Attack on Titan: The Last Stand Board Game Review

Attack on Titan is a very popular franchise, so it made sense that Attack on Titan: The Last Stand was released in 2017 and did very well! The publisher has recently released a second edition of the game, and it has all the same fun as the original with some notable upgrades! Let’s take a look at Attack on Titan: The Last Stand, published by Japanime Games!

Attack on Titan, once on the table, is a very impressive game. The components are pretty solid, especially all the included custom dice. I love the way it all looks when setup, although some might be a bit less interested due to the work required to get this setup and ready to go.

I really do enjoy these one versus many experiences, and this does a really good job of recreating the feel of the franchise it is based on. One player takes on the role of the Titan, while others take various other roles attempting to defeat the mighty Titan.

The Titan will choose two attack cards each round, one face up and the other face down and hidden. Players then roll their dice and use the various symbols to defend against both the visible attack – the one they can see and plan for – but also the hidden attack, which creates a bit of chaos and uncertainty. There is that sense of “luck” here, but it doesn’t feel more lucky (or unlucky!) than other games with dice rolling.

The game is very simplistic, but I think that is on purpose. If the Titan ever reduces a hero’s health to zero – and if he does this to any one hero! – the game is over and the Titan wins. The Titan also wins if they eat all the citizens – yes, they are eating people – or if they destroy the cannons on the tower. The Heroes will use tactic cards that will require them to be a certain places on the Titan to ultimately deal damage to it and win the game themselves.

This is a very vertical experience, and for those that love this type of experience, I think they are going to have a lot of fun. For many, these system’s and the way you build the play area might feel a bit gimmicky, and it definitely does feel this way.

However, the gameplay itself is really solid, and I’m glad I gave this game a play. If not for this review, I’m honestly not certain this is something I would have purchased, let alone sat down to play if I saw it at a convention or the board game cafe.

I love that the game comes with so many heroes, and these heroes will have unique abilities that allow them to play differently than others. While the core gameplay will remain the same, using different characters will force you to attack the game in different ways, and I really enjoyed that.

While Attack on Titan isn’t going to be a game that comes off the shelf often – remember, I have about 300 in my collection – it is one that my son Logan and I will play at least a few times per year. If you love the franchise, than you’ll probably enjoy this game even more.