When Geoff Engelstein first came up with the idea of creating a roll & write game based on pinball it seemed a faintly crackpot idea. How could you possibly recreate the adrenaline rush of a fast-playing arcade pinball machine using the inherently slow-speed mechanic of rolling dice and crossing out numbers on a laminated sheet? Implausible tho' as it sounded, Geoff Engelstein pulled it off, coming up with a novel roll & write variant that combined problem solving with an experience that was surprisingly exciting. He's since come up with a series of follow-up versions, all published by WizKids, including Super-Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up! and Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball, both of which we've previously featured on Board's Eye View, Harley Quinn Ball is the latest. Like Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball, Harley Quinn Ball is a standalone game: you don't need to own or even have played any of the previous games in the Super-Skill Pinball series to play and enjoy this one.
The contents of each of the Super-Skill Pinball games is similar: 16 dry-wipe pinball table and backglass cards, used in combination to provide four different pinball games for up to four players, four dry-wipe marker pens, two standard six-sided dice and a bag of silver 'ball' tokens. But tho' the contents of each pack are comparable, each new Super-Skill Pinball game has its own distinctive features and unique aspects of play: Harley Quinn Ball certainly isn't a lazy DC comics/Batman reskin of Geoff Englestein's previous pinball games.
The four games in the box all have their own distinctive feel. They are each very playable as solo/solitaire games as well as competitively (players all making their own use of the same die rolls). Coney Island is classified as the easiest of the four. The premise is that Harley Quinn is riding the fairground rides and scoffing hot dogs, but even this 'easy' game introduces its own idiosyncrasies and built-in minigames as you board, for example, the Wonder Wheel and leap between hot dog targets and a Parachute Jump.
The obvious novelty of Joker Tower is that the two boards are set up vertically (ie: in 'portrait' mode) and in this game players need to ascend levels with the ultimate aim of defeating the Joker on the top level. There's an even stronger push-your-luck element in comparison with other Super-Skill Pinball boards because this is a one-ball game (lose your ball and it's game over) and because your ascent is one-way (once you go up a level, you can't go back down). There's a temptation to remain on a level to rack up high-scoring combos but in a multi-player game you may feel pressured to move up and on because other players are ascending the levels to confront the Joker and nab the jackpot reward...
There are different choices when you play the Suicide Squad boards. Inspired by the 2021 movie, you start off as one of five Suicide Squad members (Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Killer Croc or Enchantress) but you can recruit a new Squad member by completing three Amanda Waller targets. Your ultimate aim is defeating Starro but, as in the movie (Spoiler Alert!) using a Squad member's ability comes with the risk that they can be killed...
Designed as the most challenging board in the box, Gotham City Gems is a multiball pinball game themed around a series of team-ups between Harley Quinn and Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Black Canary. Your teammates triple your points but only against specific targets...
We're continuing to enjoy Wizkids' innovative series of Super-Skill Pinball and we continue to be impressed with the invention that each new iteration brings to the table. What's next?
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