There are two types of licensed games: those that hope to make a quick buck from name recognition or nostalgia, and those which faithfully adapt source material onto already solid game mechanics to create a winning product. Back the the Future the Card Game, without a doubt, is the latter. Read on to see why.
Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Age: 11-Adult
Publisher: Looney Labs
MSRP: $20.00
Release: September 3rd, 2010
Rating:
The Gameplay:
In Back to the Future the Card Game, each player is dealt a unique identity card that assigns the role of some future descendant of Marty, Biff, Doc, or other characters. Each identity card informs the player of three or four events that must happen in the past, in order to ensure that the player will still exist in the future. These requirements are kept secret from the other players, and the game progresses as each player goes about trying to accomplish their goal. Players often have conflicting goals, so expect a back-and-forth as players jockey to set the timeline to their liking. Once a player has the timeline arranged as instructed on their identity card, they must then cause Doc Brown to have never invented time travel, thereby locking history into place and winning the game.
The main mechanic of this game is the arrangement of the timeline and how it is manipulated. There are 24 event cards, and they are arranged in chronological order. Each card is double-sided, with one side representing events as they happened in the movies, and the reverse side representing a complete opposite version of that event. Players will accomplish their identity goals by flipping cards to the proper side. For instance, if you are playing as “Electra McFly”, then you need to flip the card showing the marriage of George and Lorraine McFly over to its alternate side, revealing the marriage of Lorraine to Biff Tannen (what a jerk!). The catch is that the cards are separated into major events (linchpins) and minor events (ripplepoints). Players only have the power to flip over a linchpin, which when flipped will also cause all of its associated ripplepoints to flip. This makes it difficult to keep the timeline set the way you want it, as players will be fighting over control of a limited number of linchpins.
A sampling of timeline cards
Each player starts with three cards, and play begins in typical Looney Labs style, with turns consisting of drawing 1 card and playing 1 card. However, at any point where a player is asked to play a card, whether it be from part of the normal turn order or from a special card command, they have the choice to draw instead.
There are five types of cards:
- Items: played face up in front of you. Some can be used on their own to cancel other cards, while the rest are used to increase the power of other cards that specifically request them.
- Time Machine: Can be discarded to change any linchpin. There are five different time machine cards, and some require an item to use, while others can be used right away.
- Action: Each action is explained on the card itself and can be played during your turn. Typically, these allow you to draw extra cards, steal items from another player, etc.
- Power Action: These are action cards with more game-changing effects. Several of them can even be played on an opponents turn.
- Doubleback: Allows the player to change time, but only by flipping the linchpin shown on the card (there is a matching doubleback for almost every linchpin). However, there is also an item on each doubleback card, and that can be discarded to change time a second time this turn (any linchpin this time).
The final linchpin, “Emmett Brown Invents the Flux Capacitor” is actually a stack of five cards. Four of the cards have a reverse-side that basically says “sorry, try again”, meaning that only one of these cards will actually end the game. Even if you have everything set up properly, you may not win on your turn!
The Contents:
- 28 Timeline cards
- 10 Character cards
- 62 Game cards
- 17 Items
- 6 Time Machines
- 8 Doublebacks
- 17 Actions
- 14 Power Actions
- 1 Rules Sheet
The boxes from Looney Labs are always appreciated, as they are as small as possible to fit all of the contents. You won’t get a huge box full of air as you would with card games from a lot of other companies. Since their card games are typically short and casual, being portable (I can fit this in my pocket!) is a big plus.
The card stock is of good quality; there’s nothing to complain about there. The artwork on the Time Machine and Item cards are beautifully drawn, but the others have little to none. This lack of artwork on many cards feels like a huge missed opportunity and dulls the game a bit.
Our Thoughts:
Sometimes continuously drawing 1/playing 1 can become repetitive, but now there are strategic decisions sprinkled throughout the game, as you always have the option to draw instead of play, without penalty. Which is the smarter move? That will likely depend on the situation and is for you to figure out.
The downside to this game is that with secret goals, it often feels as if everyone at the table is playing their own game. Yes, you can deduce what an opposing player’s goal is, but the game mechanics do not reward that; playing for the win rather than to foul up an opponent is always the better move. Therefore, you may lose interest when it is not your turn.
Back to the Future straddles the line between casual and competitive card game in my eyes, so the major introduction of luck in the endgame is neither a negative nor a positive. It keeps the casual player invested in the game, as they know the come-from-behind victory can be had, but at the same time it can turn off the more competitive players.
The game is built off of an original Looney Labs game, Chrononauts, but there are several differences between the two, so players familiar with both should be aware of the following differences. This won’t mean much to someone who has not played Chrononauts, so skip ahead if that’s you. Here are the changes:
- No artifact collecting goals
- No patching of the timeline
- Game does not end from too many paradoxes
- You cannot wind from having a large hand
- Do not have to discard to draw instead of play
- The game ends by flipping a special linchpin, not emptying your hand
Overall, if you are a real fan of Back to the Future, modern card games, or other Looney Labs products, you should own this game. However, if you are still on Uno, you may want to give this a “wait and see”, and pick up a version of Fluxx instead.
Where to Buy:
Look for Looney Labs Games at your local neighborhood game store. You can find a store near you at their store locator page
Disclaimer: The Modern Day Pirates were provided a complimentary review sample of this game.
