Last Defense! is designed to be played by between two and six players, aged eight and up. It also requires an app to play, as this acts as the game’s timer—hence the twenty-minute time limit. Published by Funko Games, it is designed by the Prospero Hall team, which has a track record of taking intellectual properties—some of them decades old such as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws: A Boardgame of Strategy and Suspense—and turning them into playable games. Last Defense! is not based on any intellectual property, but instead takes its inspiration from the Science Fiction ‘B’ movies of the nineteen fifties. The game is easy to learn and play.
The game consists of a game board, six character cards and figures, two dice, thirty-two tool cards, thirteen rubble tokens, thirteen scientist tokens, five Threat movers, five Threat cards, and the rules pamphlet. The board depicts various locations in the town, such as a school, bank, farmers’ market, hospital, megastore, plaza, and rest area. The six characters cards depict a BBQ Dad, Construction Worker, Good Dog, On-Call Nurse, Skateboarder, and Soccer Champ. Each character card has a full illustration, the character’s starting location, and a list of what a player does when it is it his turn. The character figures match their illustrations on their cards, and whilst not very detailed, do stand out in play on the board. The Tools die is numbered between one and three and indicates how many Tool cards a player draws when rolled on his turn, whilst the Move dice is numbered between two and four, indicating how many spaces he can move on his turn. The Tool cards depict a variety of objects, most notable of which are the Flare cards, which can be used to distract an invader and get past it. The rubble tokens hide the tools needed, such as a hard hat and a pair of pliers, to move the rubble and free the trapped scientist. The scientists include meteorologists, astrophysicists, biologists, chemists, and more. The five Threat cards and Threat movers (or standees) consist of Giant Tentacles, Junk Blob, Sentient Plants, Space Aliens, and Spider Robots. Each Threat card indicates which scientists known how to defeat it. For example, an astrophysicist and meteorologist will defeat the Space Aliens, whilst the biologist and engineer will defeat the Giant Tentacles.
To win Last Defense!, the players need to explore the rubble, reveal the tools necessary to free the scientist trapped by the rubble and get the tools to the location, then transport the rescued scientist to the plaza space in the middle of the town. If the right pair of scientists is in the plaza, they will defeat one of the Threats, whether a player is there or not. Only four of the five Threats will be invading the players’ hometown, but which ones varies from game to game. Once all four Threats are defeated, the players win the game. Otherwise, they lose.
Last Defense! is set up with the characters in their starting locations, the tool cards shuffled, and several sets of Token Stacks created. Each Token Stack consists of a rubble token placed on top of a scientist token, both face down. The app guides the players through this process, step-by-step, and then when everything is ready, it indicates which of the locations on the board have people trapped by rubble on them. A Token Stack is placed on these, with more being added when a Threat moves to a location. Both the four Threats invading and when they move are randomly determined by the app, which periodically announces threat movement.
On his turn, a player rolls both dice. He draws a number of Tool cards equal to the roll on the Tool die and moves as many spaces as he wants, up to the number rolled on the Move die. If he enters a location with a token stack, he can turn over a rubble token, revealing the tools required to free the scientist trapped by the rubble. If he has the right tools, he can free the scientist and transport him to the plaza. If a player ends his move on the same space as another player, he can give a Tool card to that player or take a Tool card from that player. A player can hold a maximum of five Tool cards. Instead of a scientist, a player might uncover a helicopter. This can be used to transport a player directly to another location on the board. If a threat occupies a location, a player cannot move into a location or end his turn on a location occupied by a threat, unless he can distract it with a flare or the location is special to the player, such as the school for the soccer champ or the shopping mall for the skateboarder.
If a player is in a location when a Threat appears in or moves to a location, the player is sent to the rest area and starts his move from there next turn, but leaves any scientists he had behind in that location. A new Token Stack is added to that location. In this way, the appearance or movement of a Threat impedes movement around the board, although what it can do is actually impede overall player progress as it can prevent them getting already revealed scientists to the plaza to stop the threats. Scientists on a location with a Threat on it cannot be reached unless the player has a Flare Tool card or the location is special to the player.
Play proceeds like this until the Threats are defeated and everyone wins or time runs out with one or more Threat left undefeated and everyone loses. Play is fast and energetic, the board game’s real time nature requiring a player to act rather than overthink his actions lest time be wasted, rolling the dice, drawing cards, moving, and then handing the dice to the next player. All the while, the players are listening to ominous nature of the app soundtrack, waiting for its news reporter to interrupt with some breaking news as to where a Threat has appeared or moved too.
Physically, Last Defense! is a very well done board game. All of the artwork is bright and breezy and the rules are clearly explained, and quick and easy to learn. The components are also of high quality. The app includes a link to a video to learn how to play, but once a game begins keeps everything moving, reminding the players as to their time limit. One player will need to keep an eye on the app as the game progresses.
Last Defense! is a simple, straightforward co-operative game. It is easy to lean by both younger players and a family audience. As a family game, it is bright and breezy, fast playing, and tense. For board game veterans, Last Defense! is solidly playable, but does not offer much in the way of depth or replay value. There is an option for a more advanced game, but this does not add anything in the way of complexity or extra options. Any player wanting special ability like that provided for each of the characters in Pandemic will be disappointed.
Last Defense! is a solid family game that mixes modern, co-operative play with play against the clock that adds just about the right sense of jeopardy. Its twenty-minute play time means that it does not outstay its welcome, and whilst veteran players will find it a little too light, this is still game that they can play with their family.
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