Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Now it’s your chance to fight back!
For both fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and those unfamiliar with the animated TV series, Fire Nation Rising is an entertaining cooperative card and dice game from The Op | USAopoly. As the Fire Nation continues to raid neighboring lands, a group of heroes must band together and strategize as a team. If they succeed, they will restore Balance and stay one step ahead of the Fire Nation. If they fail, Ruin will come to the world.
The game is designed for 1-5 players to take on the roles of Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, or Zuko. There are two main phases to Fire Nation Rising. In the first phase, players can recruit heroes and fight villains in preparation for the Day of Black Sun. They must advance their position on the Balance track as the villains advance their positions on the Ruin track. Whoever reaches the top first has a significant advantage in the second phase of the game. Once the Day of Black Sun occurs, players will fight the Final Battles at Wulong Forest, the Fire Nation Palace, and Ba Sing Se in an attempt to end the Hundred Year War. If 10 heroes or any one team are defeated before they can succeed in all three battles, the players will all lose!
Fire Nation Rising | Source: The Op
Zuko is one possible character to build a team around. | Source: The Op
Players can master the four elements. | Source: The Op
Recommended for kids ages 10 and up, this game can be a bit challenging to learn if players are unfamiliar with The Op’s other Rising games. However, the 12-page rulebook lays out the instructions in a very detailed manner, showing example images of gameplay. My advice would be for players to read through the rulebook first and play the first couple of rounds with it nearby. Once I got the hang of it, gameplay sped up and, all in all, Fire Nation Rising takes roughly an hour to complete.
Despite being based on a kids’ show, there is a lot going on with Fire Nation Rising. The game comes with more than 200 components, including a detailed miniature Firelord Ozai figure and 16 custom dice. This can be a little overwhelming at first, but once players figure out how to use each component, the game makes more sense.
Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender will especially enjoy the visual nature of the game. All of the hero and villain cards use artwork straight from the series and the game board itself is a colorful representation of the four elements.
Fire Nation Rising is a perfect mix of luck and strategy. Players can get lucky with their dice rolls, but they also have to be smart about how they band together to defeat the Fire Nation. Players must also strike a balance between recruiting new heroes and fighting villains, testing kids’ abilities to prioritize and multitask. One neat aspect about the game is that players can control the level of difficulty. Players who are familiar with the game can customize their experience to be more challenging, while beginners can take an easier route.
At your next family game night, take a shot at mastering the elements and bringing balance to the world with Fire Nation Rising.
AVATAR FIRE NATION RISING
The newest edition of the Rising light strategy card and dice game is inspired by the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the game, players work together and recruit others to prevent the advances of the Fire Nation.
