Hotshots from Fireside Games

Looking at a game from 2017 today. When it came out, there were lots of people looking at Hotshots by Fireside Games. There were lots of comparisons to Flash Point. I see them as having the fire theme in common, but they diverge from there. I think Hotshots is a good gateway or filler game. It is easy to learn and plays quickly. We played two 2-player games in about 90 minutes. Our first game was quick with some good card draws that always pushed the fire into Scorched tiles or off the board. The second game was far more challenging with it coming down to the wire in getting a final fire put out before it could spread and scorch our last tile.

This is also a game that can be played solo. I also like how it manages solo play. All the rules remain the same which for me is a huge plus. I hate it when games alter rules for solo play or ask you to run two characters in order to play. In Hotshots, the game is controlled by players drawing fire cards at the end of their turn. With one player, only one card is drawn. With 4 players, 4 are drawn. More players, more fire.

Fires are spread out but not too bad.
It got worse before it got better.

We played the standard 5x5 hex set up which makes movement a bit easier, but the rulebook does have samples of how you can play different National Parks. Some are long and thin and that would make movement more difficult and could cause fire to spread much faster if a bad wind card is drawn. The tiles have Scorch numbers and when that number of fire tokens are placed, the tile is flipped to it's scorched side. Lose too many tiles and you lose the game.

Each player takes the role of a different hotshot specialist and they have special rules for each of them that you can use to help get fires out quicker or move other team members around the board. If you send team members to where their strength will be put to the best use, you can tackle even the most difficult fires.

Along with the card draw, the player's actions are determined by a push your luck dice mechanic. I happen to like a little push your luck in a light game and this one does just fine by having a couple of small things that can be done to help mitigate the results; from having another hotshot helping you in the same tile to vehicles that have automatic effects and some special tokens that you can gain with a particularly good roll. And other than learning how many successful dice rolls you need to put a fire out, all the information is right on the tile.

The components for the game are of a good quality (I especially like the plastic fire tokens) and I think if you can find it in your local store at about the $30 price range, it's a game that can easily get multiple plays. And it's easy rules and clean and clear rulebook mean that teaching even younger children should be no problem.