- BGG rank
- BGG #4,011
- BGG rating
- 6.6
High Score
- 2–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 2021
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,331
- BGG rating
- 6.1
POW!
2016
Rules assistance for POW!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 20 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.2/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for POW!
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
POW! is a board game released in 2016 for 2–5 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Reiner Knizia and its main mechanics are Push Your Luck, Dice Rolling, and Re-rolling and Locking.
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About the game
In POW, players need to collect both superheroes and supervillains over the course of the game, and they do this by rolling dice. On a turn, the active player rolls five dice up to three times, setting aside at least one die after each roll. Once they stop, they can collect a hero or villain from the shared supply as long as they have the right number of symbols of the proper type (hero or villain) to match one of the tiles on display. If they do, they take this tile and add it to the top of their hero or villain stack. Heroes are worth positive points, and villains negative points. Alternatively, if the player rolls three speech balloons of a single color, they can collect the top tile of this color from any player's stack. If they roll four or five speech balloons, they can take a specific tile from any player's stack. (They can't look through the stacks, though, so everyone needs to remember who took which tiles when.) If a player can't take anything, they take the tile with the lowest (possibly negative) score still in the supply. Once all the tiles have been claimed, the game ends. If someone has more heroes than villains, they must discard tiles from their hero stack until the two stacks are the same height. Players then tally their points, and whoever has the highest score wins!
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Gigamic
Questions and answers
POW! supports 2–5 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 POW! is 20 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 POW! for ages 8 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.
POW! has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
POW! belongs to these categories: Dice. Its main mechanics are Push Your Luck, Dice Rolling, and Re-rolling and Locking. 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 POW! are: Reiner Knizia. 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 POW! 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.