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V-Sabotage
- 1–4 players
- 30–180 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2016
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- BGG #30,260
- BGG rating
- 5.1
Countdown: Special Ops
2013
Rules assistance for Countdown: Special Ops
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–6 players
- 30 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.7/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Countdown: Special Ops
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Countdown: Special Ops is a board game released in 2013 for 1–6 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Hans van Tol and Gertjan Oomis and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Point to Point Movement.
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About the game
In the modular game Countdown: Special Ops, you are in charge of a special ops team with a special mission! Find hidden bombs and dismantle them, help hostages into safety, or take out terrorist leaders. Due to the high variation in goals, targets, threats and specific circumstances, players need to choose their set-up and strategy each time they start a mission or a campaign. Don't just throw in grenades with your buster at public places such as airports and train stations, or else civilians might get hurt, resulting in negative points on your mission balance. (Plus, you know, injuring civilians is not cool.) Develop your primary skill, but don't neglect your attack power, defense power and other skills if you want to stay alive in this thrilling new game. Countdown: Special Ops is fully modular, with players being able to create their own game by adjusting four different aspects of play: Game situations: With more than 200 playing cards, the challenges and threats are different each time you play. Game mode: You can play a single mission, a campaign or a scenario; each game mode has its own level and duration, and you're advised to start with a single mission on the lowest level (green). Level up: Did you succeed a few times on level green? If so, you might want to try the next (orange) level or even a scenario, that is, three missions in a row with increasing difficulty! Goals: Even players' goals can be altered. Countdown: Special Ops is a co-operative game, but if you'd like to change the rules, you could add one or two traitors to the team and play "Traitor Mode". Development You can develop your own Special Op by improving his or her skills. This is done in scenario or campaign play. This brings out interesting aspects of the game in which you have to choose how many risk you want to take to gain extra experience or if you want to move slow and stay alive at all cost... This variation, combined with the 30-minute time limit per mission, makes the experience of a mission "feel" like an actual PC game in many aspects. Smart development is essential to survive the missions on higher threat levels.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- The Game Master BV
Questions and answers
Countdown: Special Ops supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Countdown: Special Ops is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Countdown: Special Ops for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Countdown: Special Ops has a complexity rating of 2.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Countdown: Special Ops belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fighting, and Wargame. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Point to Point Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Countdown: Special Ops are: Hans van Tol and Gertjan Oomis. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Countdown: Special Ops as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.