Funko recently released a new game series called 'Fightline' that uses Five Nights at Freddy's characters. The game requires you putting three characters in a row and using them their abilities and your resources to fight your opponent's characters to gain points. Whoever gains 7 points first (by the various means within the game) wins the game! More information: https://funkogames.com/unleash-the-animatronic-chaos-with-funko-games-five-nights-at-freddys-fightline/
The game itself is fun, and I really like the idea of strategizing based on the characters you pick at the beginning of the game. It gives me a loose feeling of something like very early Yugioh, only with FNAF characters as the monsters, and only one monster on the field.. Alright, that is probably not a fair comparison, but I don't play many board games or strategy games if you can tell haha! I've really only played Yugioh (early on and in current format) and the occasional family board game go-tos like Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno, etc.
Anyway, I was able to attend the Premiere Event for the game, hosted by Funko at specific Gamestop locations around the country. More information: https://funkogames.com/five-nights-at-freddys-fightline-game-night-events-at-gamestop-join-the-fun/
This was announced only two days prior to the event, abut thankfully I was able to attend one not too far away. Below are my experiences and documentation of said event.
The event started at 5pm and lasted until the Gamestop store closed for the day. Funko employees were attending some locations as well to help with the event and promote the game. The Gamestop I attended had a table set up with the starter set out and ready to play.
Along with the 4 characters of the starter set, there were also 2 other characters included: Circus Baby and Springtrap. These two figures were unique in that they were completely silver colored unlike their normal figures from the mystery packs. These were exclusive to the event, and came in a package with the Premiere Event highlighting as such. Their cards were the same as their normal cards you'd get in a character pack. The Gamestop employee was kind enough to gift me one while we played with another opened set. According to this Twitter post from FunkoGames, these figures are referred to as 'Chrome Circus Baby' and 'Chrome Springtrap'.
After two rounds of playing I felt like I was starting to get the hang of the game. I definetly see the value in attack power and actions for the characters. Defense also plays a big role. From my time playing, Bonnie (Classic) and Freddy (Classic) were especially valuable team members to have. We only played with those six characters as mentioned, and I'm currently experimenting with other character pairs/synergy (may talk about this in a future post). I was also gifted participation prizes for participating in the event, which was very generous.
I walked away really enjoying the game and experience! I want this game to succeed (not only because its FNAF but) because its a genuinely well thought out and fun game to play! In fact, I've been recently been more open minded to playing more board games and strategy games with friends. Perhaps I can get them to play with me and help me learn the in's and out's of board games and strategy? Either way, looking forward to playing more!
Feedback
I was also told that the Funko Games employees were looking for feedback from the Premiere Event. Below is my detailed list (potentially too detailed) of what my thoughts are on the game, including constructive criticism and suggestions. I plan to send this to the Funko Games employees directly too:
Strengths:
• Quality: I really appreciate the high quality put into the figurines and the character cards. In fact, all the material from the tokens, resources, and overall presentaion are all fantastic! The figures don't have any major blemishes, quality control is spot-on, and none of the material feels flimsy/cheap. You feel like you get a great value for the price!
• Illustrations: Myself and many others really appreciate the use of Diana Camero as the illustrator, especially since her artwork is very appealing and fitting for this game! The character cards are very nice looking and add an extra element of collectibility to the game. They ave a lot of character to them!
• Simplicity: I appreciate the level of simplicity for the game. That isn't to say its too simple, but its just that right balance of being able to incorporate strategy and not be overwhelmed with too much happening on the board. I think if more elements or collectibles were added (beyond the coins and tickets) I think it would overcomplicate the game.
• Characters: The character selection is fantastic, and really shows FNAF fans worked on the game. You get a good variety of familiar and niche characters that would make any FNAF fan happy!
• Actions: I like how several Actions are tied to the character itself, like Springtrap being able to die easily and to revive himself. Or the Shadows having good synergy. Or LOLBIT asking for coins for actions. Or Phantoms doing weird phantom things. I think my point was made haha- Anyways, myself and many others appreciate that care and attention put into the game!
Constructive Criticisms:
• Action Clarity: The instructions which come with the game are clear, but I was still confused on a few points that I think need clarification. For example, if the Action of the character requires another Action, does that count as Two Actions if you activate it? Also, what does a Hit (!) mean versus rolling an Attack (circle, diamond, star)? When we played I was told the Hit (!) used the Attack value from the Defense Power, but that wasn't stated in the Instructions as far as I could tell. Perhaps an example in the instructions could help, similar to how some board games explain a hypothetical scenario.
• Excessive Material for Character Packs: The character packs are really wonderful and include enough material to get started if you buy three of them. However, it seems like material from only two or three of these characters packs is necessary with anything beyond being excess. You are left with multiple die and resources which you don't have a use for after several purchases. It especially gets excessive if you already bought the Starter Pack and/or are trying to get the rest of the characters. I've bought at least 10 character packs so far, so the excess material I plan to recycle (including most of the die). I think there is a way the waste could be reduced, or at least reduce the quality of the materials in the character packs going forward in the future.
Suggestions:
• Series 2 Characters: I would love to see more characters, especially including the Toy Animatronics (including Mangle), Endo-02, Golden Freddy, Fredbear, Spring Bonnie, the rest of the Phantoms (especially Phantom Freddy, Phantom Puppet, and Phantom BB). I'd also love to start seeing Withered characters (Withered Chica and Withered Freddy to start?), Funtime Freddy, Ballora, and FNAF World characters like White Rabbit and DeeDee. I'd like to keep going, but I think that'd be great for a start!
• Boss Mode: In a Reddit Ask Me Anything post the Funko Games employees said they were also looking into adding this as an option in the future. I would love this myself, especially if that meant adding Animdude, Chica's Magic Rainbow, and Purplegeist to the series!
• Items: These could be included as cards (and with figures if possible) you can include in your initial line-up. They could be one-time uses only and count as a possible Action. For example, Chica's Cupcake could revive a teammate, or the Fan could forcefully rotate the opponent's character line-up.
• Unique or Passive Actions: There could be passive Actions tied to characters that restrict or encourage new strategies to win. For example: Candy Cadet or Rockstar Freddy (if added) could have an Action that lets you trade 5 Coins for 1 Point (or something like that). Or if a character like Vanny was added, she could have an Action that prevents all opponent Glamrocks from being able to execute both an Attack and Action. I think this would add additional variety and strategy to the gameplay.
Overall, again, I really enjoy the game and was very grateful to be able to attend the event! I look forward to seeing this game grow in the future as more characters and modes are added to the already fun game!
