamentals, each expansion instead adds several new themed decks with new mechanics and fresh flavors to be combined with one another.  For this post, we'll take a look at four particular expansions which I am personally fond of and the unique attributes of each.

Awesome Level 9000

Cards from the base game and the Awesome Level 9000 expansion.

This crazy expansion contains the decks of Ghosts, Killer Plants, Steampunks, and Bear Calvary.  Ghosts are the trickiest addition as their synergy revolves around discarding cards and having a small hand size.  Killer Plants meanwhile are all about starting small and then growing into forces to be reckoned with.  Steampunks like to enhance minions and bases with modifications, while Bear Calvary destroy the weak that should foolishly wander into their territory.

Monster Smash

This spooky expansion contains the Hollywood classics such as Vampires, Wolves, Mad Scientists, and Giant Ants.  The decks in this expansion largely center around the mechanic of power tokens.  Vampires gain power from minions killed / discarded.  Wolves gain short term power boosts.  Mad Scientists are all about slowly buffing their minions with power tokens.  And Giant Ants shift their power tokens among their many minions.

Pretty Pretty Smash Up

Cards from the Pretty Pretty Smash Up expansion.

This colorful expansion contains the likes of Fairies, Kitty Cats, Mythic Horses, and Princesses.  Fairies are all about enchanting minions and bases; They also have unique cards that allow them varied choices in which to approach their actions.  Kitty Cats have the uncanny ability to take control of weak-minded minions, and destroying themselves in furious cat fights for personal gain.  Mythic Horses gain strength from the power of friendship and other minions.  And Princesses are powerful, but few apart; They must rely on enchantments until they can be obtained.  This is perhaps my favorite expansion as the combinations created from such offer the greatest sense of humor, such as Pirate Kittens versus Zombie Princesses.  Amazing.

It's Your Fault

This unique expansion was helped decided upon by players' votes, resulting in decks of Dragons, Mythic Greeks, Sharks, Superheroes, and as a bonus, Tornadoes (because Sharknadoes was a needed combination possibility).  Dragons are all about intimidation and destruction, weakening other minions and claiming the rewards.  Mythic Greeks like to take action and by the same virtue, gain power tokens from taking action.  Sharks move from base to base, destroying weaker prey.  Superheroes are about buffs and transforming into over-powered minions.  And lastly and most oddly, Tornadoes are of course about moving minions and actions alike at their will.

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The original set of Smash Up came with 8 deck themes, allowing for 28 unique and crafty combinations to be enjoyed.  If you were to add every expansion mentioned above, you'd now have 25 various deck themes now for a whopping total of 300 unique combinations to dive into.  So while it doesn't fundamentally change the game, it certainly adds a significant amount of replay-ability and distinct flavor to every game.  Not every combination may necessarily sync together well, but you can always allow more flexibility in selecting deck themes with more options available.  I should also note that any of these expansions can be enjoyed as your entry into Smash Up, without the base game, though I still recommend the base game as a good, balanced entry point.  Each expansion will also allow for more players, though you may find the ideal balance around 3-4 players still.  There is still enjoyment to be had though from the chaos of so many clashes of smash-ups with more players.  I recommend these expansions for those who can't get enough of this strategic game and enjoy even more absurd combinations.

Storage solution from The Broken Token.

If you should decide to take the plunge into these many expansions, you may run into the issue of storage.  The original Smash Up box allows room for 1-2 expansions if desired, but then things will start to get messy.  For those who want just one box and like the confines of the original box, I recommend The Broken Token's Smash Up Organizer.  With just the organizer and two sets of extra dividers, you can fit the original game and every expansion mentioned above into the original box, neatly situating every deck into a separate compartment with next to no spillage or shifting.

If you have any questions about these expansions, let me know in the comments.  And stay tuned to hear about other expansions and more in future installments of Tabletop Tuesday!