Card Game Review: ‘Crossworld: Oh My Gods’ from Smalt Games

Crossworld: Oh My Gods from Smalt Games combines fast play with great potential for strategy, all in the rich theme of mythology. There are many games who pit different pantheons together, but C:OMG offers players the chance to blend their favorite myths together. The most prevalent references are to Greek/Roman myth, but not far behind are many gods of Chinese mythology, including the creator Pan Gu, lady of forgetfulness Meng Po, and ancient tyrant Chi You. In addition, figures from Norse, Indian, and Egyptian mythology make appearances,

In a mechanic unique to C:OMG, it is played in teams of three vs three, carefully balanced with one player on each team serving a specific role. The Lord of the team draws extra cards and may pass them to teammates; the Warrior turns any card into a basic attack, and the Guardian can turn any card into basic healing. Players will work together to maximize the effects of their role powers as well as the bonuses of their chosen gods, such as Hercules dueling with cards wild, Loki rapidly drawing new cards in his trickery, and god of wine Du Kang doling out ‘Festival’ cards for free draws to his allies. Alternate rules make C:OMG into a two-player dueling game where players will have to keep track of all these powers simultaneously.

While every god carries hit points and players battle one another, the key to C:OMG is the three “structures” upon which the gods rest. Each team has fortresses guarding its Castle, which is the end goal. First team to destroy their opponent’s castle wins. To do so, however, players will have to knock down defenses by defeating one opposing god (by dropping their hit points to zero) and destroying one of the towers.

Rather than winding down as the battle progresses, C:OMG accelerates. Players have a hand limit of their hit points, but hand limits and draws go up as towers fall. During each play phase, players may play as many cards as they wish, prompting clever uses of combinations that add the impact of their strikes.

Building the combinations of power is the most important aspect of C:OMG. Continuous bonuses build up through Items like Gothic Armor that repels half damage and Weapons like the Hook Sword that cannot be blocked. Attacks may be stacked with Strategy cards that give additional attacks and call out opponents into “duels” where players lay down attack cards until one player cannot and takes the damage. Perhaps the cleverest mechanic are the Secret cards, which are played face-down with particular activation conditions known only to the player. When a condition such as damage being dealt is met, the player flips the Ambush card to inflict an unblockable counterattack.

Crossworld: Oh My Gods is a battle card game for two or six players. Games are usually very quick, lasting fifteen to thirty minutes depending on how long players study their possibilities. With the wide variety in cards, no game will be the same. With the particular powers of each god, strategy-enthusiasts will quickly find their favorites and ponder the most effective way to wipe their opponent out of the universe.