'Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight' from Funko Games. Photo by Elizabeth MacAndrew.
My kids (ages 7 and 10) and I are big Marvel fans and love board games, so when any new game featuring Marvel characters hits our radar, we immediately have to take a look into it. When I first saw the images for Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight, my first thought was “my kids don’t know what this is yet, but I know they want to check it out.” Luckily, Funko Games was absolutely happy to oblige and they recently send us the full Treachery at Twilight line to review. My mom instincts were spot on; my kids thought Christmas in July had hit when we received that box of review goodies, and they were, in fact, very eager to check it out.
Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight is the second series of the Marvel Battleworld franchise. It is a collectible figure game where figures represent a variety of Marvel characters that have their own stats and powers. These figures are used to defeat various villains. It is compatible with the Marvel Battleworld Series 1 line (Mystery of the Thanostones). The game is intended for 1-4 players ages 6+ and takes around 15-30 minutes to play. The Treachery at Twilight line includes a Mega Pack, Battle Ball, Storage Case, Talon Fighter, Collector’s Tower, and the Premium Pieces Pack. The items range from an MSRP of $7.99 to $24.99.
Since I received one of each of the Treachery at Twilight items, I will break down what’s in each product separately. Overall, it’s a solid game line with just enough pieces to make a nice game with some fun strategy without being overwhelming in the number of components, which is important for any game aimed at kids as young as 6.
The Treachery at Twilight Mega Pack contains the following:
Overall, I really like the pieces. The Hero Movers are bright, colorful, and clearly easy to differentiate from each other. They can be popped into the Hero Stands, which also have a slot for the Hero Cards, but we found the Hero Stands really aren’t necessary to use at all. The double-sided cards are playing card thickness with fun artwork, easy-to-read stats, and the hexagon shape is really nice for putting the battlefield together. The Thanostones are a fun one-time use thing. They need to be cracked like a certain stubborn egg and revealing the Mystery Hero is a lot of fun, although some may be disappointed that they are one-time use items. I do like that the Thanostones have a number on the bottom that matches a Mystery Card, so you can keep the mystery until the big reveal. The Danger Tokens and Danger Coin are thick cardboard, but easy to read and sturdy enough for the purpose they have in the game. The attack die is your basic 12-sided die with some custom symbols, but it’s easy to read and works well. The price point and component quality point are just about what I would expect, and this set contains everything you need to play a 1-4 person game.
The Treachery at Twilight Battle Ball contains the following:
Since the Battle Ball is a smaller version of the Mega Pack (it had enough pieces for 1 to 2 players instead of 1 to 4), the component quality is the same as the Mega Pack, just with fewer pieces in it. The selection of potential Heroes to receive is the same, except the Mega Pack has one exclusive figure.
The Treachery at Twilight Premium Pieces Pack is an Expansion that contains the following:
The pieces for this little expansion are a little different but include some of my favorites. For durability, I like that the Premium Pieces here are made from plastic instead of cardboard. Because of said preference, we found ourselves using the premium pieces whenever possible. The Spider Island Groot is a fun little exclusive character that we have found quite useful in gameplay. I also love the reusable Thanostones because it lets us blindly grab a new Hero to add and recreates the fun of the reveal all over again. I would happily pay for another premium pieces pack to get the additional Thanostones, especially if there was another exclusive character variation.
The Treachery at Twilight Talon Fighter Expansion Set contains the following:
This expansion is the favorite of my ten-year-old. The Hero Mover and Cards are all similar in quality, etc. to what the rest of the collection has. The Talon Fighter is really neat and had little spinners and a plastic Pilot Token that help direct gameplay. It’s just a few pieces but it adds another layer of strategic options to the game that we really found enjoyable. Any Black Panther fans in your house will love to get their hands on this.
The Treachery at Twilight The Collector’s Tower Expansion Set includes the following:
My seven-year-old liked this expansion set the best. The cards and figures are similar to what I have described before, but the Twilight Sword Die is extra shiny and cool, and the Stand with the Twilight Sword snaps nicely onto a Hero Mover and looks so cool to my kids clearly coveted it. The Collector’s Tower is effectively a tall plastic dice tower that has a series of knobs that can impact the dice roll. Areas of the tower are clearly marked and adding them to the game was a lot of fun. Like the Talon Fighter, it’s a pretty nicely done set.
The Treachery at Twilight Storage Case contains the following
Maybe it’s the mom in me, but this might have been my favorite add-on. The Hero Mover and Card are just like the others but the figure is exclusive to the Storage box. However, the Storage Box itself is really nice. It boasts the ability to hold up to 50 Hero Movers as well as Cards and other pieces. Between all the little compartments it was easy to have a place to keep the smaller pieces and we can separate the Hero Cards and Battle Cards to make game set-up faster and easier. The reusable Thanostones also fit in as well as all the instructions. The only items we can’t get in the box are the Talon Fighter and the Collector’s Tower. The Storage Box has solid and secure clips at the sides and is just a really nice accessory to have once you’ve managed to gather a decent-sized collection.
Overall it’s a nicely put-together game series with solid pieces and good design that will help ease gameplay.
The game series itself is quick to pick up and learn, and the expansions all do a really good job of adding fun new play to the series without being too complicated to pick up on. The Mega Pack and Battle Ball are the same game with the same rules, so I will cover those rules and then discuss the additional gameplay rules that the Talon Fighter and The Collector’s Tower add to the game. The Storage Case and Premium Pieces add new Heroes to the game but not any new gameplay rules.
The goal of Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight is to vanquish a set number of Marvel villains, based on the number of starting Heroes you have before you lose 3 Battles. This is accomplished with a series of strategy-based attacks using your Heroes’ stats as well as recruiting new Heroes to help you via the Thanostones.
Setup for the game is actually really quick and easy. The hardest thing you need to do the first time you play is punch out some cardboard tokens. Take the following steps to set up your game
Base Game Setup
Step 1: Select how many Starting Heroes you want to play with. A Single-Player can play with as many as they want, but in a Multi-Player game, there should be a single Starting Hero per Player. Once you know how many Starting Heroes you want, that determines how many of the rest of the cards you need as well as how many Battles you must Win.
Step 2: Each Player selects their Starting Hero and takes the matching Hero Card.
Step 3: Shuffle your Thanostone Battle Cards in with your Other Battle Cards and place them facedown in a stack.
Step 4: Place the Thanostones (or additional heroes) with their Mystery Cards (or Hero Cards), the Danger Tokens, Attack Die, and Danger Coin Nearby.
The Collector’s Tower Setup
Step 1: Before adding the Battles on the first turn, place The Collector’s Tower on top of the face-up Twilight Dragon Battle Card.
Step 2: Place the Twilight Sword Stand on top and attach The Collector Figure to it.
Step 3: Place the Twilight Sword Die on the platform at the tower bottom, and place The Collector’s Tower Card nearby.
Step 4: The first Battle Card played must touch one side of The Collector’s Tower.
Talon Fighter Setup
Step 1: After the Battles in the first turn, add the Talon Fighter by adding the Launch Pad Card so one side touches a Battle Card.
Step 2: Place the Talon Fighter on the Launch Pad Card and load the Pilot Token.
Step 3: Place the Talon Fighter Card nearby.
Again, setting things up is pretty fast and easy but I do recommend playing the base game once before throwing in the expansions.
The nice thing about this game is that the actual gameplay is pretty straightforward, with just a few simple steps thrown in if you choose to add an expansion. The nice thing is that the rules aren’t so complicated that adding either or both expansions with new rules becomes difficult or bogged down. I do recommend playing the base game once to get a feel and then adding each expansion one at a time. This kept things moving and fun but didn’t slow things up with so many rules that my kids got impatient or struggled to keep track of what to do.
The Turn Steps
Step 1: All Active Hero Cards are flipped color side up. Draw a Battle Card for each Active Hero and place them in front of the players creating the Battleworld. Whenever a new Battle Card is played, it must touch the edge of a Battle Card already in the Battleworld. Note, Loki Trick Cards must be placed so that the arrow touches the side of a face-up Battle Card. If this is not possible, the Card must be placed out so that the next Battle Card added can touch the arrow side.
Step 2: Active Heroes can Attack in any order but each Active Hero only attacks once per turn. The Hero Mover is placed on any Active Battle Card. An Active Hero does not have to move, but more than one Hero can be on the same Battle Card. Each Battle Card has a number your Hero must match or beat to win, as well as symbols for Attack Types that can be used. Roll your die and then choose an Attack Type from the Battle and add your Hero’s bonus (indicated on the Hero Card) to your roll. Rolling a star always succeeds, while a Thanos face always misses. If your Attack hits, place your Hero on the first blue space at the bottom of the Battle Card (the Hit Track). If your Hero is on the last Hit Track space then the battle is won and the Card is flipped over. If you miss, place a Danger Token on the first red space at the top of the Battle Card (The Danger Track). If your Danger Token reaches the last red space, you have lost. Flip the Battle Card over and place the Danger Token on top of it to indicate a lost Battle. Once you have marked the outcome of the Attack, flip the Hero Card to the black and white side to indicate that Hero is done for this turn.
Step 3: After all the Heroes have attacked, check to see if Danger advances on some Battles. To do this flip the Danger Coin (it has a Moon side and a Sun side). Next, see the result and look for any Active Battle Cards with that symbol on them. A Danger Token is placed on the next open Danger Track space for any Battle that has a symbol that matches the flip result.
Thanostone Battles
After winning a Thanostone Battle, you may claim an open a Thanostone. Place the rescued Hero on any Battle and add the matching Hero Card to your Active Heroes. If you are using a new Thanostone, the number on the stone will match the number of the Mystery Bag with the right card. If you have no new Thanostones, you can select a Hero from your collection or draw a surprise Hero from a reusable Thanostone if you have one of those. This new Active Hero can be played immediately or later in the turn.
Talon Fighter Steps
Step 1: Place a Hero in the Talon Fighter Seat and spin the Cloaking Dials.
Step 2: Choose a Battle Card with one or both symbols that you spun and place the Talon Fighter so that at least one side of its base touches the Battle.
Step 3: Release the Pilot Token by pressing on the lever. If you get a Star, your Hero hit, and you place them on the next open Hit Track spot. If you get a Diamond, you still move on the Hit Track, but you also advance on the Danger Track as well. If both your Spin results match the Battle Card symbols, you get one attempt to re-release the Pilot Token if your first result was a Diamond.
Note: Game rules that reference moving or attacking are not relevant to the Talon Fighter.
The Collector’s Tower Steps
When it would normally be time to roll your attack result, follow these steps instead:
Step 1: Twist the dials on the Tower.
Step 2: Drop the Attack Die in the Tower. If it comes out the door with an X, just add the result to your Attack and proceed as usual. If the Attack Die comes out the door with the Sword, you have released the Twilight Sword.
Sword Release: Remove the Collector from the Twilight Sword Stand and place your Hero in it. Then place that Hero on the next open Hit Track space. Then, move The Collector’s Tower next to the Player who won the sword and the Twilight Dragon Battle Card is now active.
The Power of the Sword: Whenever the Hero with the Twilight Sword rolls, they use the Twilight Sword Die and drop it in the Tower. If the Twilight Sword Die comes out the Twilight Sword door, the attack automatically hits. If the Twilight Sword Die comes out of either door but lands on the Twilight Sword symbol, your Hero moves two Hit Track spaces.
Game End
This is a cooperative-style game, so everyone playing wins or loses together. The Players lose the game if they lose 3 Battles. The Players win if they, before losing a total of 3 Battles, win the number of Battles determined by the number of Starting Heroes they selected.
Overall, this is a fun game that is quick to learn, quick to play, and highly appealing to any Marvel fan in your house.
The components are well made, the artwork is fun, and keeps all relevant information organized and easy to find. My kids get super excited about revealing new Heroes, and I certainly recommend getting the reusable Thanostones to keep that element of randomness in the game. I can easily see picking up more Battle Balls for the kids to try to add to their collection of Heroes and there is certainly an aspect of trading duplicates with friends that can result. In fact, after playing this version, my kids found some Series 1 items for sale online and pooled their money together so that, among other things, they could acquire new Heroes. Given their rapidly growing collection, I find myself becoming more and more grateful for the addition of a Storage Case to this line.
The setup is really fast and we honestly just open the Storage Case up and leave the non-card items in it, but accessible and nearby, so that we have even less clean up going on when we are done. I also keep the Hero Cards on the top shelf and the rest of the Cards in the second drawer (with the Thanostone and expansion-related Cards on top of that stack just so it’s easier to find what you need to play).
Gameplay is nice and quick to learn even if you throw in a few expansions. We played about four games in 90 minutes and it was super enjoyable and had far fewer kid interruptions on setup and rule teaching than I usually expect. Both kids caught on to how to play very quickly. That being said, the strategy aspect should not be underestimated. Each Hero has their own strengths and Special Powers, and using these to your advantage does take some critical thinking, including which Hero is strongest in what Battle, which Battles are in Danger of being lost, and which Hero Powers can be played where and win to their best advantage. The age range is just about right. Younger kids may need someone to walk them through their first game but should be able to catch on and independently play after that. Since it is a cooperative game, younger family members who love Marvel heroes can still get involved even if they need more help with the strategy aspect. The age range appeal is really nice. I got a real kick out of playing it with my kids and I feel like other adults and teens will enjoy it, but it is also easy enough that my 7-year-old and 10-year-old can play and it’s interesting enough for our older kid while still easy enough to play for our younger kid.
You can get started with just buying a Battle Ball, but I recommend the Mega Pack in order to include more players and have a better variety of Heroes to choose from. Either will give you all of the pieces you need to play the game. The expansions are worth getting though, and they are so easy to add in that I can’t think my kids have played a single game without incorporating in at least one of them. The just under $10 to $25 price range also makes the base game or any of the expansions super giftable as well. The fact Series 2 and Series 1 are compatible makes me enjoy the game even more. My kids probably already want to know when Series 3 is coming even though Series 2 just dropped. All Battleworld items can be found and purchased at the Funko Games Store. If you want other buying options, each product page links to online and physical stores where you can find that product.
This post was last modified on August 4, 2021 4:54 pm
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