There are abstract dexterity games where you are just flicking pucks across the table and there are themed dexterity games where you are flicking labelled pucks that may or may not have a special effect. We've long enjoyed Pretzel Games' Wild West themed Flick 'Em Up and their Flick 'Em Up Dead of Winter. The latter always seemed to us to be the ultimate board game mash-up. It incorporated a zombie dropping 'dice' tower but ultimately it was all about flicking pucks to send those zombies flying.
Whether they're abstract or themed, most flicking games are a mix of dexterity (ie: accurate shooting) and creative chaos. Eurydice Games' FlickFleet looks like more of the same: acrylic space ships firing at one another until just one player has any ships left. And if that was all there was to Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox's design, it would still be a lot of fun. But there's more. Quite a lot more...
The big surprise is that FlickFleet isn't just a flickfest, there's a real game here. Without impinging overly on an expensive IP, the designers have given the game an Imperium vs Uprising setting that immediately reminds players of the clash in Star Wars between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. You can play 'freeform' or you can follow one of the scenarios supplied in the box. Either way, it means the game is played between two players with asymmetric fleets. You aren't just flicking pucks. Instead you are flicking d6 and d10 dice. Your die needs to hit the enemy ship but in most instances the damage dished out depends on the number on the die...
In addition to the acrylic plastic pieces you'll be moving around the table, players have mats for each of their ships with markers to represent their shields and various ship's systems; for example, engines (used for movement), fighter bays (to launch fighter ships) and bomb bays (to launch nukes et al). Each has its own allocated die value and so when you take a hit unprotected by a shield, you remove the marker for the corresponding system and you lose that functionality until you've made appropriate repairs. Take a second hit to an already disabled system and your ship is destroyed.
Different weapon systems function in different ways but all add to the thematic mix. The net result is a game that is just as much fun as a vanilla flickfest but with the added excitement of a tactical space war game. Tho' there's a degree of complexity, not least because of the asymmetry of player's fleets, FlickFleet is easy to play. Or rather it's easy to get to the table. You won't necessarily find it easy to play well. With dice determining damage there's inevitably a luck factor to combine with the manual dexterity element. There's ample scope for push-your-luck 'Hail Mary' attacks and it's really satisfying when these come off but there can be frustration too when you accidentally hit and damage your own ships. We wouldn't want to imply that intergalactic warfare would be easy.
Shown here in our Board's Eye View 360 is the deluxe edition of the base game, which has printed details on the acrylic ships. Additional ships are available, along with other scenarios and other boxed standalone sets and expansions that you can use to turn this two-player into a game for up to five players.