Families looking for a fresh way to play can head to the Bermuda Triangle for a chance to save Wonder Woman’s home-island through the power of cooperation.
In Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Amazons from Ravensburger, families work together to protect Themyscira in three different versions of gameplay, each taking on one of the DC superhero’s classic enemies: Ares, The Cheetah, or Circe.
Two to five players become the roles of Amazonian heroes with copper-toned hero game pieces (see below) based on Artemis, Nu’Bia, Diana, Philippus, and Mala. Each hero defends the regions utilizing action cards and quick thinking.
Understanding the complex instructions is a challenge in itself for amateur gamers, which is one reason why the game is recommended for kids ages 10 and up. There are different rules depending on which hero kids pick, but the hero mats make it all easier to remember.
Hero Cards provide a bigger challenge, as families must study the rulebook to know what each card does. Kids will have to strategize a lot in this game, so parents can play along to help and keep the directions nearby.
Ravensburger recommends starting with the Ares variant to familiarize yourself with how it all works, and I recommend keeping the rulebook at your side as well. If your family is used to complex strategy games, this will be a breeze. If you haven’t yet made it past Monopoly, you might have some trouble your first time out. Definitely prepare to dedicate a good chunk of time to learning the logistics.
Players start the round by completing the “Start of Game” section on the enemy card and setting the enemy down on the board. The Amazons start off in the Palace region of the island and players choose three hero cards on which to base their actions. Some of these cards are just for moving to different regions, while others are for defeating the enemy’s blockades, servants of war, and corrupted Amazons (the green, orange, and purple cubes). Players can also place their own warriors (white cubes) on the board during some moves. These warriors increase the damage that the hero cards can deliver. One goal kids will have is to get rid of the enemy’s cubes because at the end of each round the number of cubes left determines how much of the Amazons’ defense is destroyed.
Each game takes about 45-60 minutes to play so it’s perfect for a family game night where kids work together instead of flipping the board if they lose. If someone does flip the board, however, they’ll be greeted by a painted portrait of Wonder Woman. The Amazon guarding the reverse of the board is just one of the many comic-inspired details in the game.
To choose the difficulty of each game night, the enemies are labeled by how tough their gameplays are in the bottom right corner of the play card. Each enemy also has two separate sides of its cards to change the game depending on players. The more players added, the more decisions kids have to make as a team.
This game is great for kids who’ve always wanted a lasso of truth and are feeling upset about the delay in Wonder Woman 1984’s release. While so many games have families competing against each other, Challenge of the Amazons makes working together exciting. Family game night has never been so powerful.
