Mechs vs. Minions

Each round you draft Command cards from a shared pool then physically slot them into one of six numbered positions on your mech's Command Line dashboard. The signature gesture is the slot-and-stack: dropping a 'Move 2' card onto an existing 'Move 1' to upgrade the slot to 'Move 3', or burying a card in slot 6 knowing it executes last. Then on the execution phase you resolve slots 1-6 in order while sliding your painted mech mini around the modular hex board, with damage cards occasionally jamming slots and forcing you to reprogram around the gaps.

Phase 1: draft — flip Command cards equal to player count + 1, players pick in turn order, last card discarded. Phase 2: program — each player either slots their drafted card into one of 6 Command Line positions (overwriting or stacking on the type already there) or scraps it for a one-shot effect. Phase 3: execute — in player order, run your Command Line slot 1 → slot 6, performing the move/turn/attack on each slot, including damage-induced glitches that may fire random commands. Phase 4: minion phase — minions spawn from board edges, swarm toward mechs, deal damage that adds Damage cards to random Command Line slots. Mission objectives (escort, hold ground, push minions off cliffs) drive the win condition; missions are sealed envelopes opened in story order across a 10-mission campaign.

The core tension is build-now versus rebuild-later: programming a slot commits to that command for many rounds, but Damage cards can force a hard pivot. You weigh stacking pressure (upgrading existing slots is efficient but locks in your archetype — speed mech vs. fire mech vs. ice mech) against flexibility (keeping slots empty or swapping for utility cards). Coordination with teammates is the second axis: who tanks, who herds minions, who holds the objective tile. The option space per program decision is narrow (you have 1-2 cards to slot in 6 spots) but the cascade effects across an 8-round mission are deep.

Dominant skill is sequential-reasoning under noise — visualizing where your mech ends up after slots 1-6 fire, given facing changes and a damage-corrupted slot 4. Second is spatial planning on the modular hex board (where will the minion swarm be in 3 rounds?). Third is team draft awareness (do I take this Speed card to deny the teammate building a Speed archetype, or grab the utility?). The programmed-movement skill is identical to RoboRally's predictive-planning muscle, but tempered by a campaign curve that introduces new mechanics each mission. Low math, modest memory.

Pilot a comedy League-of-Legends Yordle mech and stomp/burn/freeze hordes of minions across a 10-mission campaign with sealed-envelope reveals.

Riot Games in-house art team — bright cartoon Runeterra style, painted miniatures matching League's champion model aesthetic, comedic exaggerated proportions, vibrant primary palette. Production is famously over-the-top for the $75 price (Riot subsidized): plastic insert tray, painted minis, sealed envelopes, hardcover dossiers — a video-game publisher flexing on the tabletop industry.