Hotshots

Hotshots is a cooperative, push your luck game for 1-4 players ages 10+.  In the game players take on the role of forestry firefighter hotshots that have been dropped into the fire in an attempt to put it out before it gets out of hand.   Each turn players move to a new area, attempt to put out any fires that are there or put up fire breaks to keep it from spreading further, then draw a new card to see where and if the fire spreads further.  

To put out fires and put up fire breaks players roll dice with symbols showing common firefighting tools in an attempt to match them to the symbols shown on the tiles.  The more symbols match the more fire gets put out and players can keep rolling their dice as long as they have matched one of the required symbols.  Push it too far though and the fire gets worse instead of spreading which could burn down the forest around you.  

To help them in their endeavors players can utilize bonus tokens which are earned for successful dice rolls and give bonus actions.  They can also use one-time resources at the local air attack base gives 3 unique one-time bonuses to the players which can put out fires or put up extra fire breaks.  These additions as well as optional tile setups available in the rulebook add to the replayability of the game and set it aside from other cooperative board games making this a favorite in our collection.

Wynken’s Thoughts:   

I liked this game a lot even though we lost every time we played.  I liked the special abilities that some of the tiles had especially the air attack base that could be used to deploy vehicles to help you.  I really had fun putting out fire breaks that kept the fire from spreading because they helped us a lot.  I want to play this game again and keep trying to win.  

8/10 Stars

 

Blynken’s Thoughts:

I liked that each player had their own special ability to help you win because it made the game different each time.  Also each player had a special tile tied to their character and if the tile got burned down that player lost their ability for the rest of the game.  I also liked the vehicles available at the air attack base because they gave you an extra bonus ability to help you get out of a problem if the fire was getting out of control.  

10/10 Stars