Fisticuffs! (2015)

Fisticuffs! is a free-for-brawl fighting card game created by The Nerdologues, a bunch of people you don’t know but could totally be friends with. Four to six players engage in head-to-head (-to-head-to-head) constant combat until the frenzy peaks and one player emerges victorious.

Set in an alternate 1920s, an eclectic collection of some of the world’s greatest fighters are pitted against each other by the magnanimous Baron Reginald Fistcuffington Smythe aboard his monolithic floating airship. Baron Smythe, inventor of the new super-element Hydrolium, offers the winner of his "Fisticuffs Bouts" the granting of a single wish, whatever their heart desires most. The surviving fighter will get their wish fulfilled - and become champion of Fisticuffs!

Gameplay is simple. Each player picks a fighter from our cast of characters, each with their own backstory and special move. The stable of fighters include a sky pirate, a flapper, a saxo-magician, the son of a slain Chicago mayor, and a robot built by Baron Smythe himself. Every player gives their fiercest battle cry, and whoever’s is best begins the game.

Each player starts with five cards from the Punch Card deck. These Punches will be a fighter’s offense and defense. On a player’s turn, they throw a Punch against any opponent - but that player can Block if they are holding a Punch of the same name. This leaves the attacking player open for a Counter, allowing the defending player to attack with a Punch that is the same color as their Block.

Combat continues until a Punch goes un-Blocked or a Block goes un-Countered. When an attack successfully lands, the defending player loses health. Everybody starts at 12, and when they reach 0, they’re knocked out for the rest of the match. Every remaining player gets a turn each round.

Once a full round (one turn for everybody) has been completed, the fighters return to their corner. This is when you draw new Punch Cards - and when you get a Round Card, a special action that will help provide a tactical advantage by giving you more attacks, depleting an opponent’s defenses, or giving you the edge you need in the middle of combat. The new round begins to the left of the person who started the last round.

The rounds keep going until there are two boxers left, at which point they enter Close Combat - no more rounds, no more Round Cards, just two boxers fighting over one dream. The fighter that is left standing is the winner of the bout and the champion of Fisticuffs!