
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,492
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Picnic
- 1–9 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 2020

2018
Rules assistance for POWERUP
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
POWERUP is a board game released in 2018 for 1–5 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Ramón Redondo and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Storytelling.
POWERUP is a semi-cooperative dungeon-crawler. A 1 to 5-player game emulating Run-and-Guns on 2D platforms, in a pixel-art aesthetic. The theme is classic science fiction. The world is being invaded by some very annoying creatures called BUGs. They crawl into our homes, steal our breakfasts and defile our garden gnomes. The only defense we have against this invasion is THE BLOCK, an outlaw organization dedicated to defending the planet from attacks of beings from other dimensions. In the game we are part of an assault team: The 13th Squadron. We will have to lead our squadron in a quest to quash these annoying BUGs. We are armed with the latest in interdimensional defense technology. The game has 3 modes: Campaign, Arcade and Deathmatch. The Campaign is a cooperative mode, each of the 4 missions revealing the plot. In Arcade mode we can configure our own board, among thousands of possible scenarios and battle wave after wave of BUGs. In DeathMatch mode, as 2 competing-teams, we will play capture the flag in a potentially lethal board setting. Squash bugs! Run! Shoot pixels! Level up and power up! —description from the publisher
POWERUP supports 1–5 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 POWERUP is 60–120 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 POWERUP 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.
POWERUP has a complexity rating of 2.5 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.
POWERUP belongs to these categories: Video Game Theme and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Storytelling. 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 POWERUP are: Ramón Redondo. 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 POWERUP 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.