Dear Strong Bad,

Could you please review Trogdor!! The Board Game for me? Life has been a little hectic lately. Thanks,

Your pal,

Brian

Hamilton NZ

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Hey Brian,

Let me get this straight. First, I make the game, then I have to play it for you, then I gotta review it too? Geez Brian, when are you gonna pick up your end of the couch? Review it yourself.

Your frenemy,

Strong Bad

1-6 Players 30-60 mins Age 14+

Designers: Matt Chapman, Mike Chapman, James Ernest, Mike Selinker

Artists: Chris Schweizer, Liz Spain, Skylar Woodies

Publishers: Homestar Runner (Self Published)

Trogdor Was A Man

Okay, Strong Bad, you make a good point.

Trogdor!!: The Board Game (simply called Trogdor from here on out) is a cooperative tile-flipping, area control game for 1-6 players based on the character of Trogdor the Burninator, a weird dragon-man made famous by the Homestar Runner crew, creators of the famous Strong Bad web cartoons of the early 2000’s. The Flash based videos followed the exploits of the infamous Strong Bad, a shirtless character adorned in a lucha libre wrestling mask and boxing gloves who humorously answered daily emails from his fans. During one such episode, Strong Bad came up with the character of Trogdor the Burninator, a dragon-man who burninated (sic) peasants and their thatched roof cottages in a far away fantasy land.

Therein lies the premise of the game. Set on a 5x5 grid of tiles depicting the lands themselves, players take turns controlling Trogdor by playing action cards from their hand and taking the number of actions shown on the card in addition to any special ability that card activates that round. In this way, players move him around the grid, “burninate” the countryside, and the occasional peasant, and try to avoid knights, archers and the dreaded Troghammer, a ‘roided out knight with a giant hammer who is fixing to bring Trogdor all of the pain.

A separate deck of cards is used for the movement of peasants and enemies, as well as determining if peasants respawn and if they are able to repair burned tiles by restoring them to their fertile green side. These actions flow seamlessly and are effortless to perform, making the game fast and easy to manage even at higher player counts.

The game ends in one of two ways. The players win if they successfully burninate every tile, or, if Trogdor takes too much damage, he “rage quits” the game and embarks upon one last randomly determined, flame-fuelled rampage cross the countryside, burning every tile he touches in a last ditch effort to take everybody with him before he falls.

I Mean, He Was A Dragon-Man

When I first heard Trogdor had been made into a board game, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Clearly there’d be some off the wall humour, and the distinctive art style I was familiar with, but I was curious how the game itself would hold up beyond its Homestar Runner nostalgia. After my first game, my concerns were alleviated. I was happy to find a solid, mechanically smooth and above all, enjoyable game underlying everything. Trogdor may not be on people’s top ten games of all time, but it fills a niche in my collection. It’s quick to set up, it’s simple to teach and learn, it’s visually appealing, it plays well at all player counts, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Most sessions are over in about 20 minutes depending on player count and how well the card draws favour players.

The ability to play with anywhere from solo to six players speaks to the flexibility and ease of the gameplay, players can remain engaged while waiting for their turn by seeing the chaos unfold and discussing their plans to brings things back on course if their strategy goes awry.

Trogdor is filled with self-referential humour with cards, items and powers providing plenty of references and in-jokes for fans of the franchise. Each player begins with a item and a power that give them an advantage during play, this could be the ability to ignore damage on their turn or being able to reposition themselves. These powers feel good to use in the moment without being game breaking, and could make all the difference during a close game. Despite the randomness of many of the events, there is still a good deal of player agency involved and the afore mentioned items and powers serve to mitigate the randomness of the card draws.

Or Maybe He Was Just A Dragon

While Trogdor is a blast to play, there are a few areas where the experience may fall flat for some. The theme and humour may not connect with players if they are unaware of the game’s Homestar Runner origins, and after a number of play throughs, many may find they’ve seen all there is to see, Trogdor is a game that’s here for a good time, not a long time.

I could recommend Trogdor as an idea starter to a game evening, but setting up the 5x5 grid of tiles could cause some groups to just dismiss it in favour of something quicker out of the box. Granted, these are minor quibbles, and neither has impacted my enjoyment thus far, but your experience may vary.

But He Was Still, TROOOOGDOOOORRRR!!!

The components are actually pretty top notch and, despite buying what I assumed was a retail version, it seems that I received all the preprinted minis in my version. To be honest, I would have enjoyed the game just as much if I had the wooden meeples, but I’m not gonna lie, the minies are fabulous! I especially like the thatched roof cottages, that you can flip the roofs and turn them into burning buildings, a simple, clever touch that adds a nice detail to the experience.

The art work is excellent, fitting in perfectly with the theme as one would expect. Lots of little easter eggs and details to discover on the multitude of cards. At this point I would like to note that my copy came with a damaged Troghammer card, which would have made it identifiable in the draw deck. I reached out to the team at Homestar Runner and they not only sent several replacement cards, but even threw in a couple of promo powers and a hand drawn depiction of Trogdor himself! This was above an beyond my expectations, and speaks to the quality of the team who brought Trogdor to life. This wasn’t a one off experience either as I’ve read about other customers who have received similar levels to customer care, so kudos to all involved there!

And The Trogdor Comes In The Niiiiight!

A surprisingly fun area control game, Trogdor leans into its theme and utilises its elements well, creating a pleasant trip down memory lane for fans of the Strongbad franchise. For those new to the property, Trogdor gives them a new world to discover, whether it be the board game or expanding out to explore the original videos online. Trogdor!!: The Board Game is clearly a labour of love for its creators and this passion is evident in every detail of a game that is far better than it has any business being. It’s not for everyone, but its just the right fit for some!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review. If you’ve experienced Trogdor!! The Board Game or the original Strong Bad videos, why not share your thoughts below or head over to our Above Board Facebook group and join our growing community of gamers. TROGODOOOORRRRR!!!

Trogdor!!: The Board Game Review