Puzzle Strike from Sirlin Games is an innovative card game that is played with chips instead of cards. It is based on a puzzle video game called Puzzle Fighter produced by Capcom that uses a puzzle mechanic to simulate the fighting game Street Fighter. So Puzzle Strike has anime roots and its graphics will definitely appeal to fans of anime and Japanese video games. It is a deck building game that has all the complexity of a customizable card game without the random packs—everything needed to play is included in the Puzzle Strike box. You just have to buy it once—and playing with chips is just plain cool.

 

Every game is different because the bank starts with a new set of chips every game. Puzzle Strike is for from 2-4 players, but each player gets to choose from 10 different characters. Each of the ten characters has their own particular action chips that individualize that character’s style of gameplay. There are over 411 million different starting conditions for a 4-player game, so it’s obvious that Puzzle Strike provides plenty of variety.

 

The Puzzle Strike Game (MSRP 59.95) includes 350 cardboard chips, 4 cloth bags (for shuffling), an 8-page full color rulebook, and a box designed to separate the chips by type for storage. Players build their decks as they play the game. A built-in comeback mechanic means that players on the verge of losing are able to make more combinations that give them an excellent chance of being able to turn the tables on their opponents.

 

Puzzle Strike is easy to play without much practice, but it is also cleverly balanced for high level play by designer David Sirlin, who is an experienced asymmetric game balancer.