Unmatched: Slings and Arrows gives The Bard some bite — Hamlet and Titania, too

polygon.com:

Unmatched, the tremendous action board game franchise from Restoration Games, sends its newest standalone expansion into the world today. Titled Unmatched: Slings and Arrows, it stars The Bard himself, master William Shakespeare, alongside a handful of his most memorable creations. If you have ever suffered through sophomore English Language Arts class or, gods forbid, actually majored in English literature as I have, you’re in for a treat.

In Unmatched, players take on the role of beloved characters from pop culture only to pit them against one another in 1v1 or 2v2 battles. The system relies on action cards to power its combat, as well as collectible game boards that provide unique limitations on movement and line of sight. But beyond that solid foundation of gameplay, the franchise is best known for its ever growing collection of characters which include Robin Hood, Ms. Marvel, Houdini, and Bruce Lee, to name just a few. It’s the only modern board game I know of that will allow you to pit Spider-Man against the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then let the raptors from Jurassic Park take on the winner.

Slings and Arrows adds six new mainline characters to the Unmatched universe, as well as a smattering of sidekicks. Best of all, each of the four potent forces inside the box plays completely differently.

Shakespeare is accompanied by three sidekicks, which are essentially nameless actors. His cards are powerful enough, with plenty of ways to land a blow or take one in stride. The gimmick is that in playing cards to the table, you’re also trying to create a 10-syllable line of poetry. Once you string together enough words, you get a bonus effect from the first card played in the line. And yes, performance of that line, once formed, is required to score — it’s in the rules!

The Wayward Sisters, also known as the three witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, come with their own cardboard cauldron. Each of their action cards contains an ingredient, and by playing cards