Flash Point: Fire Rescue - 2nd Story Expansion Pack

I thoroughly enjoyed this expansion pack! I love the addition of a second story and the added ladders and windows. A great buy!

Flash Point: 2nd Story is an expansion to the great co-op game Flash Point, which is a lot of fun. 2nd Story adds exactly what it claims to the map- a 2nd story to worry about in the game. It comes with 2 maps, a rules sheet, and a sheet of counters. It costs $15 to get (when it's in print). Is it worth it? he counters represent a few different things in the game. The windows are simply that- windows on a map that function like doors. You can open them/close them but they only have 1 HP and the wall they are in can be destroyed even if they are open. The walls they are in are blue with slashed lines to represent this. The different icons (people moving, fire hose, etc) are to help you track your actions during your turn. You get a set number of those equal to your action limit (4 people moving, for example) and flip them over when you use them in your turn to help keep track of your points. The fire hose tracks the free points from the CAFS Firefighter, the person moving for the Rescue Specialist, and the Walkie-Talkie for the Fire Captain. We don't normally use these during our games because they take more time to use/table space then we like. We can count to 4 easily enough without them though they WILL get used when our son gets older and is learning how to play to help him out. The wife and I don't need them for us, however. The yellow counters that look like they can give you vertigo are ladders. You pick them up for free from the Fire Engine and take up your "carry" spot (no victims too people!). You move them around until you get to where you want outside the building and set it up for 2 AP. You can climb up a ladder with normal movement costs (1 AP w/o a victim, 2 AP with) and use them to get to the 2nd story via different way than the stairwell. These are EXTREMELY useful and we almost always have at least 1 person starting each game holding one so we can get someone up to the 2nd story ASAP. The last counter is an explosion counter to help track what spaces are hit when an explosion occurs. It looks cool but we don't find it extremely practical for our games. Once again, we will use this when our son is older and learning how to play to assist him however. In essence you're getting 2 boards that are each 1/2 the size of the normal board in the base game. They are only 4 spaces long instead of the 8 that come in the base game, and each map is combined together to make a 2 story house (you have 4 combinations you can make). These maps have windows on them and are, in general, a bit harder to save then the base game building because it has a lot more walls to worry about. There are also some light blue walls on spaces in the maps that can only take 1 damage instead of the normal 2 damage a wall can take. The only other new rules mentioned in this expansion involve staircases between levels. You can move up and down them for 1 AP each (unless on fire, then it costs 2 AP). If an explosion occurs either IN a stairwell space or would go through the stairwell space, one of two things happens. If there is no fire at the top of the stairs, put a fire token there. If there is already a fire token there, keep moving in the direction of least resistance (not walls) until you find an empty space and put a fire token there. This rule is IGNORED if a wall around the staircase is destroyed since the fire will go for the path of least resistance, so it is EASIER to go to the next space then go up the stairs. Finally, there is a change for the deck gun. If you use it you now only flip the 6-sided die if necessary. It will hit EITHER the bottom floor or the 2nd story everytime depending on what you roll. BOTH parts of the floor you are shooting at need to be clear of firefighters, however, so we rarely use the deck gun in our games with the 2nd story. These are all the new rules additions to the game. Final Thoughts: I really enjoy 2nd Story. It adds new maps to the game which is DESPERATELY needed. These maps are generally harder as well since you have 2 stories to worry about, and using the ladders makes me feel more like a fireman since most buildings aren't just a single story. Windows are also useful since you can go through them like doors, and they actually help to keep the house intact because they can't soak up as much damage as the normal walls. This is a HUGE assist. Fires can rage out of control here quickly, however, especially at the start of the game and you can almost be over before you've begun. It takes a lot of teamwork and coordination to win at these levels because fires can rage through them quickly. The light blue walls provide no stopping power so smoke from other rooms and explosions can do a lot more damage then in the base game. This gives the game a slightly more frantic and realistic feel and really brings some additional tension to the game. The smaller floors make it more likely for fire to spread out and hit firefighters outside the building, and POI's are a lot more vulnerable because explosions are more frequent and occur in a smaller space, getting through walls faster and making you work a lot harder and smarter to save your victims. All of these are great additions to Flash Point. All in all, I recommend this expansion to anyone who wants more out of Flash Point, especially more maps. These maps are fun to play and give you a lot more variety in what places you fight in, something that is extremely useful. I really like 2nd Story and hope that anyone who owns Flash Point and enjoys it will get themselves a copy because it's so fun.

Flash Point: 2nd Story is an expansion to the great co-op game Flash Point, which is a lot of fun. 2nd Story adds exactly what it claims to the map- a 2nd story to worry about in the game. It comes with 2 maps, a rules sheet, and a sheet of counters. It costs $15 to get (when it's in print). Is it worth it? he counters represent a few different things in the game. The windows are simply that- windows on a map that function like doors. You can open them/close them but they only have 1 HP and the wall they are in can be destroyed even if they are open. The walls they are in are blue with slashed lines to represent this. The different icons (people moving, fire hose, etc) are to help you track your actions during your turn. You get a set number of those equal to your action limit (4 people moving, for example) and flip them over when you use them in your turn to help keep track of your points. The fire hose tracks the free points from the CAFS Firefighter, the person moving for the Rescue Specialist, and the Walkie-Talkie for the Fire Captain. We don't normally use these during our games because they take more time to use/table space then we like. We can count to 4 easily enough without them though they WILL get used when our son gets older and is learning how to play to help him out. The wife and I don't need them for us, however. The yellow counters that look like they can give you vertigo are ladders. You pick them up for free from the Fire Engine and take up your carry spot (no victims too people!). You move them around until you get to where you want outside the building and set it up for 2 AP. You can climb up a ladder with normal movement costs (1 AP w/o a victim, 2 AP with) and use them to get to the 2nd story via different way than the stairwell. These are EXTREMELY useful and we almost always have at least 1 person starting each game holding one so we can get someone up to the 2nd story ASAP. The last counter is an explosion counter to help track what spaces are hit when an explosion occurs. It looks cool but we don't find it extremely practical for our games. Once again, we will use this when our son is older and learning how to play to assist him however. In essence you're getting 2 boards that are each 1/2 the size of the normal board in the base game. They are only 4 spaces long instead of the 8 that come in the base game, and each map is combined together to make a 2 story house (you have 4 combinations you can make). These maps have windows on them and are, in general, a bit harder to save then the base game building because it has a lot more walls to worry about. There are also some light blue walls on spaces in the maps that can only take 1 damage instead of the normal 2 damage a wall can take. The only other new rules mentioned in this expansion involve staircases between levels. You can move up and down them for 1 AP each (unless on fire, then it costs 2 AP). If an explosion occurs either IN a stairwell space or would go through the stairwell space, one of two things happens. If there is no fire at the top of the stairs, put a fire token there. If there is already a fire token there, keep moving in the direction of least resistance (not walls) until you find an empty space and put a fire token there. This rule is IGNORED if a wall around the staircase is destroyed since the fire will go for the path of least resistance, so it is EASIER to go to the next space then go up the stairs. Finally, there is a change for the deck gun. If you use it you now only flip the 6-sided die if necessary. It will hit EITHER the bottom floor or the 2nd story everytime depending on what you roll. BOTH parts of the floor you are shooting at need to be clear of firefighters, however, so we rarely use the deck gun in our games with the 2nd story. These are all the new rules additions to the game. Final Thoughts: I really enjoy 2nd Story. It adds new maps to the game which is DESPERATELY needed. These maps are generally harder as well since you have 2 stories to worry about, and using the ladders makes me feel more like a fireman since most buildings aren't just a single story. Windows are also useful since you can go through them like doors, and they actually help to keep the house intact because they can't soak up as much damage as the normal walls. This is a HUGE assist. Fires can rage out of control here quickly, however, especially at the start of the game and you can almost be over before you've begun. It takes a lot of teamwork and coordination to win at these levels because fires can rage through them quickly. The light blue walls provide no stopping power so smoke from other rooms and explosions can do a lot more damage then in the base game. This gives the game a slightly more frantic and realistic feel and really brings some additional tension to the game. The smaller floors make it more likely for fire to spread out and hit firefighters outside the building, and POI's are a lot more vulnerable because explosions are more frequent and occur in a smaller space, getting through walls faster and making you work a lot harder and smarter to save your victims. All of these are great additions to Flash Point. All in all, I recommend this expansion to anyone who wants more out of Flash Point, especially more maps. These maps are fun to play and give you a lot more variety in what places you fight in, something that is extremely useful. I really like 2nd Story and hope that anyone who owns Flash Point and enjoys it will get themselves a copy because it's so fun.