It’s Vegas baby. In the post-apocalyptic world of Neurshoshima Hex, it turns out people still can’t get enough of those slot machines. With the Vegas expansion, you gain yourself a faction whose power doesn’t come from numerous units or mighty machines but instead through money.
As the Vegas faction, you can buy other people’s units and make them your own. You do this through their HQ ability and certain other tiles, too. This unique ability means that you put the enemy on the back foot from the start of the game, as unit placement becomes a constant worry. If your opponent plays their most powerful unit in the most desirable place, are you going to turn it against them and watch as it becomes your most powerful unit? Most probably.
This means the puzzle of Vegas is more two-sided than other factions. And unlike other factions where this is the case, it is far more fun to play against. (*cough* Mississippi). The Vegas player needs to make smart tactical decisions to make the most of their unique ability and this means that you will bounce off your opponent in interesting ways.
In keeping with Neuroshima Hex’s faction expansions, Vegas is highly thematic. It makes sense that the faction whose power comes from their money would use to bribe their enemies units. And there is a certain joy that comes with turning an enemy unit against their one time allies.
Vegas is a faction that is adaptable and works well in both a 1v1 and large player count environment. When playing with more people, their faction ability can get lost amongst flashier, more obviously powerful abilities. This is because if they lose some of their bribe tiles or are ganged up on by multiple players at once, they can become relatively weak. As their power comes from taking other players units and don’t have many strong attackers if they don’t get those much-needed units or they become lost in the chaos of larger player count games, being a Vegas player can be quite frustrating.
That being said, they are one of my personal favourites. I love to steal an enemy unit and throwing it back at my opponent. I love that unlike a lot of the other factions, I don’t need to understand their backstory to enjoy their theme. Since they are a slightly more considered and less flashy faction, they might be overlooked but I said it at the start and I’ll say it again – it’s Vegas baby.
As always, thank you so much for reading. If you want more Neuroshima Hex then check out my review of the base game or anther expansion such as Uranopolis. For more board game stuff, why not ready George’s review of Mini Rails (side note, I really want to play that game).
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