Board Game Review – The Warriors: Come Out to Play

Funko Games invites you to take on the gangs of New York City in The Warriors: Come Out to Play – an energetic, cooperative game where players navigate New York‘s subway system to their home turf of Coney Island and prove their innocence. Based on the 1979 cult classic, the game transports players to a dystopian world where gangs patrol the streets and serve their version of justice.

The roughest and toughest gangs of New York have assembled at a midnight summit when Cyrus, leader of the powerful Gramercy Riffs, is murdered! Everyone wrongly thinks you, the Warriors, are to blame, which means every gang in the city is gunning for you as you try to make your way back to your home turf of Coney Island! In this rowdy, cooperative strategy game, you’ll need to watch each other’s backs to navigate the dangerous streets and subways of New York, dodge rival gangs, and maintain your rep. Make it back to Coney Island and show the Gramercy Riffs you’ve been framed to prove the Warriors are not just good but are the best the best! Can you dig it?

• Energetic, cooperative gameplay that captures the chaotic, pugnacious action of the beloved film
• Includes seven sculpted miniatures of the leaders of the most recognizable gangs
• Eight Warriors to choose from, so each player can portray their favorite character
• Original illustrations and design inspired by 1970s New York

I got a chance to play The Warriors: Come Out to Play and, like the Funko Games I have played before based on movies, they really make the most of the theme. The mechanics used really do fit in with the plot and style of the film.

They pack a lot into a small box and the rule book is nicely structured and short. We had set up and read through the rules in a few minutes and were ready to play. Each player has a hand of cards that give them actions and weapons they can use during various fights throughout the city.

The game is played in two phases – Fight and City. The Fight Phase sees you draw a Location Tile and a Gang Tile so each fight is a little different. You then use your cards to roll dice or play weapons to take out the rival gang by covering various spots on the two tiles. The colourful plastic figures you can see on the left of the board below represent the various gangs (including The Warriors) on a reputation track. Should you go up against a gang that has a higher reputation, you have to cover more spots. If you win, the beaten gang leader goes to the back of the reputation track and everyone else moves up.  You can always run from a fight but you move down the reputation track if you do. 

Although all players are part of the same team, each individual can decide whether to travel together or go it alone – but watch your step, encounter rival gangs and risk being challenged to a fight. That was a lovely way of representing the gang splitting up in the movie.

Every fight sees the cards you use go into a discard pile and it is only during the City Phase that you get a chance to get cards for your deck. You move to different spaces on the city map to draw new cards from the War Deck and Weapon Deck. You can rest to get all your discarded cards back but you then have to randomly remove one from the game which means your deck is slowly losing cards. Plus each one of those actions sees you drawing from the Bopper Deck which includes Coast Is Clear cards or various Threat cards. Draw three threats and a new fight breaks out which drains your deck.

It is this balancing act of your hand of cards and the reputation track that really makes the game. Do you rush from one neighbourhood fight to the next? You constantly want to get new cards but then you have to draw from the Bopper Deck. Everything could be clear or you could be one step closer to a fight.

Once you make it to Coney Island you then have a final fight and the lower you are on the Reputation Track the more victories you need.

It is all a delightful and dirty balancing act and I loved it.

The cooperative aspect works so well, but you can split up as in the movie or a player can decide to run from a fight without any input from anyone else which saves your cards but lowers your reputation. Can you dig it?

We only had a two-player game and managed to make it back and be victorious, but there was lots of discussion as to what we should do each turn and how we could help each other. I definitely want to play it with a higher player count.

The look of the game is fantastic with the art style and location choices really tying the game and movie together. It definitely works so well to bring The Warriors to the table. While the game would still be a fun play if you had not seen the film, I do feel you would get a lot more out of it if you have watched it.

If you are a fan of the film then the board game is definitely worth checking out.

Available over at Funko Games.

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