Breaking Bad: The Board Game Review

Critical Hits: Supports a large number of players; rowdy and fun
Critical Misses: Player elimination, skipped turns, and loose in the areas it shouldn’t be

The sole purpose of a Breaking Bad board game is for an excuse to endlessly toss out "I'm the one who knocks" and "yeah science, b#@&%!" Or at least that would have been true in the early days of this millennium, before cardboard titles such as Battlestar Galactica and Spartacus hit us with the intensity of a semi-nude Thracian warrior burying a Gladius in our belly. 'Licensed' used to be a fancy way of saying 'dung', but the operative word there is 'used to be'. Things change, and for once it was for the better.

Still, you're skeptical. And you should be, because Breaking Bad is sacred. It's some of the best small screen poetry ever penned and it will be talked about long after my bones are beneath topsoil. Unfortunately, apprehension is apropos as Breaking Bad the board game is full of holes.

Tread lightly

This is a 'take that' design where players slip into the drug dealers and meth movers of the series' iconic factions. You can be Tuco, the Chicken Man, or even Heisenberg. Each character draws from a faction specific deck that may be shared by another belonging to the same group. So if one player is Walter and another Jesse, then they both draw from the same specific deck of cards. Interestingly enough, those within the same faction are on the same team.

That's the first novel aspect of this release as you can actually setup the game with lopsided groups. Jesse and Walt can be working together while Tuco's out there running it solo. The design shifts the goalposts in this format, requiring the duo to ship more blue meth in order to secure victory; and it almost works.

This framework is certainly interesting and offers a different feel to play. The issue is that the increased drug requirement is not enough. The second path to victory for the criminal factions is to eliminate everyone else. Combat is an alternating play of gunfire cards similar to the popular Bang! When you have two dudes running in tandem you can play cards to help each other. You can also throw down the cute 'Better Call Saul!' cards to nullify certain aggravating maneuvers against your partner. Finally, the deck cycles faster so you're able to get those cards back from your discard pile at a quicker pace.

This can feel aggravating if you're attempting to harm a well-stocked couple and you're flying solo. The balance isn't far off, but it's wobbly just enough to feel unfair at times and threaten the enjoyment of the experience.

Aside from asymmetrical teams, the other noteworthy element of this design is that one or two players throw on their uniforms and slip into the role of the DEA. This faction has altogether different goals of shutting down meth labs or eliminating all of the delinquents. There's a solid amount of discussion baked into the framework of this game as short term deals are cut and everyone collaborates to gun for the leader and pile it on.

The DEA has some nifty tricks. They can place criminals on surveillance leaving them open to attacks if they push meth or play flagged cards. This adds a bluffing element as sometimes you'll keep players in check even when you don't have the necessary stick in your hand to reinforce those threats.

Of course, the good comes with a healthy dose of bad as law enforcement can jail the criminals. This brings along the dreaded 'skip turn' faux pas as player agency is sapped and you're left sitting on the sidelines and rotting in the clink. You of course get out of the slammer by randomly drawing a Better Call Saul card at the beginning of your turn.

Worse yet, players can be wholesale eliminated. This can occur when you run out of health, a symptom of losing multiple firefights or being slapped with a hilarious, yet mechanically awful, ricin card. This one saps your strength at the beginning of every turn until you play a hospital card. RNG better be your BFF.

Despite this criticism and Space Needle-like red flags, there's some actual fun to be had here. The pace and format feels very similar to the aforementioned Spartacus' Intrigue phase. Players talk trash and tear each other down. Many actions get cancelled and progress can be non-existent at times. But with the proper attitude and a large compliment of players it can be a riot. The fact that the design actually works with its full complement of eight players is pretty rad as you're able to leech a full board game experience in a relatively tolerable time frame of 120 minutes.

The game leans into its negotiation elements pretty handily. This salvages some of the weak points and bolsters the free-wheeling table talk. You can place your cooks in other's meth labs, benefiting the both of you. This feels inconsequential in the early game but becomes an endeavor worth pursuing once the DEA have shut down a few locations.

Breaking Bad also does this slick thing where it places more heat on the parties that have shipped the most meth. This allows the police faction to play stronger cards and wreak more havoc. It's a solid little catch-up mechanism that shows some thought.

I’m not in the meth business. I’m in the empire business.

Throw all of this discussion of good and bad out the window and we’re left with the single quality that resonates most – this game fails to capture the themes of its source material. There’s no real growth or moral quandary baked in. The arc doesn’t capture the slow cancerous decline of Walter White’s soul. There’s not even a sense of inevitable righteous decay as you begin a thug and end a slightly richer one. This is a game that could tap into a rich storytelling tapestry and instead opts to feature gang warfare via ‘take that’ card play. Fortunately, it does have those previously mentioned moments of fun but the missed opportunity is lamented.

What do you want out of a Breaking Bad board game? If you're looking for something critically proficient and comparable to a Gale Force Nine production, you will be sorely disappointed (don't you dare toss out your copy of Sons of Anarchy). However, if you're just looking to sling some meth and throw out some quotes as you engage in a loose firefight, well, this could be your ticket. Alcohol is certainly recommended.