👥 A game for 2 players
⏳ Play time is around ~20 minutes
🏢 Publisher is IELLO
Introduction
Sting Like a Bee… Strike Like a Dragon. This is the showdown every Unmatched fan has been waiting for. 🐝🐉
Two iconic fighters step into the arena: the lightning-fast Muhammad Ali and the legendary Bruce Lee. While Ali dodges like a butterfly and strikes like a bee, Bruce Lee relies on pure speed, precision, and explosive combos.
Are you ready for the ultimate battle?
Let’s get it on the table
In Unmatched, you take on the role of a legendary hero or heroine. These characters come from movies, books, or even ancient legends. Heroes from different sets can be mixed and matched on any game board of your choice, making every game feel different.
Each hero has their own deck of action cards with unique abilities that fit their character. Will you be able to defeat your opponent together with your hero?
In Unmatched: Lee vs Ali, step in the arena with two iconic fighters:
– Lee; Bruce Lee’s signature evolves a seemingly limitless arsenal of attacks, using the perfect strike for any situation. His Be Like Water and Hoo! Whaaaaaa! cards let you return A Jeet Kune Do card from your discard pile to your hand. A Jeet Kune Do is one of the six unique cards with this in the name
– Ali; Sting like a bee is one of his most famous quotes. It truly defines why he was the world greatest boxer, his ability to dodge and weave, followed by a devastating punch. Ali has a butterfly/ bee token to indicate his current stance. After each time Ali attacks, if he wins the combat flip the token to switch stances. Ali doesn’t switch stances if he loses the combat or if he was the defender. Ali has also some cards with a blue butterfly, those effects only resolve if he is in the “Float like a Butterfly stance”. If he’s not in that stance, just resolve the other effects.
Butterfly/ Bee Token
Sting Like a Bee; Ali adds +2 to the value of his attacks
Float Like a Butterfly; Ali can attack from up to two spaces away
Each hero has their own deck of cards, along with a character card. This card shows the hero’s special ability, as well as the health values for both the hero and their sidekick(s). Health is tracked during the game using health dials for the hero and, if applicable, for a single sidekick. If a hero has multiple sidekicks, each of them has 1 health by default.
You also get a double sided play board, on one side you get a boxing ring and on the other side you get a Dojo, so 2 great battlefields that you can play on.
The box includes a double-sided game board. Choose the side you want to play on, regardless of which heroes you select. The board consists of circular spaces that fighters (heroes and sidekicks) move across, and each space can only hold one fighter at a time.
The spaces are connected by black lines, making them adjacent. This is important when your hero can only attack adjacent enemies, or when resolving certain card effects.
The board is also divided into different zones, separated by colors and patterns. Spaces with the same color or pattern belong to the same zone, even if they are located in different parts of the board.
If a space contains multiple colors, it belongs to multiple zones. Zones are important when determining valid targets for attacks and for resolving certain card effects.
Each player chooses a hero and receives:
- 30 action cards
- A character card
- One or more health dials
Each player sets their health dial(s) to the starting value shown on their character card, including those of their sidekicks.
Then, each player shuffles their action deck and draws 5 cards.
Next, the youngest player begins placing their hero on the board, placing it on space number 1. The other player places their hero on space number 2.
Now you’re ready to start playing!
The youngest player takes the first turn. If you play multiple games, it’s a good idea to alternate who starts to keep things fair.
During your turn, you must perform 2 actions. You can choose from 3 different actions, and you may perform the same action twice or two different actions. Your choices will depend on the cards in your hand. You may have a maximum of 7 cards in hand. If you have more than 7 at the end of your turn, you must discard down to 7. After your turn, play passes to the next player.
You can choose from the following 3 actions:
Move
Step 1: Draw the top card of your deck (this is mandatory).
Step 2: Move one or more fighters (this is optional). You don’t have to move, and you don’t have to move all your fighters. Your character card shows how many spaces your hero and sidekicks can move.
You cannot move through a space occupied by an opponent. If a card effect allows you to move an opponent’s fighter, you must follow the movement rules from your opponent’s perspective.
You can also boost a move action. This allows you to move additional spaces beyond the standard movement. The number of extra spaces is shown in a black-and-white circle on the card. After boosting, the card is immediately discarded.
Scheme
You can perform this action by playing a card with a lightning symbol. Place the card face up on the table and indicate which fighter is performing the action. This must match the fighter specified on the card.
Resolve the effect and then place the card on your discard pile.
Attack
Choose a fighter to attack with, taking into account the cards in your hand.
Step 1: Choose a target. Depending on your fighter, this can be a melee or ranged attack.
- A melee attack can be made if the target is in an adjacent space, regardless of zone.
- A ranged attack can target a fighter in an adjacent zone or farther away, as long as both fighters are in the same zone.
Step 2: The attacker selects a card from their hand (that the fighter is allowed to use) and places it face down. The defender may then choose to play a defense card face down, but this is not mandatory.
Step 3: Most action cards include effects that trigger at different moments: Immediately, During Combat, or After Combat. These effects must be resolved unless stated otherwise. Some effects may even affect your own fighters.
First, resolve all “Immediately” effects, followed by “During Combat” effects. Then resolve the combat itself: the attacker deals damage, and the defender may block some or all of it using their card. Subtract the defense value from the attack value, and the remaining damage is deducted from the defender’s health dial.
After combat, resolve any “After Combat” effects. These effects still trigger even if a fighter was defeated during the combat. However, if the game has already ended, no further effects are resolved.
If both players must resolve effects at the same time (for example, After Combat), the defending player resolves their effects first.
After all card effects are resolved, any additional abilities (such as special powers) may be activated.
When do you win a combat?
- The attacker wins if they deal at least 1 damage to the defender (damage from effects does not count).
- The defender wins if they take no damage.
The game ends as soon as a hero is defeated and has “0” health remaining on their health dial.
Final Conclusion & rating
Weight: 2.50/ 5
Replayability: 8
Our rating: 8,5 out of 10 dices
Unmatched is very quick to set up. The box comes with a well-designed insert that neatly organizes everything, giving each hero their own compartment for character cards, action cards, health dial(s), sidekick(s), and any additional tokens. This makes choosing your hero, shuffling the deck, and setting up the starting position a smooth and easy process. Simply set the correct amount of health on the dial, and you’re ready for battle.
How cool it is to play with these 2 legendary icons. This is a reason alone to add it to your game box. Whether you play with Ali or Lee, you’ll enjoy it. If you play with Ali then you will have to do your best to win from Bruce Lee, who is a bit more powerful but if you play your moves well then the fit Muhammed Ali can even win from Bruce Lee. It’s extra fun if you manage to get the promo tickets with the autographs of both icons.
What we also really like is that this edition does not contain any other heroes or side characters. It is, as well as the small abilities of both icons, a real fight in the Dojo or in the famous ring.
The rulebook is clear and easy to follow, with plenty of examples that quickly answer most questions. This makes it very accessible, allowing you to jump into the game without much delay. The only thing you’ll want to take a moment for is checking each hero’s character card to fully understand their unique abilities.
The component quality is excellent. The miniatures look fantastic and are full of detail. It’s clear that a lot of care has gone into their design, which really enhances the overall experience.
You’ll be handling the cards a lot during the game. They feel sturdy and of good quality, but since this game will hit the table often for me, I’ll definitely be sleeving them. The insert in the box also helps a lot with setup and cleanup, which is always a big plus.
Unmatched is a really fun game. I generally enjoy this type of game, but Unmatched truly stands out. What makes it even better is the ability to expand beyond the included heroes, with more characters being released over time. This greatly increases both replayability and variety. Each hero has their own strengths, but you won’t always be able to use them effectively, for example if you’re too far away from your opponent.
Is there anything that could be improved? Not really. The board itself isn’t overly flashy in terms of graphics, but it plays very well. It’s also accessible for colorblind players, as the spaces feature patterns in addition to colors.
Unmatched is definitely a game that will hit the table often here, and we’re excited to mix different heroes once more are released. Another great aspect is the playtime, with each game taking around 20 to 30 minutes, making it perfect for a game night.
Thanks to IELLO for this review copy and the opportunity to write about it..
