Review: Funkoverse Strategy Game Series (Funko Pop)

Almost anybody in pop culture fandom immediately recognizes a Funko Pop! figure thanks to its big head, big eyes, and little body.

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when Funko decided to get into the tabletop gaming world, they shrank their famous figurines into oversize game pieces. Their Funkoverse Strategy Game line is an accessible and engaging miniatures game designed to appeal to collectors, pop culture fans, and family game lovers. In short, just about anyone.

There’s plenty to talk about, so let’s diver into the top five things you need to know about the Funkoverse series.

A Basic Miniatures Game

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At its heart, each Funkoverse titles is an easy-to-play miniatures game. Players start each scenario (more about those in a moment) on opposite sides of a themed map marked with a grid of squares, often with goal tokens or other markers spread around the board.

Each character has a set of basic actions available such as moving, assisting, challenging, and so on. Figurine characters also get special abilities plus they can use items.

Base Sets and “Expandalones”

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The first group of games in the line focuses on four pop culture franchises: Batman, Harry Potter, Rick and Morty, and The Golden Girls.

The games come in two configurations. The base set contains four character figures and two items, plus maps, cards, tokens, and everything else you need for two to four players. The first wave of games includes a Batman base set with Batman, Batgirl, Joker, and Harley Quinn, and a Harry Potter base set with Harry, Hermione, Voldemort, and Bellatrix Lestrange.

The smaller “expandalone” include two character figures, one item, and the rest of the goodies. Two players can enjoy these games right out of the box, or they can be combined with other expandalone or base sets.

Two Kinds of Characters

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Each boxed set includes two kinds of characters for players to use in the scenarios. Naturally, the 3” Funko Pop miniature figurines dominate the game board because, frankly, they’re adorable.

Every star needs a supporting cast, so that’s where the basic character tokens come in. Each set includes some generic helpers that match the set’s theme. For example, the Harry Potter set has Death Eaters, while the Golden Girls include a “gentleman caller.” These tokens act as playable characters, but with fewer abilities.

Easy Movement and Sight

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As characters move in the game, they can use any combination of straights or diagonals, as long as nothing is in the way. Characters can see others on the board by following an imaginary line from the center of their square to the center of the other square.

The visual design of the maps makes it incredibly easy for new players to figure these things out. The designers extended wall edges slightly beyond the grid intersections. This simple design decision makes it clear whether a character can move or see around a corner. (The answer, by the way, is no they can’t because the last edge of the wall is in the way.)

Rolling the Dice

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All attacks and defenses are settled by rolling several custom dice and comparing results. The dice are marked with comic book-style artwork of three bursts, two shields, and a triple exclamation point.

For attacks, the bursts count as a single success and the exclamation points as three successes. Likewise for the defender, the shields are one success and the exclamation points are three. The attacker wins a challenge if they have more successes than the defender.

Mixing and Matching

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Since all of the games share the same system, you can mix and match characters, items, and map locations to make some hilarious combinations. (My apologies to any licensing people who just passed out at the thought of Harley Quinn wielding The Golden Girls’ cheesecake or Hermione armed with Rick’s portal gun.)

Each set also includes a double-sided map and several scenarios with challenges ranging from capture the flag to area control. The combination of clever board artwork with the miniature Funko Pop! figures make the game very visually interesting.

Verdict

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We were very impressed with the solid play design underneath these games. If you take away the pop culture flair, you still have a very engaging and easily learned game that’s a blast to play.

The pop culture range of the series seems almost alarmingly broad, but somehow it works — probably because each franchise appeals to a wide audience.

The miniature Funko Pop! figures make the game experience amazing. They’re designed so they can hold any of the game’s items in one hand while still being easy to move and manipulate on the board. (Tip: when attaching a figure to its base, hold it by the body and twist. Otherwise you might snap the figure’s head off. Eww.)

Special kudos to the design team on the way they did the maps. Extending each wall line eliminates all questions about diagonal movement and line of sight in one step. Bravo!

The Funkoverse Strategy Games will make a great addition to your regular playing rotation. They might also help you recruit new players thanks to their familiar characters and friendly approach.