Game by Richard Garfield.
Published by Wizards of the Coast.
Review by Steffan O'Sullivan ([email protected]).
It's a good game, but not a great one. You have to want to assemble and paint miniatures before you can play it, including filing down parts so they'll fit in the bases and distinguishing the front of the robots, as not all of them are clear in this regard.
Once that's done, it's okay, but you have to tinker with the rules *OR* have a very high tedium tolerance. The game as written: four boards and six checkpoints - must take at least 6 hours to play, at which point most gamers are very tired of the game.
However, you can do variants: we usually play two boards and three checkpoints, which is about a two-hour game, just right. We want to try a Capture the Flag variant, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Expect to have to write your own rules for how the various option cards interact - no advice is given. Also, expect that a few rules - such as moving onto a turning conveyor belt - will be poorly worded, causing confusion. Fortunately, the game developer has been on the net and explained they way they're meant to work, which is a good system.
All in all, with a little tinkering, it's an okay game. Not in the same league as your favorite games, but pretty good.