It’s the panic ! The zombies have taken over the school, before conquering the whole world. Discover how to save the Earth, in Flashbackour board game of the week.
To counter the plans of the brain eaters, only one solution: a “thingy” allowing you to travel through memories. By understanding the past, perhaps it is possible to change the future.
Flashback is a game of investigation, especially observation, and deduction, cooperative, which can be played with children or between adults.
The story unfolds in three chapters, three parts therefore, which follow each other, consisting of about fifteen to twenty cards. Each of these cards represents an illustrated situation at a very specific moment.
Starting with the first card of the story, we observe the illustration in detail, to try to understand what is happening, and above all, we identify the numbers that dot it. These correspond to other cards, and depict what the character attached to the number sees at the same time.
We sail in this way, from map to map, from point of view to point of view, to stitch up the thread of history. We can thus see through the eyes of a human, a zombie, even an animal or even a surveillance camera.
Better than a long explanation, the publisher had the good idea to put online a mini-scenario of a few cards to fully understand the principle.
Among these cards, some contain mysteries, questions to be answered at the end of the game, when all the cards have been turned over. Being wrong or not knowing how to answer is not penalizing, in any case, we can move on to the next scenario. We are simply satisfied with our analysis when all our answers are correct.
Each scenario also introduces a new special object, which we keep secret so as not to spoil the surprise for you, which allows you to see hidden details on the cards.
Finally, once the three stories are completed, new rules are introduced, allowing each scenario to be redone with a few additional elements.
Why play Flashback?
The subtitle of Flashback“Zombie Kidz”, obviously relates to the excellent Zombie Kidz Evolution, which we presented at the end of 2018. Mechanically, the two games have nothing to do. It is their universe that they have in common: child-heroes who fight against zombies to save their school (and the world).
This theme, as well as the simplicity of the mechanics and the short duration of the games, make it possible to play it with children (zombies are not really scary). But, the game works well only between adults too. Even if, it must be admitted, the story is a little choppy, wacky… or maybe we have lost our child’s soul, precisely.
The games are fun, the system at the heart of the game is successful, clever as anything, and really original. We find ourselves switching from one point of view to another, and trying to understand what can be trafficked in this school.
Be careful not to pass too quickly on the cards. They are riddled with details, clues, and it is easy to miss this or that element, for, ultimately not knowing how to answer one of the questions.
Especially since the game only has three investigations, even if a small final twist allows you to come back to it once the last scenario has been completed. You have to take your time, analyze everything, go back to old maps… the games are not timed.
Even if it is above all a family game, to be played with your children, it is quite possible to play only between adults. The very nice illustrations and the clever and original system hit the mark in both cases. The latter could also perfectly serve as a basis for a version and a more mature context.
- Flashbackis a game by Baptiste Derrez and Marc-Antoine Doyon
- Illustrated by Laure de Chateaubourg, Jennifer Mati and Michel Verdu
- Edited by Le Scorpion Masqué
- For 1 to 4 players from 7 years old
- For games of about 30 minutes
- Priced at €22.50 at Philibert
The verdict
We liked
- Super original gameplay
- Illustrations
- No inconsistency in staging
We liked less
- A twisted, zany story
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