Do you have what it takes to build and manage a boy band, and lead them to ultimate fame and fortune? The music industry’s more ruthless than you think, so you can’t let your guard down for a second, or the next boy band will take your spot at the top. Time to see if your band can make the cut!

What Is It?

A card game where players take turns performing various actions. They can draw star cards, recruit artists to their band (some are free while others cost star cards being discarded), play star cards either (to boost stats, or perform special actions), or do a gig for money (if their band has the appropriate stats). Many of the star cards attack opponents by stealing cards, hurting their band, and more, giving the game a take-that element. The game ends when one player does a certain number of gigs, based on number of players. The band with the most money wins!

Who Is It For?

  • Ages 10+ – The mechanics are pretty simple, so it can be played by a pretty wide age range
  • 3-4 Players – Didn’t work for me at 2, so I’d recommend playing with more
  • Fans of take-that – The game can get pretty mean
  • Players looking for a light, filler card game

PROS

  • Aesthetics – I thought the minimalist art was nice, and fit the vibe of the game
  • Theme – Fun theme and the symbols/gigs go with it well
  • Smooth, quick turns
  • Variety of artists, some can even be recruited for free so it’s always a viable action to take
  • Reference cards for all players
  • Symbology is clear and consistent
  • Small/portable

CONS

  • Quality – The cards are okay, the box though is just a thin deckbox
  • I wish some of the action star cards (i.e. “This artists doesn’t generate pipes”) showed the stat symbol in addition to the name, for ease
  • The 2 player game felt fairly broken to me. You can spend just a few turns grabbing up the entire deck of star cards and then steal cards from one another and keep the deck empty; basically it seemed like holding a huge hand was the way to go in 2 players, and it came down to who got luckier with the draws to get the right combination of cancel cards and stealing cards to get ahead faster. It was within the rules, but just wasn’t a super fun time

Final Thoughts

The game is heavy on take-that, and the cards are kind of swingy. There’s everything from stealing cards out of hands, to negating artist stats, to making someone randomly discard a gig, which can be a huge amount of their points.

For me, it felt a little bit too mean, though that did ultimately fit with the theme, so that’s a plus. Additionally, for me, it didn’t work at 2 players well, which means I probably wouldn’t return to it often.

If you enjoy take-that, then you might find enjoyment in this, but I would definitely recommend playing with 3 to 4 players for a better experience.

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 4/10
Designers – !uke earley, Sam Rosen, Samuel Geer
Artist – Adam Tremaine
Graphic Design – Marit McCluske, Adam Tremaine, Samuel Geer
Publisher – (Self-Published)

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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