A few weeks ago, we told you about Overlords In Training, the fresh new game currently on Kickstarter by Catalyst Game Labs’ new Board Game Division. Thankfully, we were able to get our hands on a not-quite-final but very close copy of the game, and were able to play through a full session. 

Here’s a video of that playthrough:

We had a blast playing, but if you aren’t game (ha, ha) to watch the full hour and a half, here’s the highlights:

Setting Up

Right away, we learned that setting up Overlords In Training is pretty simple. The steps are laid out pretty well, and while I was able to do a tiny bit of prep before hitting record, it wasn’t really necessary to save any time. Players choose their mini boss to play, some tokens get placed, decks are shuffled, and off you go – almost. There’s one final deck setup that creates an important game mechanic: first you split the main deck into four mostly equal piles, and then you follow instructions to place boss leveling and appearance cards into those piles, eventually creating the deck you’ll actually play with.

Each mini boss does have a special power that costs a certain number of level 1 cards to use. We were NOT prepared for that initially, and in future games I’m sure we’ll all look pretty closely at that cost when choosing a mini boss to play, as well as the power itself. Some of us benefited far more than the others from our powers.

Playing Overlords In Training

The first and foremost thing I feel is important to note: don’t play timidly. This game is fast paced, and while you might be a more strategic player who likes to save their attacks for later, this is not the game for it. We discovered that when we hit the first boss leveling card and read the rules for what happens when that card appears. Unfortunately, we had all been playing too carefully and Mike, the boss, was irritated with us. That irritation led to extra strength for him for the end of the game when he would appear. We all burst into action after that, and our battles were frequent and bloody after that.

Many times throughout the game, we laughed at the artwork and flavor text on the cards. Despite being a game that can very easily be understood and enjoyed by kids, most adults can also appreciate the humor and quirky characters. 

Winning Overlords In Training

In this game, I lucked out and destroyed all of my opponents’ bases before Mike could be irritated enough to come out and fight us all. As a result, I won by domination and no one had to suffer the initial leveling that Mike did because of our timidity. Having proved my superiority (or, rather, sheer luck), I proved myself the best mini boss and became Mike’s newest Overlord.

We may need to create a traveling trophy of some sort for our gaming group, because I imagine this is going to be one of those games that people want to play frequently enough to justify a physical reminder of the last winner.

Getting Overlords In Training

Overlords In Training is still live on Kickstarter at the time of this writing. I highly recommend you get a copy, because it’s a deceptively simple game with some really nice twists, and it deserves to be made.

Click through to read all of "‘Overlords In Training’ Playthrough" at GeekDad.If you value content from GeekDad, please support us via Patreon or use this link to shop at Amazon. Thanks!