I keep seeing these HeroClix in stores, and they look kind of fun. Today I came into possession of the promotional Hulk clix character, and though I’ve looked at the web site, I still don’t quite grasp what this game is really about.
Any players care to explain it to me? I have some specific questions too, but I’ll save them for later.
A) Yet another attempt by DC & Marvel comics to promote and sell their various characters.
B) A sorta-kinda-but not really D & D type game, but with actual action figures.
I’ll pass, thanks.
Hero Clix is basically a table top war game in the same vein as Warhammer. The short of it is that two or more opposing sides selects their forces and then do battle.
You purchase HC figures in two types of boxes. The Starter Sets include a bunch of figures, some dice, some counters representing miscellaneous obects and broken walls, and a large map for your forces to battle on. The Booster Sets are cheaper but they only come with figures. Both the Booster and Starter sets come with random figures. You never know what you’re going to get.
Here’s how the game is played. To start with each figure has a set point value based on how tough they are. For example Juggernaut is worth 97 points while Sandman is only worth 61 points. Most games are typically played at 300 points so you can include a wide variety of figures in your forces.
After both sides have selected their forces it is time to place your forces on the map and get ready for a fight. You can either just have a regular fight or you can select some sort of scenario. For example in one scenario the object of the game is for one player to escape the map with a scientist.
That’s basically what the game is all about. I didn’t want to post all the rules here because that would take a lot of time. The rules are fairly simple and I admit that I do enjoy the game. WizKids, the folks who make HC, also make a bunch of other games based on the same game system. Mage Knight (the first Clix game), Battletech, and soon a game based on Shadowrun.
Marc
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Actually WizKids started the Clix system with a game called Mage Knight a couple of years ago. WizKids decided to license certain properties they thought went well with the Clix system. Besides Marvel and DC they also have a Battletech game and soon they’ll have a Shadowrun Game. Ok, so they own Shadowrun now.
marc
Basically, it’s a minatures wargame that you don’t have to paint, and some of the complicated rules are simplified by a unique dial system incorporated on the base of each figure.
Hulk smash Thing!
Personally, I play MechWarrior: Dark Age.
Here’s a question: how many players can play this game at once? Is it just two, or can there be more (or fewer - does a player even need a real opponent?)
Oh, more than two is certainly good. Three tends to be two against one, but then you just give the one player a few more points to play with. Each figure costs a certain amount of points… more points, better figure. Better figure, does more damage.
You can play with yourself, but it loses a certain amount of strategy.
Yes, I know what I said.
The reason I suspected there was a one-player variant was noticing the giant Sinestro/Sentinel figures, and the wording on their packages. Is this accurate? If not, what are the giant figures for?
Coolest thing is the DC and Marvel characters play with the same rule set so you can have all sorts of cosmic crossovers!
Not sure what the wording says on the Sinestro/Sentinel figures, but I can’t see how playing alone would make any sense. The big figures are there because the make for fun battles. The cost a ton of points to use though. Personally I’d love to play a game of 3 Sentinels against as many mutants as I can match up points wise.
Unfortunately, though I have a lot of figures, I’ve only played once. And not since I got my Thanos unique figure either. 
Max: so you collect them, or you just don’t have anyone to play with? It sounds like these things could be fun to just collect . . .
My friend diku and I both bought some sets and played once, and it’s fun. We actually played before we had all the rules down (we played with all our characters, without regard for spending points) and I think we played once afterwards.
For the most part, I like collecting them, like I enjoyed collecting the Star Trek Next Gen CCG cards even if I didn’t get to play that too often. Opening the box and finding a Unique piece just gives you a warm fuzzy. And they are more fun to collect than cards because they look cool on a shelf. Plus you can make up stories to go along with some of the horrendous paint jobs on some of these guys. 
I suppose you can play by yourself, but really the game is designed for two or more people. I’ve played with the Sinestro figure and whupped ass.
As for whether or not you’ll like it the best comparison I can give is to Magic the card game. If you like Magic chances are you’ll like HeroClix. They’re actually pretty different, but the collecting and trading aspects are the same, plus by putting together various figures you can come up with some mean combos to do damage to your enemy, just as combining cards in Magic lets you do.