Highly replayable. The difficulty settings, expansions and different scenarios etc. means there's always something new to try. I particularly like playing with the scenario "Overtaking an Arsonist" - where you must drag at least three of the hazardous materials out of the building as evidence as well as rescuing seven victims. Generally most logical moves are a good option. Like many co-operative games in this style, there is the opportunity for one player to try and take over and decide everyone’s move, but if everyone is conscious to avoid this ‘alpha-player’ scenario then all players should be able to make a big contribution, even in a first game. In addition, if playing with young experienced players, the base game even includes a family rule set with no special character abilities and few extra simplifications. For gamers this can be quite boring but it’s worth it to get everyone around the table familiar with the mechanics. Take Action– Spend Action Points, moving, putting out fires, chopping down walls and door when necessary and, of course, rescuing victims. What else would a firefighter be doing?

To get victims out of the house you need to travel to one of the three points of interest tokens on the board. When you do you can flip them and determine whether it’s a victim or simply nothing. The fire can disorient fire fighters and I imagine a blank token is like a random noise being interpreted as a cry for help when in reality it was made by the building as it burns. If you do happen to find a victim, you must carry them out of the building and to the ambulance to save them. Unfortunately, this is tiring work and consumes 2 action points per move instead of the usual 1 action point. Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a thematic cooperative board game designed by Kevin Lanzing with the help of firefighters. [1] released in November 2011. [2] The objective is for players to work together to rescue people and animals from a burning building before it collapses. Since the initial release of the game several expansions have been published, which add additional scenarios for players experience. These include fires in a high rise building, a two-story house, and a submarine. The part which may be a bit odd for some people is that when a point of interest is removed from the board it is then replaced by way of a random dice roll so there are always 3 on the board at each time. This means there is potential for a point of interest to appear in a room you just rescued someone from. I can’t explain how this fits thematically but it’s just the way it is. Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a co-operative game for 1-6 players from Indie Boards and Cards. The players take on the role of a team of firefighters trying to put out the fire in a house and rescue the people and animals trapped inside. You will be putting out fires, trying to control the risks of hazardous material, investigating points of interest and carrying casualties to the ambulance, all whilst trying to ensure that the house does not collapse due to too much damage caused by the fire. But it’s Yellow’s turn first and, although she’d love to be able to assist Red, there’s just no way she can get near him. She decides to proceed with her original plan to save the kitchen victim, and spends her 4 AP as follows:

First Foray into Cooperative Gaming

Efficient Specialists: Each member of your squad brings a unique blend of skills that you will need to carefully apply as you adapt to the ever changing scenarios. There are some negatives. As with most dice games, sometimes the dice just hate you. There is variable difficulty and even a simplified family version, but ultimately the extra hazards aren’t a threat if you never roll them. Flash Point is great for small player counts where your turns come relatively fast, but at the higher player counts the wait between turns can be a little painful, it feels like your firefighter has completely lost any sense of urgency and is casually strolling around as the house burns and explodes around them. Do you walk all the way from the game room, through the kitchen, dining room and play room to get to the victim in the small bathroom? Or do you just chop down the shared wall between the game room and the small bathroom? The one thing I struggle to explain thematically, is the fact that when you rescue a victim from a room another could possibly appear near the same spot you were just at. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but I guess if all the points of interest were laid out at the beginning of the game it may make it too easy and reduce the tension.

I want to bring particular attention to the specialist cards. The illustrations are on fire, so to say. The art is very detailed and shows realistic firefighters in their unique roles. This game excels at portraying the catastrophic nature of a fire: a primaeval monster out of human control, prone to outburst and unexpected behaviours. That’s why failure doesn’t really feel frustrating, even as everything crumbles around you. The battle was never supposed to be fair. Horrible accidents are expected, and always greeted with a shrug and disheartened laugh. It’s a nice change of pace to the endless RPGs where fire is at your complete disposal, a fireball to throw at your enemies with a snap of your fingertips. At the start of a game you roll the dice to generate a series of explosions that represent the state of the fire when you arrive. These explosions generate fire tokens, which hinder progress until extinguished, and structural damage cubes. Damage cubes create holes in walls making it easier for you, and the fire, to move about, but should you run out of the supply then the house falls down crushing everyone still inside. Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a co-op firefighting board game in which you are a team of firefighters attempting to keep a house fire under control long enough to save the people (and pets) inside. You will take on one of the six firefighter roles and work with your teammates to move in and around the house as the fire spreads unpredictably. Each player, in turn, will continue to perform these three steps indefinitely, until the game is either won or lost.

Avoid damaging walls.Damaging walls will accelerate the collapse of the building so avoid breaking walls unless it is absolutely necessary Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a game you will just want to keep playing. It’s challenging but even when you lose you always want to try again and again. The two ways to play make it perfect for new players and experienced gamers alike. If you are looking for a fun, easy to learn, cooperative game for the whole family, you can’t go wrong with Flash Point: Fire Rescue. Balance your team.Linked to the point above it is useful to balance your team between roles that are good at fighting the fire and those that are good at rescuing. Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a great implementation of what is now the classic co-op experience. The theme makes working as a team come so natural to players, though there is always that one person who questions why you can’t just put the fire out and go home. The different roles all have their own unique strengths, with some being of very limited use at certain parts of the game, so the ability to retire to the fire engine and swap your role for another firefighter is an ingenious solution so no player feels useless. Before you bring the heat in Flash Point, there are some turn actions you’ll need to know. It’s vital that all players work cooperatively to save all the family members and Fido before it’s too late! Game Setup

We got the call, a building is burning and there are people trapped inside. Fire is spreading and time is running out. We've had reports of explosions and the whole thing can come crashing down at any moment. You know the job: get those survivors out of there. Fire Academy Challenge Update Understanding the strengths and limitations of your specialists is key to a successful rescue. The Fire Academy Challenges are designed to test your understanding of each member of your squad and how they work together. [In Development] Hazmat Technician– More efficient at removing HazMat markers (i.e. does not have to carry it like a victim) The reason why Flash Point isn’t very high up on our list of top cooperative board games is because it doesn’t offer great replay value. Well, at least not for the adults in my group who prefer meatier games. It just starts to feel a bit repetitive. It does have good replayability as a family game, though, and the Flash Point expansions add a lot to the base game. Each player can take on the roll of a specific type of firefighter: The CAFS Firefighter who can extinguish fires without using action points, the Fire Captain who can use their action points to move other players around, the Rescue Specialist who can move farther and can chop through walls easier. Perhaps the players would prefer to play the Imaging Technician who can identify where the victims are, or the diver/operator who can use the fire engine much easier than others. What firefighting team would be complete without the Hazmat Technician who can dispose of hazardous materials easier than others, the Paramedic who can heal the victims and get them out of the fire faster or the extremely useful and versatile Generalist who has an extra action point.

The Experienced Game

An explosion radiates outward in all four directions (never diagonal), spreading Fire until it hits one of the following: Every time a firefighter finishes their turn, a shiny spark of ember wanders the map, spawning a new puff of smoke in a random spot. Smoke becomes fire when next to another flame, and when too much fire fills the same room, it explodes. The house has a number of hit points, and after sustaining too much damage, it’s game over.