Preview: Unmatched, a deck-battling game where Bruce Lee can fight King Arthur ~ USA Latest Games

Your combatants in this Unmatched play through: martial arts legend Bruce Lee... [credit: Nathan Mattise ]

AUSTIN, Texas—It should have been obvious. But when I approached the Mondo Games rep at Fantastic Fest about playing a round of Unmatched—the recently released spin on deck battle board games—I quickly stood paralyzed by choice. Should I use the Jurassic Park raptors? What about Alice of Wonderland fame? Or maybe Robin Hood?

“You should definitely play Bruce Lee,” the rep suggested, directing me to a different board. And with that, our battle commenced: the greatest martial arts fighter of all time against… the mythical King Arthur? Huh?

When “deck battling” gets mentioned, most minds probably go to the classic collectible trading card games: Magic The Gathering, Pokémon, The Star Wars Customizable Card Game, The Star Trek Customizable Card Game, etc. These games developed cult followings for their combinations of complex strategy, varying play styles, and multi-faceted gameplay. But they also alienated other gamers because the process of acquiring cards could get expensive—and building a successful deck required significant thought and time.

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