Neuroshima Convoy card game 12+

First off, well done Portal this game plays very well. AI is decently strong for both factions. I haven’t tapped into multiplayer yet, so I will that out for this review. I have experienced a bug that has happened twice within a short span, so I know it is not some random fluke accident. While playing as Moloch the Outpost AI uses Nestugov to capture the Kasparov module. The AI uses the module, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, the AI gets caught in a loop where it will activate the module, choose a robot to move, be unable to move it, reverse the move and go back to the module, choose the same robot again, and still not be able to move it and the AI goes back to the module. This is unfortunately a game breaking bug, as the AI can’t seem to logic it’s way out of the problem and just gets stuck choosing the same immovable robot. Fix this bug and this will be 5 star review.

As a fan of Neuroshima Hex, I thought I would give this a try. Enjoying it but it definitely has a steep learning curve at the beginning. I knocked a star off because tutorial is too basic and there is not nearly enough explanation of how to play, how units function, etc. It took me a good 3 or 4 games until I got to the point that I understood how the game basics work. I’m now about 8 games in and there are still some things I’m not sure about. But obviously I’m enjoying it or I wouldn’t still be playing.

The game is described as asymmetrical in that Moloch is more powerful and the opposing Outpost faction has weaker units that require more subtle and nuanced game play. In my experience it is much easier to win as Moloch, at least when playing the AI. (I haven’t tried multiplayer yet.)

Overall this is a fun game and a cool digital interface for it, but there are some things missing that bring it down a bit for me.
The minor gripe is that they took away the icons on the cards that indicate whether something is a unit or a building. Sure that will be easy to remember once you’re very familiar with the game, but initially it’s hard to tell from just the illustrations.
But the big two flaws for me are:
-1 star: the game lacks the ability to set up a private online match with a friend. Sure I enjoy playing random opponents from time to time, but I also have a group of friends I play games with who all bought this under the assumption we could play matches together. Almost all games have it in this day and age so we just assumed. Disappointing.
-1 star: the game omitted the setup option of scrapping your entire initial hand of cards, shuffling, and drawing a new hand. This is frustrating not only because it’s a part of the original game (which is even referenced in the rule book the game links you directly to) but also because it’s a key function of the game (starting with a hand of largely “instant” or “module” cards, for example, can be rough).
Hopefully the developer remedies these two issues, and if so I will gladly revisit my rating.