Angel Fury

Although I appreciate Fryx as a designer, I had stayed away from the Angel Fury Kickstarter, a little intimidated by all that plastic. But when I saw it in person on the shelf, its presence finally convinced me to add it to my collection. It is one of those games that makes its promise clear: angels and demons, a human soul in the middle, and plenty of fighting around the table.

This is an easygoing, almost symmetrical take-and-hold game. Players split into the two sides, angels and demons, and fight for control of the soul. Its basic feel is immediate and confrontational: you contest, hold positions, and try to impose yourself on the opponent.

The game involves plenty of dice, and the fighting can turn into a proper slaughter. There is enough depth to pursue different strategies, but I would never take it too seriously: one bad roll can simply execute whatever plan you had prepared. At least that uncertainty suits its relaxed, spectacular atmosphere.

For me, it is a perfectly good choice for an enjoyable hour. A major positive is that the scaling for 1, 2, 3, and 4 players seems to have been studied carefully and works well at every count. My main complaint is that the retail edition has half the leaders of the Kickstarter edition; it is not a disaster, but it noticeably loses, by roughly 30%, in replayability.