Let's review 'Viral' the board game!

 

My family & I recently had the chance to receive a copy of the board game Viral along with the expansion Viral: The Hive to test out for a review. In this game you will play as a virus of your choice that is trying it's best to infect a patient in order to gain victory points. Along the way you may be attacked by the other viruses trying to infect the patient as well or the immune system of the patient could kick in and boot you out as well. The game can be played with 2-5 players & is played over the course of 60-90 minutes, it is for ages 12+ and can be purchased for $39.99. This game is published by Arcane Wonders & created by Mebo. 

Getting the game set up is fairly easy, if you keep each of the players starter cards & chips separated into different baggies it will help the set up go even faster. Each game is played in six rounds, and each round will have six different steps to complete that will each have one or two different things you'll need to do. It sounds like a lot, and the first time you play there will be a decent amount to learn, however after our first game the rest have been a breeze. Game time will vary depending on how long it takes everyone to debate how they'd like to complete their two changes at playing cards each round. 

The main goal is trying to control different zones of the body & the organs that are within those zones. If you are the main "owner" of a zone you will get rewarded with the points for that zone. Each game the points for the zones will change, it is completely random so you'll never have exactly the same game as you did before. You'll really need to pre-plan your moves as you'll only have two chances at playing cards each round so if the cards do not go your way chances are you won't get any points that round. The last round we played my husband kicked the rest of our butts at this game! He made it all the way to 39 points at the end of the game, and I came in second with only 27 points and the kids were just a few points short of me. Many of the little virus characters are pretty cute. We've enjoyed seeing each new virus that pops up while playing. 

There is an easy to follow game progress track on the left hand side of the board that will guide you & let you know which step of the six you are on. You will know you are on the sixth and final round when you are down to one event card. I love how they have set up the board, it really does help provide smooth progress for the game & aside from everyone deciding which cards to use the game actually does go by pretty quickly when you are moving through the steps each round. This is a fun family game and could be played during a friends game night as well. 

The Hive - The expansion pack! This expansion adds a few more cards + player chips to the game along with leveling up your virus, it will also decrease the game from six rounds down to five. It cost $15.99 for the expansion pack, I would pick it up at the same time as the base game and once you get used to the base game you can add this expansion pack to spice things up. The box is a little small & sits on our shelf oddly so instead of keeping the expansion in this box I've decided to keep everything that goes with the expansion in a baggie that I can keep inside of the original box that way I save room on our game shelf. 

Does this seem like a game you would enjoy playing? Based off of the looks, what is your favorite part of the game?

🎲 If you love board games or are wanting to get into board games but aren't sure where to start, check out some of my other board game reviews! You might find a few you want for your collection.

Disclaimer- The product mentioned above was provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.