- Publisher : Catch Up Games
- Designer(s) : Maxime Rambourg, Théo Rivière
- Artist(s) : Simon Caruso
- Players : 1–4
- Playing time : 60 Min
- Weight BGG : 2.79
What's this?
How do you play?
Game Phases
Each turn of the game consists of the following phases:
➡️ Make a card available: Reveal an Artifact card from the Big Deck and place it on the corresponding era of the board.
➡️ Generate Clones: Draw a Clone token from the Clone Bag and place it on the corresponding era.
➡️ Foo Phase: Dr. Foo moves to a new era and generates Rifts. You must throw Rift cubes into the Machine. Take 2 from the reserve, plus 1 extra for each Clone token that is in this Era.
➡️ Action Phase: Players can perform various actions depending on their position on the board, such as moving, using cards from their hand, or doing time loops (LOOP) to reuse cards.
➡️ Archive a Sabotage tile: If the conditions are met, players can archive a Sabotage tile to progress towards victory.
➡️ End of turn: The turn ends by discarding the used cards and drawing new ones.
Main actions
Players can perform several actions during their turn:
– Move: Spend energy to move from one era to another.
– Use a card: Exhaust (tilt) a card from the hand to apply its effect.
– Make a LOOP: Spend energy to straighten and reuse cards of the same dimension. To make 1 LOOP, spend 1 Energy in your Era.
– Damage a Sabotage tile: Fulfill the mission conditions to inflict damage on a Sabotage tile. By performing your actions on your turn, you will sometimes satisfy the condition indicated on one and/or the other of the revealed Missions.
Your entire team wins as soon as it archives its 4th Sabotage tile. Some game modes add their own condition.
Is it good?
The Loop is an original cooperative game that stands out for its unique aesthetic and its central concept: a time machine. The latter introduces an element of chaos by randomly distributing rift cubes each turn, creating a unique and unpredictable atmosphere.
The game mechanics are familiar (card management and movement on the board), but their combination with the chaos of the rift cubes offers a very distinct strategic and tactical experience. Players must collaborate to solve puzzles and complete their missions in the midst of clones and time rifts.
The game fully assumes its offbeat and humorous side, with illustrations that perfectly reinforce the wacky atmosphere. The difficulty lies not so much in the variety of actions (three main ones) as in the coordination necessary to master the ambient chaos and complete the objectives. A part of luck is inherent in the game due to the random placement of the cubes, which can generate frustration.
The Loop offers four game modes with varying levels of difficulty, ensuring good replayability.
In short, The Loop is ideal for players who enjoy cooperative games that offer a tough strategic challenge in a wacky universe. If you are ready to face the chaos with your friends, this game will keep you entertained.
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Review The loop
Positives
- Originality and wacky theme
- Decent lifespan with 4 game modes
- Quick one hour game
Negatives
- Randomness and its frustration
- Repetitiveness of actions
- Quality of cards
Breakdown
- Components and illustrations 8.0
- Mechanics 7.0
- Thematic 7.5
- Replayability 8.0
- Prise en main 9.5
- Interaction 9.0
- Originality 9.0
