If you know the Auto Battler video games or if you've ever watched the TV series Robot Wars, you'll have the basic idea of Rumblebots, designed by Michele Piccolini and published by DV Games. Whereas the robots in the TV series were mechanical constructions built by engineers, in this 2-4 player game you'll be creating a deck of fighting robot cards to pitch against your opponents over six build & battle rounds.
As you might expect, the cards all have different powers and effects so you'll be looking for synergies in your cards for the most effective combos when sent into battle. That means a round of drafting and deck building ahead of each round of combat, spending 'scraps' to buy cards. Cards have attack and defence values as well as special abilities. You can only buy cards tho' that are no higher than the level of your workshop, so you will also want to spend scraps on a workshop upgrade in order to access more powerful cards. You receive scrap income in each of the six rounds but you can also recycle unwanted cards into scrap, but watch out: scraps are 'use them or lose them' - they don't carry forward to the next round.
It's the various special abilities and keyword actions that bring this game to life, both as a head-to-head two-player game and, even moreso, as a knockout tournament for three or four players. Winning a battle makes your robot deck the one to be challenged next, so you need to keep a weather eye on your deck's defence value and not just focus on dishing out a strong attack, especially as when you defend, you'll usually only be able to rely on cards from a single colour suit.
We've had a lot of fun playing playing Rumblebots, and we've been impressed with the way different strategies can be effective in building your deck. The components are good - especially the long amethyst-coloured 'crystals' that you are collecting for their effects and to claim victory. We've also appreciated the engaging artwork from Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Maja Misztal, Riccardo Pieruccini, Ron Tsfany and Riccardo Varisco.