Spin Master Games has released two more Marvel themed tabletop games for GenCon 2019! Following up last year’s 5 Minute Marvel and Hail Hydra we have Wakanda Forever and Sinister Six! I had the chance to demo Wakanda Forever at the booth. If you’re a Black Panther fan I’d suggest checking it out. In the game you are playing as one of the five tribes of Wakanda. Each tribe has it’s own ability which helps them in battles against iconic Marvel villains and in challenging other players for the title of the “Black Panther”. Each player also receives a hero power to help them in the game. In the future only the current Black Panther will receive the hero power when villains are defeated.
In the game you start by rolling dice to collect vibranium, the material the Black Panther’s suit is made of in the comics. Also, the material that most of Wakanda is run off of. If you are the current Black Panther you do not get to roll for vibranium. But you do receive a special Dora Milaje die for your turn. The vibranium is used to buy dice that help you roll to attack the villains and to challenge the current Black Panther.
Why would you need to challenge the Black Panther you may ask? Well, it’s the only way you win. Depending on the number of players you will need to reach a certain Wakanda point value and be the Black Panther for the game to end. You can have all the points in the world but if you are not the Black Panther it doesn’t mean anything. You gain Wakanda points (victory points) when attacking villains and in challenging the Black Panther.
Let’s go through how a turn works:
1. All players except the Black Panther roll for vibranium.
2. All players place their vibranium under a cup to purchase tech upgrade dice to attack the current villain on the board. Each villain card says how strong they are so set the purple cube accordingly.
3. Starting with the Black Panther, roll the dice you purchased and take damage to the villains. Collect any vibranium or victory points that come from moving the damage counter down.
If a villain is defeated the player who defeated them gets 3 victory points. The card with the power on it goes to the current Black Panther.
4. Now it’s time to challenge the Black Panther. Take your coin and put the claw mark face up under the cup if you wish to challenge. Everyone reveals if they are challenging at the same time.
If you don’t challenge you receive a Wakanda point for staying loyal.
If you do challenge and tie with another player the person with the most vibranium will go up against the Black Panther.
Just like in the movies or comics the Black Panther is stripped of their powers to face the competitor. The red Dora Milaje die symbolizes this and the player may only use the dice they can purchase with vibranium.
Both players roll. The highest number is the new Black Panther.
If the challenger wins they take the Black Panther totem, the Dora Milaje die and a Wakanda point from the previous Black Panther. Plus, they get to yell out “Wakanda Forever”! (Which many people conveniently forgot to do when we played.)
If the original Black Panther wins they receive a vibranium for every loyal subject. (This is the only way the Black Panther receives vibranium since they cannot roll for it.)
5. Basically rinse and repeat these until one player is the Black Panther with the right amount of Wakanda points and yells “Wakanada Forever” to win.
The game was pretty easy to pick up after two rounds. We had some people forget about their tribe powers or character powers which did mess with the game. Just make sure to read them. Also, make sure that every time someone uses their vibranium they put it back into the middle instead of keeping it.
I like that the game was very thematic. They explored the tribes of Wakanda, the fact that they can challenge to be the Black Panther but also that they will team up when faced by a threat. Something I found interesting is the game is mostly about becoming the Black Panther. There is no group punishment for not defeating a villain unlike every other superhero game. This might help gamers that don’t enjoy being knocked out in a game. There are no collective losers, just one winner. Since Black Panther is an Avenger they borrowed some Avenger villains to add to the villain pile. Many Black Panther villains are unknown by the public unless you read the comics so I think it was a smart choice to add more well known characters. For anyone who complains about dice based games being too random this might not be your game. Wakanda Forever tries to make it less random by allowing you to spend vibranium for more dice, which enhances your odds in attacking villains, or challenging the Black Panther.
Over all I found this to be a fun game that held everyone’s attention. It’s perfect for nerds like me and isn’t too hard a game for people who are Marvel fans just getting into gaming. I ended up buying this and Sinister Six from the Spin Master booth with no regrets and a cool Wakanda Forever t-shirt! If you see the Spin Master booth at future Cons ask if they have promo cards for their games. I received two bonus villain cards for Wakanda Forever and Hobgoblin addition for Sinister Six!
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