Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
OverviewFor The Win is an abstract strategy game in which each player gets ten tiles, two of each character representing Monkeys, Zombies, Pirates, Aliens, and Ninjas.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Pieces as Map
Placed pieces collectively form or redefine the playable map.
Read the full game description
OverviewFor The Win is an abstract strategy game in which each player gets ten tiles, two of each character representing Monkeys, Zombies, Pirates, Aliens, and Ninjas. The objective is to connect five (or more) of one's tiles, including at least one of each type, together (sides and corners count). Additionally, all five (or more) tiles must be face-up, or unactivated. The game ends immediately when a player achieves this goal. Each character type has a specific ability to help you toward the objective. GameplayPlayers take turns using either 1 or 2 actions within 5 action rounds. Once one player's actions are consumed for a round, the other player(s) get to use any of their remaining 5 actions at once. Judicious action management is key; if one budgets one's actions wisely, one can play several actions in a row for game-winning combinations. The available actions are as follows: Add a tile to the Grid Move one of one's tiles Refresh or flip a tile face up Shove a tile or column/row of tiles Activate an ability (the chosen tile turns face down; see below) Characters & abilities Alien — The Alien uses her tractor beam to pull any tile in the Grid to a space that is adjacent to her. Monkey — The mischievous Monkey uses a banana peel to flip over all of the tiles it is touching. Ninja — The sneaky Ninja can move from his current spot to any other unoccupied space in the Grid. Pirate — The Pirate uses his trusty cannon to blast an adjacent tile to any unoccupied space in the Grid. Zombie — The Zombie can infect any adjacent tile. The infected tile is removed from the Grid and replaced with a Zombie tile that has not yet been added to the Grid. If all of the Zombie tiles have already been added to the Grid, the Zombie may choose one adjacent tile and deactivate it (that is, flip it face down).