I have so much time for Smash Up. It’s up there as one of my favourite games because of its sheer randomness and entertainment. This is because of the random combinations you can create to enter the Smash Up arena with.
Originally the base game came with the 8 original factions and 16 bases (160 faction cards plus 16 base cards) and this comfortably sat in a game box. The original game was made by AEG in 2012 with the Tricksters, Wizards, Aliens, Zombies, Dinosaurs, Robots, Ninjas and the Pirates. Arguably a simple time in the Smash Up world with these classic factions.
Smash Up Rules Overview
The game is for 2-4 people and players select 2 factions and smash the decks of 20 cards together to make a playable deck of 40 cards. It’s on these players to compete for VP’s by breaking bases to release the points. Each faction consists of minion and action cards. Minions have power and it is the cumulative power of all players' minions on a base that will break it to release these points. First to 15 wins, however in the event of players being on an equal score, play continues until there is 1 unique winner. Turn play is simple in that players simply play 1 minion and 1 action, that is all. Check for broken bases, draw 2 new cards and play passes on.
It is the detail in the factions where each card has a unique ability based on their own faction. They are all different and when you combine with another faction you do make truly unique combinations that change based on who they are partnered with. It’s so clever.
The Expansions
AEG created a winner here as they knew they could literally add anything to this game. In the early days of the game the new expansions were rolling out every 6 months approximately and the new content being added was awesome and slotted right in with all else being produced.
The first expansion being Awesome Level 9000 adding factions like the Ghosts and Killer plants. This was swiftly followed by the Obligatory Cthulhu set and then the Science Fiction Double Feature with Cyborg Apes and Time travellers. AEG were clearly having a lot of fun with their game and then decided to bring the fans in to select the next factions by way of a public vote. It’s your fault was born in 2016 which included the popular Dragons, Mythic Greeks, Sharks, Superheroes and the bonus set of the Tornadoes (an extreme weather faction).
AEG is literally creating whatever they want. They then picked up some licenses and made some new standalone products, starting with Munchkin. A Smash Up version of the beloved Steve Jackson game. I’m not convinced this one was so popular. But then they released their Marvel and Disney versions which are great fun and as you would expect, fully integrable with all content that came before.
The Big Geeky Box
The amount of additional boxes filling up a gamers shelf was notably getting out of hand. I was certainly feeling it very quickly. AEG must also have been hearing about it and reacted accordingly. The Big Geeky box came out, specially designed to hold everything created up to that point back in 2014 (when released). It had plenty of space left within because AEG as we all know had more plans.
Roll on to the present day in 2026 (at time of writing) and you will note from the picture I’m at limit on this box. I actually didn’t believe I would get to this point as I believed I was covered. How naive of me. This box has been incredible in holding all I needed for Smash Up, and an incredibly useful accessory.
I backed the Into the Factory Kickstarter campaign this year from AEG. There is a new expansion coming with Half the Battle but it was an opportunity also to plug a few gaps in single missing factions as well as pick up the Bigger Geekier Box… I need it. What a crazy thing to say but it is a must have for my collection as this game truly is a collection now for me.
The Big Geeky Box to date has covered me well and been the perfect accessory. We move on though as all us gamers do.
Geeks
I loved picking up this faction within the Big Geeky box as a little bonus to add into play. The Geeks are by no means the most powerful when it comes to raw power, they are quite weak with power 4 being the strongest. They have power in nullifying opponents actions with their own abilities. They also enjoy moving a few minions about the board already in play.
The Geeks arguably need a strong partner to be most effective in the game. They can work incredibly well.
Final Thoughts
If you are a fan of the game, Smash Up, and you’ve picked up multiple of AEG’s Smash Up content then a big box of some sort is a must have. You won’t regret the decision and will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Zatu Score - 90%
Artwork - 5 out of 5
Complexity - 2 out of 5
Player interaction - (Doesn’t work)
Replayability - 5 out of 5
Component Quality - 5 out of 5
About the Author
Smash Up is the first game I ever took a punt on from just reading the note against the product on the shopping website. This was back in 2012. To date I have always been shown games by others. I love this detail about the game, for me, and it has taught me to explore more for myself.
