AngerSmash Review

Howard Donald. Mark Owen. Jason Orange. What do they all have in common?

Answer: they all have Take That to thank for their fame and fortune. Take that made for a very successful band, but how does it work as a mechanic for a party game? I’ve been playing AngerSmash to find out.

All I Do Each Night Is Play…

AngerSmash is a new game from the brains behind ‘How Am I Weird?’ for between 2-5 players. Once again targeting the party game field, the aim of the game is to be the first to collect a set of four matching anger cards, as well as a set of four matching zen cards.  At face value, the game sounds very simple. As simple as any good party game should be. However, rather than being repetitive like a lot of party games can be, AngerSmash has a couple of aces up its sleeve.

To start, each player is dealt eight cards. If they are anger or zen cards, they are placed face up in front of the player. Matching cards are grouped. If you have a BloodBoiler card (I’ll get to those in a minute) they are placed to one side. Then add the ten Disruptors (again, I’ll get to those in a minute) to the deck and shuffle, making a draw pile.

Just Have A Little Patience

If you draw an anger or zen card that doesn’t match anything in your hand, your turn is very quickly over. If you draw an anger or zen card that does match a card in your hand, you can add it to the collection. Then, if you draw a card that matches another one that’s in the drawn pile, you can pick both up. If you draw and BloodBoiler or Disruptor card, you can place them face down in front of yourself to use at a later point. Trust me, you will want to use them.

BloodBoiler cards allow you to take an anger or zen card off another player. If you see someone that’s close to winning, you can snatch that victory away from them. There are twelve of these cards in the deck, so they do make an appearance quite frequently. There are also ten Disruptor cards, which each have a specific ability, ranging from sabotaging two players hands at once to having a frown-off against a neighbouring player. These, combined with the BloodBoiler cards, make crossing the finish line far from easy.

Could It Be Magic?

Firstly, I’ll go through the aspects of the game I enjoyed. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of party games fall guilty of being ‘death by repetition.’ AngerSmash avoids this by the inclusion of the Disruptor and BloodBoiler cards because it allows for suspense and tension. ‘Suspense’ and ‘tension’ aren’t generally words you’d associate with the party game genre, but AngerSmash’s ‘take that’ mechanic causes this. When I reviewed Dream Crush, I said that a good party game became the backdrop for conversation. The tension in AngerSmash also does this, as you can toy with your opponents about which Disruptor or BloodBoiler cards you have. You find yourself encouraging people to mess with each other’s hands and forming alliances to plot another player’s downfall.

Take That And Party

For those of you who aren’t clear on what I mean by a ‘take that’ mechanic, it’s when you take an action in a game that directly impacts another player’s chances of winning. Taking a card off an opponent they desperately need is a prime example of this. There are some Disruptor cards that even allow you to dispose of a set of four cards, turning a front runner into an almost certain loser.

We must also discuss the artwork used for the game. Smriti Pillai’s images are so charming and funny, they really add to the gameplay (the Precious Penguin being a personal favourite). Again, great artwork is not something you’d often associate with party games, so AngerSmash would be a fine-looking addition to any board game collection.

Before looking at changes I would personally make to the game, it’s very important to discuss one of the other components needed to play AngerSmash: the right group of players.

One of my favourite games is Cosmic Encounter. Though not a party game, you are often trying to spite your opponents en route to victory. When you have a group of people who really engage with the theme and embrace the levels of meanness required to win, there are fewer better gaming experiences. If you don’t have a group like that, there are few worse. AngerSmash relies heavily on players being willing to be cutthroat to win.

Anyone who has ever played Munchkin will know that as soon as you’re close to winning, you can expect everyone to pile in on taking you down. Getting close to winning, but seeing that people have Disruptor and BloodBoiler cards in front of them can be disheartening rather than enjoyable. That’s enough to put some people off games like this, and that’s completely fine. AngerSmash is possibly not the game for you.

Whilst I also think the artwork of the game is very strong, I’m not entirely sure why the back of the BloodBoiler and Disruptor cards are different from the rest. Whenever I play a game of Pandemic, I know there are epidemic cards in the deck, but half the fun of the card draw is the reveal. The sigh of relief when it isn’t an epidemic, or the collective tutting and eye-rolling when it is. The same can be said of other party games, like Exploding Kittens. I felt like we were slightly deprived of this feeling by knowing what type of card was about to be drawn, rather than having the extra suspense of seeing somebody picking up an unknown card and wondering what they will do with it.

Does AngerSmash Rule The World?

On the whole, I’ve really enjoyed my games of AngerSmash. It is a light and easy to teach card game. It’s also meaty enough for more seasoned gamers to enjoy. The decision making of knowing when to play your BloodBoiler or Disruptor cards may keep more experienced gamers happy, rather than having to rely on crassness and insults like other games in the genre. So if you have a choice between taking AngerSmash home with you, I would take that… and party.

This blog was originally published on Nov 2nd, 2021. Updated on May 25th, 2022 to improve the information available.