Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire Review

The genre of roll-and-write games has really taken off recently in board gaming. Although the mechanic is not new by any means, its fast rise to popularity has put it on the radar for many gamers. I have played a variety of roll-and-write games, but only personally own one – Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire. Does this space race for 2 players hold any intrigue, or does it feel more like busywork? Keep reading to find out!

Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire (just called Rapid Fire from hereon out) is a take that roll-and-write game for 1-2 players in which players are trying to navigate their 3 ships to land on their corresponding planets before being incapacitated by a hostile alien race. Through movement, strategic use of technologies available, and even directly attacking your opponent, you must make it to the planet surface first! To setup the game, each player receives a Tracking Sheet (select either side A or B to play) and a pencil. The dice are all set within reach of all players, a Captain (starting player) is chosen, and the game is ready to begin!

Rapid Fire is played over a series of rounds, and each round is broken down into two phases: the Mine phase, and the Action phase. In the Mine phase, the Captain will roll the Mine Dice. The results will be a letter-number combination that corresponds to the planet tracks on your Tracking Sheet. Both players will fill in the matching circles on each planet track of their sheet, signifying that a mine has been launched there and serves as an obstacle for their ship. Depending on the round, you may need to roll the Mine Dice once, twice, or even three times, resolving as described above. If the roll of the Mine Dice matches the current location of a ship, that ship is hit and pushed back to its last location. Whenever a ship is hit, it takes 1 damage, tracked on the top of each planet track. Once a ship takes 3 total damage, it is disabled and cannot move for the remainder of the game.

To begin the Action phase, the Captain takes all 8 Action Dice and rolls them. Beginning with the Captain, players will then take turns selecting a die and performing its action, until all dice have been claimed. Possible actions are: Movement, Advance and Attack, Mine, or one of 4 different Technologies. To use a Movement die, you will move the ship of the corresponding color on its planet track, up to a number of pips depicted on the die face. Advance and Attack allows you to move the corresponding color ship 1 space towards the planet, as well as attack your opponent’s matching ship. The attacked ship takes 1 damage, putting it one step closer to being disabled. If you select the Mine die, you turn the Mine die to whichever letter you choose, and then roll the numbered Mine die. Your opponent will then mark the corresponding mines on their sheet, taking damage if applicable. And finally, the Technology dice allow you to gain the chosen technology for use in future turns. Mark an X on that track, and fill in the circle once you have used the technology. The different Technology options are: Defensive Missiles (used to negate and Mines or direct Attacks), Navigational Control (which allow diagonal movement), Warp Drive (used with a movement die in order to jump past a Mine space on your track), or the Transformer (which allows you to change the color of a movement die). If none of the dice display any symbols of use to you, you may choose to use the Cargo Bay or Control Panel options. For the Cargo Bay, you must sacrifice 2 dice to immediately gain 1 Technology of your choice. The Control Panel allows you to re-roll a die, but it can only be used 4 times per game!

Once all dice have been chosen and used, the round ends. The other player now becomes the Captain, and the next round begins anew with the Mine phase. The game continues in this fashion, alternating Captains, until it ends in one of three ways. If a player has all 3 ships reach all 3 planets, the game ends and that player immediately wins. If a player has no more moves left for any of their ships (blocked by mines, disabled ships, etc.), the game ends and players count up their VP. Or if neither of those two, the game ends after 12 rounds. Players count up their VP, scored for uses/accumulation of Technology and progress on their individual planet tracks, and the player with the highest score wins!

So overall, how does Rapid Fire fare? All roll-and-write games that I have played require a decent amount of strategy, and this game is no exception. You have to decide which dice to select and use, at risk of letting your opponent take another die that could be useful to you. Do you risk making a straight-line run at the planet? Or do you zig and zag your way, in hopes of avoiding mines? Should you try re-rolling this die in hopes of a more favorable result, but also risking a result that you cannot use? Your strategy must be constantly changing based on the die rolls each round, and that keeps both players engaged throughout the game.

Beyond just strategy, I think that Rapid Fire is the first roll-and-write game I’ve played that is directly competitive and take-that. Certain die faces allow you to attack your opponent! That adds another layer to your strategy as well. Should you try disabling your opponent, at risk of feeling their wrath in the future? Or do you want to keep it cordial, at least until they attack you first? Most other roll-and-writes that I have played feel more like solo games where you just compare scores at the end. In Rapid Fire, you have to actively be checking your opponent’s sheet to figure into your strategy. I usually am not a fan of take-that games, but I think it works here. Since it is only a 2-player game, you can’t gang up on a single player. You can only ever attack your opponent, so nothing feels personal or combative.

Let me touch on components for a second. This game comes with a giant pad of double-sided Tracking Sheets, 10 total dice, and a couple of golf pencils. The Tracking Sheets are nice and thick, and are clear to read and understand. The dice are big and chunky, and the symbols clean and clear. So all in all, good production quality in my opinion.

Of all the roll-and-write games that I have played, is Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire my favorite? No. But it’s one that I do enjoy for the most part. If I could change one thing, I would give each ship maybe 5 health instead of 3, as sometimes ships can be disabled so quickly and ends the game with a lackluster experience. But overall, it is a decent roll-and-write that engages both players, and has players engaging with each other too. At the end of the day, you are still at the mercy of the dice, so not every game is going to be favorable for you. But that’s what helps keep your strategy fresh and adaptive. If you’re looking for a 2-player roll-and-write, consider Rapid Fire. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a competitive 8 / 12.