Review written by: Tiffany Horton (@FateofMidgard)
I defy you to find a listener of The Adventure Zone podcast who hasn’t wanted to play in the McElroy sandbox. Additionally, I bet you can’t find a TTRPG player who hasn’t had that moment of wanting to jump into a quick game for a few hours with no DM in sight. Well, folks, Twogether Studios to the rescue! The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance delivers far more than what is modestly printed on the box, “A collaborative storytelling card game.” This hybrid RPG/board game delivers the thrilling high stakes and wild shenanigans that fans of all types will gobble up (with or without The Glutton’s Fork).
Overview
By automating the DM, the TTRPG experience is much less intimidating and way more approachable. One person isn’t saddled with the responsibility of prep- no world building, devising combat scenarios, or NPC generation. Instead, players just unbox, set up the game board, create characters and start playing. The TAZ: Balance universe is captured perfectly within the missions you face, such that if you are a fan of the podcast, it feels like a warm familiar hug from old friends (which, let’s face it, we all could use right now). If you are new to the source material, it feels like a well fleshed out and vibrant world from which you can both draw inspiration, or create your own personal spin.
From The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance instruction booklet:
This is a cooperative game in which all of the players win or lose together. The players WIN by defeating all of the challenges in two of the three challenge decks; one of these must be the relic deck. The players LOSE if the Team Health Track reaches zero before this happens.
What’s Included
The Box
The box itself is beautifully designed and illustrated, with bold, eye-catching title text and images within the quadro-triangle Bureau of Balance logo that make my TAZ-fan heart start to race. Some highlights from the art within get a well-deserved showcase on the box including the train, the lich and the multi-domed moonbase headquarters of the Bureau of Balance. Don’t miss the inside of the lid which is festooned with images of some of the finest wares the Fantasy KostCo has to offer. The instruction manual within reads as a missive from the Director herself right on the cover. By addressing you as (as yet created) Reclaimers and describing your (as yet chosen) mission, the first thing you lay hands on after opening the box immediately draws you into the world and begins to weave the story that your fellow players are about to create. Haven’t even taken anything out of the box yet and off to a great start!
The Character Sheets
The character sheets are highly artistically detailed with the parchment-texture tone of the paper and flavor art around the portrait space. The design expertly describes exactly how this Wizard/Rogue/Warrior/Priest/Bard performs mechanically, and allows for the possibility for this character to be literally anyone. I love the idea that these full-color, tear-off sheets don’t have to be disposable. You or your friends could create a character you fall in love with and keep that particular character sheet in the box for subsequent play on another adventure. Beyond the class-specific stats on the sheet, the player must answer only 3 very open-ended questions to establish their character traits. Anyone with character creation experience will find this method flexible and simple. If a player needs a little inspiration, the back of each character sheet is another stroke of brilliance. There are 6 choices from which to choose and some flavor text or prompting questions to help a player develop that character’s personality. Or just roll the die and let the polyhedral decide! This flexibility showcases even before the adventure begins, The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance has a highly adaptable structure which can be as simple or complex as the players decide to make it.
The Board
The board is very compact and functions as both card deck manager and health and strength tracker with sufficient space for the active Surprise Card. Half of the board is occupied by a detailed illustration of the Bureau of Balance moonbase which literally spotlights the Mission. At first glance I thought this space would go functionally unused (although beautiful) but after playing, I discovered it is precisely the amount of space needed to roll the TAZ 20 Die with a muted but satisfying “thunk.” This space also keeps the die on the game board so players aren’t wildly rolling the die into tokens and trackers and making a mess of things (all board gamers have been there). The result is that the die roll outcome is prominently on display smack in the middle of the action. The entire physical game setup is comfortably coffee table scale so it can be easily adapted to wherever you are most comfortable playing.
The Cards
The cards are extremely well made. They combine the perfect weight and stiffness to feel sturdy with just the right amount of gloss coating to feel protected but not slippery. I appreciate a card with good hand-feel. The art on each card is beautifully illustrated. The fact that the Mission cards always stay up and visible helps keep the theme of the mission in mind as players work through the challenge decks. For instance, in the Train Mission, players must obtain the Relic before completing the Train deck, upon which the Villain escapes with the Relic and the players fail the mission. Always seeing the image of The Train, whooshing by through the night at full steam helps maintain the narrative and mechanical tension of trying to complete the challenges before reaching the destination and the timer expires.
Even the font feels very in-universe. The challenge ratings on each card are intuitive and make it very easy to track the current difficulty. The arrows next to each number at the top of the cards constantly remind the players of the scenario as a whole, whether or not they have an actual quantifiable effect on the difficulty. For instance, if the challenge is “You’re battling a Swarm of Rats” (Villain, difficulty 10), it’s understandable that it would be made much more difficult “while dodging Lightning Bolts” (difficulty 10, +1 difficulty to both adjacent challenges).
The art and flavor text on the Fantasy KostCo items and Surprise Cards are simultaneously full of beloved references for TAZ fans and easy to deploy as resources. For instance, Railsplitter has powerful bonuses against monsters, both when it is your turn and when you are assisting your teammates (inspired by a certain someone who has a penchant for “rushing in”). The Surprise Deck contains some familiar faces which are similarly mechanically easy to understand for TAZ newbies, but quickly become a highlight to keen-eyed TAZ fans. Even with canonical elements, players still get a chance to add their own narrative spin. For instance, when Taako’s Tips is drawn, the players can decide for themselves “how he inspired or helped you to add +1 to any die roll.”
The Tokens
You know that satisfying pop when you punch out a token in a new game? These tokens were so satisfying and didn’t tear the artwork at all. The greyboard sheet you punch them out of even has a fun cobblestone print on it with the game logo on it, just for fun. It’s so pretty, I couldn’t bear to throw it out and I keep it in the bottom of the box. The action tokens are double sided with each character’s Assist Bonus for before or after the die roll (it’s different for some characters), so it is easy to keep track of when calculating Strength at a glance.
The Die
The TAZ 20. What an innovation! It’s the familiar, gratifying 20-sided polyhedral we all know and love, but it’s the size of a golf ball. The numbers only go up to 6, however, with one Critical Hit instant win (the Bureau of Balance symbol) and one Epic Fail instant failure (an ominous gothic X). Rolling this baby creates palpable suspense as everyone mentally calculates the statistical odds of a favorable outcome in the brief moment it tumbles across the table. It rolls well but the weight keeps it contained on the Bureau of Balance moonbase art on the board if table space is limited. The die gives the 1-6 familiarity that even novice board game players feel comfortable with, and provides the classic TTRPG tension associated with a D20.
Gameplay
Team Leader
The Team Leader role is this game’s answer to the plight of the perennial DM. The team leader gets to play a character like everyone else, while facilitating the narrative throughout the game. The instruction manual says it best, “[the team leader] is not a ‘master’ that owns the story, but a team member who is helping coordinate and encourage collaborative storytelling.” The instruction manual offers an entire page of tips for the Team Leader on how to facilitate the narrative created by the group. If weaving a word tapestry doesn’t come naturally, it is a skill which can be easily learned by honing how to prompt the team to add story details and flesh out the adventure in a way that is comfortable for all levels of storyteller. If the team leader prefers to be at the helm of the TTRPG experience, they can use their creative skills to set the scene and encourage collaborative story contributions from team mates without co-opting the narrative. This role is the secret sauce that binds together all of the strengths of this game to make it all come together and just…(chef kiss).
Choosing a mission
When choosing a Villain, Relic and Location, players can play whatever 3 Mission Decks sound fun to your group, or they can strategize and craft an adventure based on the type of experience you want to play. The handy guide in the manual summarizes each deck and provides sufficient context such that players know what they are getting into. For instance, it is helpful to know that The Dragon is “Fast and deadly. Low difficulty but high damage.” and that The Tomb has “Lots of traps and cards that must be defeated multiple times; this adds to the length of the game.” There are also handy Mission combination suggestions (game recipes, if you will) as a quick start guide to the game play experience of your choice. As players become familiar with the Mission Decks, subsequent gameplay experiences will provide unique adventures. This game constraints multitudes.
Game Experience + Player Feedback
At the time of this review, I have played the game twice with two different groups. The game was completely different each time and equally as fun. Each playthrough, players had varying levels of RPG experience (casual interest to professional DMs) and TAZ familiarity (completely uninitiated to superfans). The constant with both groups was that we all had the shared passion to play and have a good time. The personalities and humor style of your player group will dictate the tone of the game and custom tailor your experience.
At the outset, as with the beginning of any good story, the details are few and it may take awhile to build momentum. But a few turns pass, characters have a chance to make some decisions and everyone begins interacting and getting to know how the characters play with each other, the momentum picks up and we found ourselves acting more in-character than out-of-character tabletalk. Given that this game is (to a large extent) a sandbox, canon is established by the players as the game is played. Nothing is sacred and off limits. At one point, the team had been struggling for several turns to defeat the Non-Sinister Coffin and by the time we did, we established that it had been on casters the whole time and all that was required to defeat it was to push it aside, as it happens, into the River of Fire, which was subsequently defeated by surfing across on the aforementioned coffin.
By the end, each game felt like a complete arc. Players were invested in their characters, and the team felt the stress of our failures and the thrill of our victories. The camaraderie was palpable among the characters in-game as they worked together as a squad of Reclaimers and the players at the table as collaborative authors of these shared stories. By the time we reached a Finale card, the stakes felt genuinely high and everyone at the table was feeling that finale rush, complete with audible gasps, spontaneous shouting, wild gesticulation and thrashing around in our chairs. The beauty of this game is the duality of the shared experience. The characters went on a journey together and win or lose, bonded through teamwork as Bureau of Balance employees and (maybe?) friends. But you as players created a story together that prior to sitting down at your table did not exist and you can now reflect as a shared memory. You made a thing together. In my humble opinion, that’s one of the best feelings between friends.
Virtual Playability + Tips
In a world where Zoom calls and virtual gatherings have become ubiquitous, not every board game adapts well to remote game play. I’m happy to report that The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance excels at virtual game play. On the virtual conference platform of your choice, as long as the team leader has a camera that can be pointed at the physical game setup, the remote players can easily experience the game as needed via computer or mobile device screen. Twogether Studios have generously shared the Character Sheets as a .PDF (download here) so all players can have digital access if they can’t get their hands on the paper copies included in the game. The Team Leader rolls the TAZ 20 on behalf of each player on their turn and while remote players miss out on the physical act of rolling a die on their turn, the suspense is the same and participants find themselves eagerly leaning closer toward the screen to find out what “they” rolled. It is a co-op game after all, so delegating a die roll seems a small price to pay for the ability to play this game remotely so smoothly. The fine Twogether Studios folks share their live gameplay videos on their YouTube channel, featuring the McElroys and friends, or you can check out our playthrough experience below:
Top tips for Team Leaders playing virtually
- If possible, have two different devices, one pointed directly downward above the game board and one in front aimed at your face. Log in with separate user accounts on each device and mute the game-facing camera to avoid echo.
- Use the corresponding paper pad for each person’s character to keep track of their names, Loot and Fantasy KostCo items. Place them on your table in turn order, especially if the players are not arranged in turn order on your screen.
- Keep a notepad off screen to jot down story details to reference as you go. You may create mission details during game setup that may not be relevant until later and these will be important to access quickly when setting certain scenes.
- Whenever a new card is drawn from any deck, raise it up so the camera can focus, read the text aloud in its entirety, then place it down in the proper place.
- Remind your remote players to keep track of Fantasy KostCo items on the notetaking method of their choosing, especially those that are more complex than just added Strength to certain types of Challenges. Without holding the physical cards, it is easy to forget what bonuses you have in your inventory that might make it easier to defeat a Challenge.
Final Thoughts
Several times in this review, I have referred to this game as an RPG. It is worth noting that nowhere on the box, instructions or any material published by Twogether Studios does The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance bill itself as an RPG. I think that’s what is so attractive to this game for me as a player. My favorite part of RPGs is the storytelling and role playing, not the stats and crunch. Everything that this game does well is exactly what I look for in a RPG experience- a rules-light, open ended storytelling template within which to get straight to the fun and start creating.
One of our players acknowledged the intricate TAZ touches and details that were so earnestly included, but didn’t feel controlled or bound by them, only inspired. As a player, you can be as creative as you want, either pulling from the McElroy tone and humor or create your own spin. As an RPG, the cards function as templates and prompts for your storytelling, which creates a safe space to take low-stakes risks with big payoffs. The open-endedness of a lot of TTRPGs can be a huge intimidating barrier for some and with the bumper rails up, novice and experienced players get to play in the space and simply enjoy creating a fun story with friends.
The players in our group who were unfamiliar with the podcast didn’t feel like they missed out on any enjoyment of the game. The in-jokes and references are presented in a way that is enjoyable for everyone, which is a feat. As an RPG, it’s not crunchy at all but emulates the traditional TTRPG structure in many of my favorite ways. The RPG Academy’s Tom Cantwell, who played the world’s best hype man/best friend Bard in our game, proudly declared “I would play this game with noobs.” A proud gamer who would play this game with even non-gamer friends is a ringing endorsement.
One of the qualities that the McElroys deliver consistently is that at its core, everything they create is made with sincere, unapologetic love. The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance is a love letter to the McElroy’s TAZ: Balance universe, TTRPGs, and the fans of both. Somehow, Twogether Studios created a game that has the hallmarks of a lightweight, but gratifying RPG experience which removes many of the obstacles, and does not compromise on content to do so. They have created an authentic, tactile, playable (and highly replayable) version of a beloved podcast, while making the game completely accessible and enjoyable to game players with no TAZ familiarity at all. That is an incredibly challenging balance to strike (see what I did there?) and they’ve done so with aplomb. The McElroys pride themselves on inclusivity and accessibility and The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance embodies that spirit fully. An RPG for all, a TAZ game for all. Twogether Studios created a beautiful space filled with toys and made it easy for anyone to get on in there, play, and create. Anyone who is lucky enough to open the lid of this game will read the following words and be excited and inspired– We’re about to tell a story, and you’re going to be amazing!
The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance can be purchased at theadventurezonegame.com or your favorite independent retailer. Twogether Studios loves to hear from players about their stories and characters on social media using #TAZGame. Share your favorite story detail @TwogetherStudio and @thezonecast on Twitter or share your character portraits @TheMcElroyFamily and @Twogetherstudios on Instagram.
Special thanks to Jenn Ellis and Keith Baker at Twogether Studios for creating this incredible game and sending us a copy so we could share with you at The RPG Academy.
