Escape from New York Review

boardgamequest.com:

In 1981, director John Carpenter released his action spectacle Escape from New York, starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken. The film became a cult classic, with quotable lines and memorable characters. Escape from New York the board game—part of a trend of games based on older movies—now sits proudly next to other period faves on my shelf like Planet of the Apes, Aliens, The Warriors, and Big Trouble in Little China.

The game was designed by Kevin Wilson and published by Pendragon and Studio Canal. It plays up to 4 and takes 120 minutes. The Bands of New York 5-player expansion came with this copy, allowing one player to play as New York.

You play as one of the Heroes racing through the streets of New York City, now converted into a prison, in search of the president of the United States. The president is being held by the Duke of New York, who also controls other bosses and prisoners. Not only do you have to find the president, but you will also need to collect his briefcase and a diagram of the bridges before your team can escape to safety.

Select one of the movie’s heroes and outfit them with some starter items and a deck of eight basic action cards to begin. A random map of New York is created so the location of the president, key points of interest, the Duke, other bosses, and necessary items change every game.

A Hero phase is followed by the New York phase, and the play rotates among the Heroes and the New York bot until time runs out or victory is achieved.

As parts of the city are revealed, you can pick up extra items, trigger events, or find critical information for the escape. Similarly, as gameplay progresses, you can level up to earn special action cards to add to your deck.

Noise is a key concept. Most actions create Noise, which is recorded on the New York board. Noise drives the New York phase. The New York bot attacks the players, who must discard action cards as damage.

Once your band of Heroes has collected the necessary items, everyone must make