Let's Get Rowdy, Partners!

Wrestling meets trick-taking...

Welcome back, folks! For those of you who do not know, I have been connected to the professional wrestling business since I was born. My dad has worked in the industry for many decades, so when I was a kid, I was fortunate enough to go backstage and meet the greats like Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, Sting, and Goldberg.

I have not played any games that have a link to wrestling, so when I got the opportunity to review Capstone Games’ Rowdy Partners, I was excited to get into the squared circle. The mission? Reduce your opposition’s health to zero. We’re going to make this post wrestling themed, so get ready to rumble.

In Gorilla — The Setup

In pro wrestling, gorilla is the staging area where all of the talent hangs out before their match and where they go afterwards, so it makes sense to connect that to the setup. Rowdy Partners can be played with two, three, or four players. We played our first in-person game at two, and at that count each player controls a Headliner wrestler and that wrestler’s Manager. In a four-player game, you team up with a partner and work together to try to pin the opponents. You can randomly assign wrestlers or choose them, which is what we did. It was hard not to select Big Money and his striking manager Jack Daddy as my pair, which went up against my wife’s team of Grizzabelle and Coach.

In the two-player game, you play from your hand and a shared manager grid. Each trick you play two cards, either first or last, or back to back in the middle. Those cards can come from your hand, the manager grid, or one from each. In the four-player game, everyone gets eight cards for the round, and teammates alternate turns in that same first last, second third order.

Pictures below show how the manager grid should look in a two player matchup at the start and as you remove cards. This mechanic is similar to 7 Wonders Duel in that when you remove a card that is covering others, you reveal the ones it was covering.

Lastly, each manager has a special ability, which is at the center of their grid. Once you unlock that, it’s yours to use at any point during the round.

Ding..Ding..Ding! And We’re Off!

Alright! It’s match time. The bell has rung. So as I mentioned before, in a two-player tussle, we took turns placing two cards. As with most trick-taking games, the player that leads plays a card that is the trump suit. If the opposing player has a card or cards that match that suit, you must play it, whether it be from your hand or grid. However, what’s different about this game is that instead of the highest card winning the trick, the lowest card does.

Bah gawd — he hit ‘em with a right hand!

How do you beat up your opponent? If you play the lowest card in the trick, that card does damage to the opponent equal to its value plus any modifiers. Modifiers are earned as you work your way up the Pop Track. Some cards have the Pop symbol on them, and each time you play one of those cards, move up the track that many spaces. You can see that track below in between Headliner & Manager.

Some modifiers add or subtract value from cards, others just add straight up damage to the winning card. Players play cards and damage each other until one player loses all of their health. There are eight tricks in a round, and if someone’s not defeated by the end of a round, you go again. In the four-player game, whichever player deals the damage enters the ring, switching spots with their tag team partner and will lead the next trick.

Near Falls - Eliminating Your Opponent

Near falls in wrestling are when the ref reaches a two-count, but one of the wrestlers kicks out at the last millisecond. In Rowdy Partners, this is represented with three red health spots. Once you are in the red, your opponent must deal a specific amount of damage to lower your health further. After you hit the red, they need to hit you with 1+ damage, then 2+ damage, and finally 3+ damage to complete the three-count.

Reversals

When it looks like your opponent might have the upper hand, you can do what the game calls a counter. If any player places a card during a trick with the same value as another, they cancel each other out. This includes modifiers. For example, if you played a three and your opponent plays a five but adds two -1 tokens, those cards would cancel each other out.

The Two-Player Experience

Prior to the game arriving, I did a good bit of research as to how this game plays at different player counts, and it seems most people think four is the best. What I can say is that after a few two-player games, things really get interesting as the game progresses. Between in-person and digital on Board Game Arena, I’ve tallied six two-player games and all but one of them ended up in both players being on their last two health. At the beginning, it may seem that there’s a runaway leader, and that’s due in large part to my issue with a lot of trick taking games. Sometimes you are just at the mercy of the card draw. And since you don’t get to see all of your cards in the manager grid, you really have to think about how you want to maneuver through each trick.

Final Bapter Thoughts: I have really enjoyed my plays of Rowdy Partners so far. The theme is goofy, it’s a new spin on trick taking, and while I have played primarily at the two-player count, I am hoping to get a four-player game in this week. If I do, I will update this post. For the two-player experience, I am coming in at a 6.5 out of 10. Using the BoardGameGeek rating scale, it is a game I am willing to play if I am in the mood or if there is a group I think might enjoy it.

I will definitely be introducing this one to friends through Board Game Arena. If you want to give it a try, click here. If you want to purchase Rowdy Partners, head on over to the Capstone Games website here.