OUR REVIEW

THere’s a Fire! We go to rescue!

FLASH POINT

Fire Rescue

Fire men, Fire brigade, Fire Brigade operations, Fire engines, cooperation, extinguishing, explosion, hazardous substance, ambulance, seat of fire … and lots more come to mind when one only reads the title of the game! Then we open the rules and, behold, all this is included in the components, and much much more! The game also comprises operation symbols, damage markers, closed and opened doors, expert cards, healing symbols, and, and, and …

The game does NOT include any victory, reputation, fame or god-knows-what points. Aim of the game is to save the people trapped in the building before the fire gets out of control and the house collapses.

You set up the board. Sources of fire, first reported possible victims and hazardous substances are placed, the location squares are determined by dice roll. All doors are closed in the house at the start of the game.

„911, what is the emergency?“

„There is a fire! There is a fire!“

„Where is the fire?“

„There is a fire next door!“

„Where is the fire?“

„In the house next door, of course…!”

 „City and street?“

 „Well, here!“

„Please calm down and tell me the address!“

 „12…road, …burgh.“

„Do you know if somebody is in the house?”

 „Yes, at least 8 people!”

 „We are on our way! I need your name, please …“

The fire brigade has arrived. We have a fire-fighting vehicle, an ambulance and scarce information on the whereabouts of the victims. Someone is reported to have been seen in the bathroom, in the kitchen and in the living room. Each player takes up the role of a specialist and has 3-4 action points at this disposal for his turn. This is amended by the action points for the specialist’s special action.

The Paramedic can help the victims in the house to their feet. So they need not to be carried out by a fireman, but simply follow him outside. No, they cannot find their way out on their own, not even when they would be standing next to a door. These are disoriented victims.

The Imaging Technician carries an infrared camera around; this lets him recognize from a distance (even from outside) if false alarm was given or if there really is a victim. Then his colleagues will know for sure if is worthwhile to fight their way to the farthest corner, where a neighbor might have taken a shadow for a potential victim.

The Hazmat Technician is expert on hazardous substances and can remove hazardous substances from the house by spending two action points only. All he has to do is to reach the hazardous substance. Because hazardous substance is not simply a name, it is a hazardous substance. If the fire gets to it the substance explodes. Nail polish remover, firelighters, solvents or simple hairspray can release unsuspected power. The explosion then spreads, the fire spreads much faster and even walls are damaged and closed doors are torn from their frames.

The Rescue Specialist’s s job is to rescue victims. To be able to do his job he has a higher number of action points for movement at his disposal; thus he can get in fast and get out again fast. To ensure this mobility he only carries an axe. He is very well versed and capable of breaking down walls but is not too good in extinguishing fire. But take card, you cannot take away victims through battered walls; the victims believe this to be an unusable path; they even refuse to be carried through such walls.

The fire-fighting engine operates from outside and can be directed and operated by any firefighter. But the best man for the job is the Operator himself. He drives up to the side of a house like any other firefighter, but these would just start to fight the fire rather randomly. But the Operator is able to enter the coordinates for extinguishing action much better; the coordinates are determined by roll of a die, in reality, the Operator only has the chance to roll a second time and thereby to improve a bad result.

The CAFS Firefighter is an export for pressurized foam and carries a high-grade extinguishing mixture. So he has one extra point for extinguishing. It is always nice when he can put out fires in the paths of his comrades and of victims.

As in any each real operation there is a Fire Captain. He tells the others where they are needed and where they should go. In his own turn he makes them move through the house in order to collect victims or open and close doors. He simply positions people so that the can do their job in their own turn, extinguishing, healing, neutralizing of hazardous substances, ect.

I nearly forgot one more expert - and he is the Generalist, one of those people that can be found anywhere and anytime, so why not here, too? He has no special ability, but can command 5 action points in every turn. He is the only one who can save all his action points for the next turn. All others can only save action points from their general allotment of 3-4 points, but never from their special abilities!

Now the rescue crow is complete! Well observed, there are eight experts and only up to six players. At the start of the game the expert cards are assigned randomly to players; this guarantees a different game each time. All the same, you can walk well-trodden paths and change your expert card for one not in play by spending two of your action points. The game comprises good overview charts which make playing with beginners possible.

In his turn a player can play his action points and has to choice to put all of them to use or only part of them. The general ones he did not use he can save for the next turn. A movement from one square to the next costs 1 Action Point (AP); the cost is 2 AP if the fire fighter carries a victim or a hazardous substance. A fire fighter cannot move through a fire, this must first be reduced or extinguished.

„I‘m standing before a wall of fire that no one can cross!“

„I am behind you; prepare a gap in the fire. There is a victim supposed to be behind it!”

“I am only able to open up a small gap! You must hurry up before the fire starts up again!”

To dampen down a fire (1 AP) means that smoke remains on this square. To extinguish a fire (2AP) means that the square is completely cleared. A player can do this on all 4 squares adjacent to his own location. When there is only smoke this can be cleared for 1 AP from the four adjacent squares plus the one you are standing on.

„Report, that everything is filled with smoke here. In order to be able to move on I must first be able to see something!“

 „Fight the smoke first, because when fire flares up again here, the whole mess will start again!“

So fire fighters, male and female, push deeper and deeper into the house. Sometimes they must open o door (1AO) or close it again because of fire advancing and must hope that no explosion occurs behind the door.

„I have just discovered the kitchen! It’s a veritable inferno in here; I will try to extinguish the worst of it!”

 „But take care to get out in time quickly and close the door!“

Another way to use one’s AP is to call for the ambulance or to drive up with the Fire Engine (2AP). The Fire Engine can use its engine to flood a complete quarter of the house with water. The water enters a square and then runs into all four adjacent squares. In all five squares the fires are completely extinguished. The square that is targeted by the water is determined by dice roll and this costs the player another 4 AP. There is a mechanism that insures that a square in the targeted quarter is hit.

„Hey, where are you aiming the hose? There was no fire there!”

 „But there was fire in the adjacent squares and I have directed the water into those, too!“

 „1 yard to the right would have made your extinguishing action more effective!“

 „I can’t see very well from here! Next time tell be before I start extinguishing!”

The most important thing in the game is to avoid victims and to get people and animals out safely. Did somebody notice something near the fireplace in the living room? You follow up on this information - a fire fighter goes there and looks at the operation symbol. It might have been false alarm, but it could as well be a person.

„Report a false alarm for the fire place in the living room. Is there another lead that I should follow up?”

“Not at the moment. The youth in the bathroom is taken care of by Peter and Simone is at that moment taking out the dog!”

“Okay, then I will take care of the oxygen bottles lying around in here. There seems to be a diver in the family!”

The last action a player could do is to demolish walls. Demolishing creates access to new rooms. But only fire fighters can cross such demolished walls. The player starts with one swing of the axe and creates an entry with the second hit, resulting in spending 2+2 AP and placement of two damage markers at the wall. But this action must be taken with some care, because a house that is damages too much can crash down.

You should always talk over your intended actions with your fellow players. Sometimes the next player could achieve more by using his special action and you should change your plans to something else. After player actions the fire plays. No, you are not played, but there are special rules for fire:

You roll a square where fire tries to spring up or spread. There are three possibilities. When the square was empty, smoke appears. When smoke is already there or there is a source of fire, fire springs up. When fire is already in the square, an explosion happens. Such an explosion results in spreading of fire in straight lines along four directions. The explosion goes to the first or only smoke-filled square behind fire(s) in all four directions. In these target squares new fire springs up. When such a square can only be found beyond a closed door or behind an undamaged wall, the explosion tears the door off its frame or damages the wall. Doors cannot be closed after such an event. The damaged wall is marked with a damage marker. Fire can pass through a damaged wall. There are only 24 damage markers included in the game; should you need a 25^th, the house crashes and buries all persons within.

„We should remember here and now our comrades, who heroically gave their lives to fight the fire!“

 „ What? Oh, I am the sole survivor? This gives me mixed feelings - mourning and joy in equal proportions. It’s time to put together a new team!”

All smoke-filled squares, which border fire, go up in flames. When a hazardous substance is present, another explosion happens. When such an explosions hits a square with a fire fighter on it, the fire fighter in his next turn wakes up outside next to the ambulance. Should a victim have been present, players have lost the fight fir this special person. But the game goes on; you need to save at least seven of the ten potential victims.

Now the active player checks if there are three operation symbols on the board. When there are fewer of them you roll the die for a square where to place a new symbol. When the resulting square is already on fire you follow a path of arrows in order to find an empty or only smoke-filled square.

„Thank you for rescuing me! I was trapped and could not get out at all. By the way, have you spotted my kitten somewhere?”

 „What? How? Where?“

„It was with me until your arrival. Probably it’s hiding somewhere. Please, please, go in again for it, please, please!“

How better to describe a game than by using the authentic comments of other players. It grabs you and makes some of us feel like heroes. I myself have taken on the sobriquet of Grisu ….

I have seen several groups of players who have tried again immediately after a failure and then yet again. And this will happen to many players or groups when they have played Flash Point: Fire Rescue.

For families with children or simply for a trial game a beginner’s version has been provided. This version features easier rules and is very good for an introductory game. There are no hazardous substances and specialists and no fire engine, but the version is good fun, too!

All in all a game that you will want to play again and again and again …

Monika Dillingerova

Players:  1-6

Age: 10+

Time: 45+

Designer: Kevin Lanzing

Art: Luis Francisco, George Patsouras

Price: ca. 30 Euro

Publisher: Indie Board & Cards 2011

Web: www.hds-fantasy.com

Genre: Placement and position game

Users: With friends

Special: 1 player

Version: en

Rules: cz de en nl

In-game text: no

Comments:

Fantastic cooperative game

German edition announced at Heidelberger

Very high replay value

Compares to:

Feurio, Pandemic

Other editions:

Mindok, Czech Republic; 999 Games, Netherlands

My rating: 6

Monika Dillingerova:

A game ideal for play with friends or families, and more than once! It grabs you doesn’t let go! As in every cooperative game there is a danger of one player trying to tell everybody what to do. Just don’t let him play! And new house boards should appear soon, hopefully, so that you can still enjoy playing after 100 plays or so.

Chance (pink): 0

Tactic (turquoise): 3

Strategy (blue): 0

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 0

Communication (red): 2

Interaction (brown): 3

Dexterity (green): 0

Action (dark green): 0