POW!

About this board game

POW! is a dice-rolling game for 2–5 players that plays in about 20 minutes. Players collect superheroes and supervillains, building separate stacks while trying to finish with the highest score.

On each turn, the active player rolls five dice up to three times, setting aside at least one die after every roll. When the rolling ends, the player may collect a hero or villain tile from the shared supply by matching the required number of symbols of the correct type. The chosen tile is placed on top of the corresponding stack.

Heroes provide positive points, while villains are worth negative points, making every addition significant. Dice can also create opportunities to take tiles from other players. Three speech balloons of one color let a player take that color’s top tile from any stack, while four or five speech balloons allow a specific tile to be taken.

• Roll five dice, setting aside at least one after each roll.
• Collect hero or villain tiles by matching symbols.
• Use speech balloons to take tiles from opponents’ stacks.
• Remember which tiles are buried, since stacks cannot be searched.

If a player cannot take anything, they take the lowest-scoring tile still available in the supply, even if its value is negative. This keeps the shared display moving until every tile has been claimed.

At the end of POW!, any player with more heroes than villains must discard hero tiles until both stacks are the same height. Players then total their points, and the highest score wins. Released in 2016, POW! combines dice decisions, memory, positive and negative scoring, and direct tile-taking interaction in a compact game.