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Nostalgix Review

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Review: Nostalgix

Designer: Hunter Angell

Artist: Multiple, as posted on each card, see Website.
Publisher: Self-Published (by Designer)
Year Published:  On Kickstarter September 2024 Link at bottom of review!

No. of Players: 2
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60 minutes.
 
Find more info HERE.
Foreword:
I received a copy of two starter decks from the base set, “Turn Up Time” and “Singularity”, as well as 3 booster packs and a couple of excellent playmats. I want to thank the publisher for sending it my way for review. At the time of this post, there have been 2 expansions for this TCG. Note that my experience with this title is limited to the materials provided and there is surely additional content and/or mechanics as is the nature of TCG’s and follow-up expansions. The base set and expansions each have a sizable number of cards to add to the game. For anyone interested in specific cards, I believe they are all able to be viewed on their website.
From the Publisher:

Nostalgix is the ultimate fusion of card games you grew up with, modernized with quality of life improvements and topped with delightful surprises of our own.

Its familiar structure makes it one of the easiest card games to learn. Nostalgix is both a new dimension of gameplay for TCG veterans and a gateway for brand new players who have never touched a card game before. In our thousands of demos at conventions, we’ve found that all players aged 6-60 learn our game in two turns.

Imagine this: Hero vs. Hero gameplay with two win conditions. Either defeat your opponent’s Hero, or 10 of their Fighters that can evolve and become more powerful over time. You can cast Spells and lay Surprise cards face-down, springing these traps to surprise your opponent. Attach Equipment cards to your Fighters or even your Hero and modify the Arena you’re playing in to turn the tide of battle. No gimmicks, just chaotic fun.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Nostalgix. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own. 


Review:


Initial Impression/Components:

This TCG was the product of a single person for most of its design journey. Along the way, a close circle of artists collaborated with the designer and they’ve created an interesting realm that has collected the attention of an impressive audience. The cards, and art are of industry standard quality and the holographic film is especially nice. The pre-made decks were good as well as the associated dice that came with them. I was, however, quite disappointed with the packaging for the decks. It was an irregular shape, and basically impossible to use as a deck box as it also had a tear open side. As an environmentalist I get excited about items that are thought out for additional uses. Yes, it functions to hold the deck for delivery, but it could just as easily be utilized as a deck box to hold it for collectors as well. Not a big deal, just an observation.

 

Favorite:

There is no need to try and fill a deck with mana or hope for a good shuffle/draw. Each turn you get 1 additional to your total pool to a max of 10. This does open up some other negative effects from my perspective, but I did like the idea of never worrying about mana.

I thought the card quality, art, and finishes were top shelf.

Least Favorite:
Admittedly, without playing the full set or trying the expansions, I cannot say that this isn’t already resolved. Also, starter decks for many trading card games have a similar flaw. That said, I found once either player had an advantage, the conclusion of the game was already decided. This might be because I only had experience with the starter decks, but it felt like there was no real way to come back from a disadvantage, no way to do any serious damage or change to the opponent’s forces. If, for example, you are several turns into the game, and your opponent gets a few fighters in play, I don’t see a way to turn it around once they clear your board. You can lay out a good fighter or several small ones but they become cannon fodder. You’d really need a way to get evolved fighters out, deal large scale damage to enemy fighters, or have some way to give you a turn’s grace to get a chance to attack back.
Mechanics:
– Variable Player Powers
– Hand Management
– Deck, Bag, and Pool Building
– Card Play Conflict Resolution
 
Rules:
The game can be picked up very quickly in a matter of turns. Ultimately, your goal is to defeat the other player’s hero or 10 fighters. The rules can be found here: https://www.nostalgixtcg.com/how-to-play they even have a handy video showing you how to play in just 2 minutes. Due to that video being so effective at highlighting everything you need to know so quickly, I won’t reinvent the wheel, but direct you there.
Areas they did well:
– Extremely easy to play and learn
– Nice art and illustrations
– Combination of a lot of the good elements of other TCG’s
– No mana poor or mana rich
– Quick ramp up into main game, not slow starts
 
Areas they could have improved:
 
– Shifting tide of battle (seems to go one way and stay that way)
– lack of more spells or control / fighter heavy
Interesting moment:
Being a TCG, I feel it’s a legit choice to choose opening a booster pack as an interesting moment. Though again, I wasn’t impressed with the package which was a standard foil wrapped booster inside a cardboard shell for no apparent reason, I did enjoy opening the boosters and checking out the new cards. In one I opened a new hero, Doctor Corvos, who aside from looking pretty cool, their ability looked powerful too.
Overall:
Even though I got sent more than a fair share to try out the game, I don’t feel I can rightfully judge it completely. I’ve picked up on what I feel are some pros and cons and would be interested to see more of the base set and expansions to see how it came together. On the whole, the game is definitely super accessible to any age and experience level. They do a great job of making a very smooth turn process.
 
Final Thoughts:
I think there’s enough here to give Nostalgix a passing grade – not to be confused with the musical artist of the same name. I didn’t see any of this product in some of the local game stores in my area, but if I get a chance I’d pick out some to tinker around a bit more. That’s a large part of what I like about TCG’s (the deck building aspect). If anyone is interested, they have a very thorough website that you can look through and find the answer to anything you might want to know (link below).
I’ll see you next time, back here at The Game Table,
Brad Hiscock, aka Zerility
Here’s a link to the game on their website:

 

After reading Brad’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Nostalgix Collectible Card Game
is on Kickstarter through Wed, October 2 2024 8:56 AM PDT. Check it out and back it HERE.

 

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Check out Nostalgix on:

       
 


Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”, is a construction project manager and electrician by trade who was the owner of a 6-time award winning electrical company. His passion for board games has led him from playing hundreds of original titles to creating a design and publishing company of his own, Convivial Games. As an up and coming collaborator on many projects, he is always eager to try new games and meet new people.

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All of Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”‘s reviews can be found HERE.

 

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