Marvel and X-Men are undoubtedly one of the biggest known names in all of pop culture. When either of them are mentioned or made into some form of game, whether it be a video game, board game, card game etc. etc… fans of those intellectual properties(ip’s) are in for one or two typical outcomes. These outcomes come as either a game that represents the ip well, or a game that seriously lets fans down. All this being said, today I want to talk about Marvel: Age of Heroes from Wiz Kids, which I’ve been following since PAX Unplugged 2022.

Marvel: Age of Heroes is a game designed by Rodney Thompson, and published by Wiz Kids. Age of Heroes is a Euro style game that puts players in the shoes of famous X-Men facing off against classic villains in order to score points. Each player starts out as a duo of mutants with asymmetric powers vying for victory by fighting evil mutants, gathering allies by playing cards, growing/evolving their mutant abilities through evolution cards and taking advantage of the villains abilities that trigger when they are defeated. 

Players take turns in two different phases known as the Institute Phase and the Mission Phase. The Institute Phase sees players sending their workers to do various actions on the board such as drawing cards, playing different types of cards, gaining student pawns(extra workers), sending their workers(mutants) on the X-Jet to participate in the Mission Phase and gathering resources. Through these actions players build towards a board state that allows them to complete villain damage requirements. Players then participate in the Mission Phase if they have sent a worker to the X-Jet. The Mission Phase presents the opportunity to damage the villains, gain other cards/resources/exchange resources for cards, or team up with ally cards to either do damage to villains or gain benefits. 

In the Mission Phase damaging villains is the driving force, and main goal of the game. The base game has players fighting two minor villains, two major villains, and then a boss villain. To get to the major villains you have to defeat one of the minor villains. To get to a Boss you have to defeat a major villain. This allows players to slow the game down or speed it up based on whether they are behind or in the lead. There are also cards in the Mission Phase that can be used just like the Ally cards that are usable in the Institute Phase. These cards can altar the resource requirement of doing damage to bosses allowing damage to be done for different combinations of resources. This greatly affects the game as there are only so many action spaces for each color of resource allowing players to maximize their actions more. The game ends immediately when the boss is defeated and the player with the most points wins. 

Being a fan of Marvel and X-Men I’m typically wary as to whether or not a game is actually good or just has a Marvel theme slapped on it. In this case there’s a bit of both and it does present itself as better than a majority of other offerings out there that are Marvel. This being said Marvel Age of Heroes does have its issues and needs some love to become the best game that it can. 

The thought out design is present, the playtesting I’m not so sure, but it could be worse. The art is phenomenal, and the theme really makes me feel like I’m an X-Men fighting against a classic villain trying to stop their evil and dastardly plot. To recap, the game has a lot going for it, but it is almost incomplete in some aspects. Worthwhile action selection takes a toll as the game goes on, and resources become harder and harder to come by as spaces that reward them get quickly taken as do X-Jet spaces. Lastly, the length of the game is one of the biggest issues. It starts well and doesn’t drag during the first couple of turns, but then as points start changing throughout the game players have no incentive to progress towards the end of the game and slow the game down considerably working to increase their points instead of progressing the game. This slog takes the game from what should be a 2hr experience roughly, to sometimes gaming lasting four or more hours. 

To be clear I love X-Men, I love Marvel. I was even so excited when I got to see Marvel Age of Heroes at Pax Unplugged 2022 that I could hardly wait to get my hands on the game. The game even includes my favorite X-Men of all time Jubilee. My experiences with the game however paint a vastly different picture and I find myself having to tell myself that the game has its merits, it’s good. Which inherently isn’t bad, the game has the makings of a good game. But what slows it down really hurts the game overall and leads to the fall of the mutants. The saving grace here is that Wiz Kids has published a page of errata on the website for anyone who wants it, that does indeed make the game more playable and ultimately more like what the game should have been. 

If you like Lords of Waterdeep and are a fan of X-Men then Marvel Age of Heroes is a game you’ll like, granted everyone should use the errata. In this case the theme carries the weight of the game and winds up being what keeps everyone involved in playing to the end. The only question I keep asking is why it’s called Marvel Age of Heroes, and not something revolving around specifically the X-Men since that’s what the game is about. 

Pros

• Marvel-Lords of Waterdeep is a no brainer 
• Art and components are solid
• Potential room for expansions that could make the game better

Cons

• Play time needs addressing 
• Impactful decisions at game end are seemingly too few
• Half baked game may turn some off