RollACrit’s Heroes of Barcadia effortlessly combines RPG game elements with fun drinking game rules to create one of the most innovative party games we’ve played.In this innovative table-top game players grab their booze inspired fantasy character, fill up their “HP cup”, and embark on their drunken adventure.
How Does It Work?
One of the strengths of this game is the simplicity. The objective is to simply defeat the Drink Hoard boss, which anyone can do once they find him and have at least 3 power ups.
Set Up
Before Starting, each player grabs one of the fantasy character cups and fills it with a drink of choice, up to the “max” line. This acts as their characters HP during the game.
To set up the map, place the portal hexagon in the middle and the 6 wooden floor pieces around it. This acts as the beginning area where everyone starts the game. After that, hand out the remaining hexagon tiles face down and players begin placing them on the game board until the map is formed.
Playing the Game
Gameplay is quick and easy. Players take turns moving their characters onto the face down hexagons, flipping them over and hoping to win some loot. Most of the tiles come in the form of enemies that you must roll higher than to defeat in battle or risk taking damage (and drinking accordingly). Loot can either be loot cards or power ups. Loot cards are a type of action cards that effect the game, like weakening monsters or attacking other players. Power ups are permanent bonuses to your character, these are what every player is trying to collect so they can challenge the Drink Hoard to win the game. You can also duel other players to steal their space on the board, or just to make them drink.
Our Thoughts on Barcadia
The first thing that’s clear about this game is that a lot of work went into it. All the character and monster designs are clever, and just when you think they couldn’t pump out any more booze-related puns, another Portergeist or Mimosaurus flips onto the game board. All of the 6 classes are unique and come with their own special abilities. The custom drink glasses and beer cap-shaped tokens make Barcadia feel like a labor of love.
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The rulebook can seem a little daunting for a drinking game, with the three separate types of battle, but it’s actually very easy to play and understand. You move, you flip a tile, and you hope to win the battle or get some form of instant reward. The cards are all clearly explained and tell you exactly what they do and when to use them. Now the only thing left to do is make sure everyone at the table is sober enough to remember when it’s their turn.
We decided to try this game out at a local pub, which might not have been the best avenue for this game seeing as it takes up most of the table. A better setting would be somewhere you can keep a case of beer nearby, instead of heading to the counter because you got hit with a fireball and need to refill your game-glass.
The one critique I would have is that it’s fairly light on the drinking rules. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who you’re talking to. But that’s an easy fix, so we added the rule that players take a shot to revive their character and kept a few non-game-related drinks handy.
In short, this game is a blast. It’s simple enough to pick up and play and has enough randomness to make sense as a drinking game. It’s not too heavy to stress players out who are just trying to have a few drinks, and its sense of humor and booze-related puns keep it entertaining all the way through. It’d make a great addition to anyone’s board game collection as a way to start off the night and make sure everyone is having fun.