Tactical Mind 2 looks like the perfect game to play on the Nintendo Switch while commuting to school/work. Playing a board game on the train or in a car might not be the best idea but when it comes in the form of a video game it sure works great.
A beautiful mind
The most iconic board games are learned in about 10 minutes but are rarely mastered in a lifetime. Chess, Checkers, Othello, Go, … are all great examples of that principle. Tactical Mind 2 is trying to fit in with those big boys. Since digital board games are a new thing, only time will tell if these types of games will once become iconic but in my opinion, Tactical Mind has at least a chance. After a short tutorial, I could grasp the rules of the game without any problems. After playing my first game I started to see the game was actually deeper than what I imagined after going through the introduction. It became clear that I really needed to think about every move if I wanted to win a game.
A simple concept
In Tactical Mind 2 you and your opponent each have to defend your crystal while trying to destroy your opponents’ crystal. You use pawns to maneuver your way towards your opponents’ crystal. Placing pawns come at an energy cost. Once you run out of energy you can no longer do any action and your turn is over. Your energy gets refilled based on the number of pawns that are near a crystal. When you or your opponent perform an action the cost of that action rises. Not using an action lowers during a turn lowers the cost again. All pretty straight forward stuff but like in the movies… there is a twist.
The energy cost is shared between both players. This means that when an opponent spawns a few new units, the price goes up not only for him but also for you. This brings the whole tactical thinking part of the game to the next level. You need to think ahead about when to go on a spending spree and when to preserve energy. Although your planning might become obsolete if your opponent uses a certain action a few times too many. Of course, you can also use this tactic to block the possibilities of your opponent. On the other hand, using this tactic to block your opponent might also be a disadvantage on your own turn making Tactical Mind 2 not an easy game to master.
More than a board game
Board games are more or less limited to the actual board but when you make a digital version you can easily change the board. Tactical Mind 2 is not a static affair. There are plenty of layouts to choose from to make each game different. Even the squares can be transformed into hexagonal shapes to make the game even more challenging. All these things were already present in the original version of this game. Tactical Mind 2 spices things up with 3D boards. A sphere and a cylinder-shaped board were added to alter the experience even more. Since you can’t see the whole board without turning the board this makes the game even harder. I could’ve easily done without those 3D boards since I found the normal game more than challenging enough.
Hotseat or single player
Tactical Mind 2 can be played with 2 players but sadly only in local multiplayer. With hotseat mode, you need to pass the controller to the active player when you end your turn. This feels a bit traditional but works just fine. An online option could’ve benefitted this game greatly. If you want to play on your own, Tactical Mind 2 got you covered. With 3 difficulty options, of which yours truly only felt comfortable on beginner mode, you’ll have plenty of epic battles to sharpen your wits on. The campaign mode offers a more puzzle game approach in which you get presented with plenty of challenging setups. Trying to get the upper hand in those challenges will really teach you the ropes of Tactical Mind 2
Conclusion
Tactical Mind 2 is a simple board game at first glance but will prove to be more than challenging enough. The campaign mode offers the right amount of challenge to set you on your way to master this game. The versus modes let you test your newly learned skills to the max. An online mode would’ve made this game better.
