Alien Wars Card Flipping Game

Alien Wars Card Flipping Game arrived at our house via a Board Game Bento Box. I was immediately drawn to it because it comes in a cool looking tin shaped like a SPACE SHIP! Who cares about the game? That tin is great! But of course, you can’t always judge a came by its cover.

Alien Wars turns out to be the perfect game for kids aged 6- 12. (Also, my daughter pointed out… it would make a great college drinking game).

How to Play Alien Wars Card Flipping Game

The game is fairly straightforward. Round cards have pictures of Aliens on them… You choose your army of 9 Alien Cards and a missile card.

In the center of the playing field, you place 3 “mine” cards, upside down. (Now, I normally play games on tables… but for this game, the floor is perfectly appropriate, and you will see why in a second).

Each player then places their 9 Alien Army cards face down on the playing field. Scattered a bit around the mines and other player’s cards. Try to remember which ones were yours... it will be important. Make sure the cards aren’t touching each other.

Alien Armies, Mines, Missiles and rules… all in one little tin

The first player turns over a card. You really want to turn over your own card here… otherwise, the turn is passed (see, I told you to remember where you put your cards). If the card is one of their Alien Army… they get to shoot at the other Aliens.

Hold your pinkie on your card, then FLIP the missile card onto an overturned alien army card.

Here is where the game gets a bit tricky, and favors the coordinated (or the silly). The player holds a missile card in their hand, and the pinky finger of that hand rests on the flipped over card. NOW>>> FLIP the missile card at the other cards. The one the missile lands on blows up. You really want to hit OTHER Alien Armies, not your own. Whatever Alien you hit, blows up. If you hit a mine, you blow up.

The object, to be the last Army alive on the table (or on the floor)

Alien Wars Review

Alien Wars Card Game sells itself as a memory game, as well as a game requiring coordination. While it’s true, it really helps to remember where your cards are, so you can shoot on your turn, purposely hitting other Aliens is just HARD. I found that most of the time it was pure dumb luck when we managed to hit anything with our missiles. On the other hand… it didn’t seem to matter, since the whole game has a “silly fun” feel to it.

I admit, I played with a couple of 13 year olds. This is not a game that I would reach for … and I think they thought themselves too old for it (despite the hysterical laughter, it got boring after playing it through a few times). Also, the game tended to break down into a flipping fest about half way through.

That said… I can see younger kids enjoying the heck out of it! This is not a bad game, on the contrary… it’s the perfect game for kids who love…Cool looking Aliens! Firing Missiles! Cards Flying around the Room! (This is why playing on the ground is a good idea, less time spent picking up cards that flew off the table).

In fact… I can totally see this being a game that kids take and create new rules for. Alien Armies could be lined up in different ways… new methods of flipping the cards could be created…

Granted, it may lead to chaos and mayhem, but that sounds like fun too!

Who Will Like Alien Wars Card Game?

If you have a child in your world (regardless of how old they are… like I said, I think this game could easily be adapted to a drinking game) who doesn’t always want to play sedate thinking games... and who loves Aliens…. this game is perfect.

Plus… it comes in a cool tin that fits neatly into a pocket!