I can’t think of anything in this world that isn’t made better by putting giant, transforming robots into it – be it Gundam, Power Rangers, Voltron, among others – and this fundamental law of the universe remains true when dealing with board game crossovers.
Renegade Game Studios is no stranger to concocting such a thing, and one of its latest creations brings together the tech of Cybertron and high-stakes racing board games with the brand-new release Robo Rally: Transformers.
Robo Rally: Transformers
Robo Rally: Transformers is an adaptation of Richard Garfield’s (yes, the guy who created Magic: The Gathering) 1994 classic Robo Rally. The new game sees some fan favorite Autobots and Decepticons dropped into the rally race. Based off Avalon Hill’s 2016 revised release of the game, Robo Rally is a programming title that tasks you and up to five other players to race around a course to reach various checkpoint flags, before taking home the goal.
This new version adds a handful of unique mechanics and features pulled from the Transformers property that Ratchets everything up a notch, including transforming into your bot’s alt mode, shooting, and even new Cybertronian hazards to watch out for.
What’s in the Box
Rulebook • 6 Transformer Miniatures • 6 Player Boards • 4 Double-sided Map Boards • 1 Double-sided Starting Tile • 6 Checkpoint Flags • 132 Planning Cards • 40 Damage Cards • 38 Upgrade Cards • 15 Plastic Energon Cubes • 6 Character Tiles • 4 Space Bridge Tokens • 8 Mine Tokens • 6 Checkpoint Tracking Tokens • 1 Large Player Aid Card • 1 Cosmos Priority Token •1 Sticker Sheet (for the checkpoint flags)
Robo Rally Transformers includes six choices of bots for players to pick from: Optimus Prime, Blurr, and Arcee, representing the Autobots; and Megatron, Drag Strip, and Flamewar for the Deceptions. Each of the Cybertronian contestants is outfitted with a unique ability and three special upgrades they can equip, further boosting their abilities in both robot and alt modes. All are represented by impressively detailed plastic minis, each in a unique color and shaded to help bring out those glorious robot details.
As someone who tends to be the “teacher” of games, I always appreciate board games that can be taught relatively quickly with even brand new players being able to grasp the majority of how a game works by the end of a turn or two. Robo Rally Transformers, I am happy to report, fits comfortably into that category.
On the topic of Robo Rally games as a whole, fans who have other boxes from Renegade’s releases will be happy to know that Transformers can be incorporated into those games as well.