Challengers! Beach Cup

Draft an absurd beach team into your deck, then grab the flag in a seven-round tournament.

Designers: Johannes Krenner, Markus Slawitscheck
Publishers: 1 More Time Games, Pretzel Games
Editions by: asmodee, Korea Boardgames, Gém Klub Kft., Hobby Japan, Choo Choo Games

A beach tournament where the players are a very odd team: wizards, aliens, cats, gangsters and krakens. Each round you add a new member to your deck, then you play a match against one opponent, trying to hold the flag and take that round's trophy. Seven rounds of this earn you fans and trophies, and the best make it to the final. There are dozens of characters with over forty effects, seven different sets and a Trainers expansion in the box, so each game builds a different deck and different combos. Your player count barely changes the length: it is always around 45 minutes, and it works for 1 to 8 players.

Seven rounds of drafting then head-to-head matchesDozens of characters and over forty effectsSame length for 1 to 8 players

Who it's for

You like deck-building with a playful theme and want a game that runs about 45 minutes whether you are two or eight.

Not for you if…

You want few cards to keep track of. With dozens of characters, you will be reading a lot of effects.

Vibe's take

Playful and brisk, with a competitive streak. You tune a small deck between matches and then watch it either click or fall apart in front of your opponent.