DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Sales clerk Karlen Ross showed off a few of the Hero Clix game pieces last week at Gecko Books on Waialae Avenue.

Marvel's collectible tabletop
game features comic-book
heroes and villains

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

Let the game begin! "Push Fireload, attack Sentinel for 5," quietly intones Karlen Ross, hoping for a good roll of the dice that will advance his minor Marvel superhero, in all its small, painted PVC-made glory, and launch an attack on the mutant-killing robot that looms in front of him.

It's just another friendly Saturday afternoon get-together for five fanboys playing the latest craze in fantasy-related board games, HeroClix: Marvel Infinity Challenge. It's the popular variant to the medieval fantasy game of Mage Knight, where Marvel Comics heroes and villains take the place of knights and wizards.

Playing on a table near the back of the Kaimuki Gecko Books store, boxed bobblehead figures silently watch over this battle of good vs. evil. The Sentinel has used his flying powers to take flight ... well, figuratively. Players constantly remind themselves that the gravity-bound figure is, "in fact," hovering above the playing field.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM The HeroClix game consists of 58 characters, 12 of them "rare." Some pieces, such as Spider-Man, have three different incarnations, making for a total of 150 possible pieces.

Imagination is all part of the gameship and camaraderie between these guys, as they play with their favorite Marvel comic book characters. With each game, they agree on the total point value of their teams, as each character comes with a "combat dial" that can be adjusted as the game progresses, listing the point total of speed, attack, defense capabilities, as well as the "damage" done after each battle. Different game scenarios are also agreed on beforehand. But there's still the uncontrollable roll of the dice that brings success or failure.

Ross and fellow clerk Steve Lugo trade "HeroClix breaks" throughout the afternoon. "The appeal of the game is simple," Lugo says. "There's no need for charts, no painting needed of the figures and you can open a starter kit (selling for $19.95) and you're ready to go."

The relative inexpensiveness of the game is also due to there being no other little realistic props and buildings included. Weapon props are relegated to being just illustrated cardboard tokens.

But as any fanboy knows, it's the collectable value of game pieces that makes Marvel HeroClix fun. So far, there are 58 characters (with 12 "uniques" or rare pieces). Some of the characters, like Spider-Man, have three versions of themselves, representing different times in their "lives," adding up to 150 character possibilities.

Marvel and the gamemaker plan to add more characters by the end of the year. That is, after DC Comics gets into the fray with their own HeroClix line in September (It's going to be a fanboys' dream of a battle royale!)

"My friend demoed the game for me a couple of weeks ago," said player Buddy Becker, "and since I'm already familiar with the characters, it was neat seeing these superheroes in action. And if the dice goes the right way, weaker characters can work together and do well. So the underdog can win sometimes and the game balances out that way."

"Customer anticipation was a lot higher for this game," said Lugo. "The run just started two months ago and it's growing fast. On the collector's side, you can buy and trade for specific figures, collecting personal faves."

While each starter kit comes with a map-like gameboard, a pair of dice, eight figures and six object and barrier tokens, deluxe kits are also available, as well as booster packs that each contain four figures.

"There are 'uniques' in the booster packs, and they always sucker you in!" Ross said. One such sucker -- er, player -- is Alex Ho, who, by his calculations, has already spent around $350 on the game. But he's not complaining. After all, he's just strengthening his force, preparing them to crush -- no, humiliate! -- the opposition.

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