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Yep, you read that right. I’m reviewing a card game. It’s not in my usual wheelhouse or indeed our usual beat here at Windows Central. However, the term ‘Console Wars’ will be familiar to pretty much anyone following gaming news in any capacity, and this game cleverly flips that eye-roll-inducing concept on its head. As such, I had to try it out for myself.
Console Wars flips the script on gaming discourse with a tongue-in-cheek approach, poking fun at the online battleground that’s rarely quite as entertaining when you are caught in the crossfire.
The premise is simple: you’re a gaming corporation. Whether you want to embody Microsoft stepping on rakes at every juncture, Nintendo charging $90 for a game or create your fictional megacorp is up to you (I like to roleplay as Jentendo YoungStation when I’m playing this). Your mission is to amass game franchises and a loyal fan base.
These assets not only bolster your empire but also serve as your shield when the competition (aka your friends) try to sabotage you. With a little strategy and some well-timed moves, you might even ascend to the heights of charging $100 for some horse armor without losing fan loyalty.
It’s part satire, part strategy, and about as ruthless as a game of Monopoly. Here’s everything you need to know about Console Wars: The Card Game and whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash.
This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by the creators at Xbox Era. They had no input nor saw the contents of this review before publication.
Console Wars: Pricing and where to buy
Console Wars: The Card Game is available from Amazon for $29.99 in US and £24.99 for the UK.It began life as a Kickstarter campaign back in August 2024 and quickly met its target; now it’s available for everyone to buy.
The game is built for 2-5 players, and within the box, you get:
- 48 game cards
- 33 action cards (3 are blank)
- 25 fanbase cards
- 15 fanbase increase cards
- 6 casual/hardcore fanbase cards
- 6 global event cards
- 20 perk cards (2 are blank)
- 5 how to play/quick reference cards
You can also add an optional ‘DLC pack’ for $16.99, which allows you some further customization of the original deck by switching out some of the games with different parody franchises. If you want more horror, or family-friendly titles in your deck, you can do that with the DLC but it’s purely optional, and my review is based on the base card game. This also contains 3 new Global Event cards and 4 new perk cards.
Console Wars: The good
- The game cards are well designed, and instantly recognisable
- The cards and packaging are high quality for the price
- Winning takes some ruthless tactics which makes for some interesting interactions
Console Wars: The Card Game comes with a two-sided instruction leaflet on how to play, but you don’t really have to sit and read it. There’s a 60-second Youtube video giving you everything you need to get started, and the best way to learn is to just deal your cards out to each player and get moving.
I played the game at Gamescom in 2024 and found it incredibly easy to learn at the time, though, to be fair, I had the creator of the game walking me through it. When I later tried introducing it to friends after a few drinks, things didn’t go quite as smoothly. In my wine-fueled wisdom, I left half the deck on the floor, and only after our game ended suspiciously quickly did I realize the error. Turns out you can’t be a ruthless gaming megacorp after a bottle of wine.
Anyway, onto the game itself. The game cards themselves are bloody brilliant. They actually remind me a lot of one of my favorite subreddits, r/crappyoffbrands, and I mean this in the best way. Instead of Call of Duty, your franchise is ‘Call of Shooty’, DOOM is MOOD, and we have other gems like Agitated Birds, Powerful Washing Simulator, and Space Evaders. All in the font styles of the games they parody. Frankly, it’s a trademarking lawyers worst nightmare, and I find it just hilarious.
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To ‘win’ you need to be the first person to collect four full sets of games. Some genres may require collecting four games, others three, they have different value. Naturally, Call of Shooty holds more corporate clout than a single-player gem like The Older Scrolls.
The gameplay is straightforward (assuming you’re not drunk). Genres are marked with vibrant colors, making it easy to track your portfolio and spot opportunities to steal or sabotage your rivals.
Action cards can force players to give up fans, and if your fanbase isn’t strong enough to protect your franchises, you’ll lose them. Global events like market crashes and next-gen console launches shake up the board for everyone, often with scenarios that will have anyone remotely familiar with recent gaming news chuckling.
I’ve compared this game to Monopoly, and the comparison holds: it can get hilariously cutthroat. During one round, our Managing Editor Jez Corden called my son a “little b**tard” for relentlessly targeting his cards. Unfortunately, Jez, being an expert in his field of gaming commentary, did not help him win and Gen Z was victorious for this round.
Every game feels unique thanks to the sheer variety of cards, making the $29.99 price tag pretty reasonable for a game with such replayability. The cards themselves are great quality too and I expect will be pretty durable over time and multiple games.
Whether you are an Xbox die-hard or a Nintendo fanboy, you can all come together and just have a good time with this game and laugh at the fickle nature of fanbases in general.
Console Wars: The bad
- The jokes aren’t going to be for everyone, but that’s ok
I am loathe to really criticize anything about Console Wars: The Card Game as it pretty much does everything it says on the tin in providing light entertainment for 2-5 people, and the age range it’s aimed at (over 14 years). I think the one potential snag this could hit isn’t really the fault of the game itself, but worth mentioning, that not everyone understands that ‘Console Wars’ itself is a satirical concept for the game.
While it’s riot for anyone with a sense of humor about the gaming industry, I know from sharing posts about playing the game that not everyone is as in on the jokes. The game is clearly poking fun at the absurdity and futility of console wars and the tribalism that plagues each community, but if you’ve ever dug too deep into any comment section you’ll know that not everyone recognises satire when they see it. The tongue-in-cheek nature of this game, with its parodied franchises and corporate sabotage, could be miscontrued as glorifying the very console warrior behaviour it’s ribbing (it’s not, but not everyone gets it.)
To enjoy this game, it helps to approach it with a healthy dose of self-awareness. If you’re the type to roll your eyes at heated Twitter arguments about exclusives or price points, Console Wars is the perfect antidote. For others, though, the game might need a bit of framing.
In the end, much like the online discourse it parodies, Console Wars thrives when players remember not to take it all too seriously.
Console Wars: Final thoughts
You should buy this if …
✅You want a fun card game that encourages lighthearted competition and banter
This is a hit for gaming nights and will easily kill an hour or more with your friends
✅You are a gaming fan from any decade who will appreciate the parodies
Features 48 clever and entertaining spoofs of classic video game franchises like “Call of Shooty” and “Mineshaft.”
You should not buy this if …
❌You’re not a gamer
The games humor and theme resonate with those deeply familiar with the gaming community. Gran can play but she just may not get it.
❌You are playing with young children
This is aimed at 14 and over and while some younger children may understand the puns it’s best played with older players.
Overall, Console Wars: The Card Game is an ode to gaming culture wrapped in the guise of a ruthless card game. It’s an easy conversation starter for anyone who enjoys poking fun at the industry and doesn’t mind a little friendly competition with their fellow game night crew. I genuinely believe this is a must-play for anyone who regularly has like-minded friends over to visit ,and it now sits in pride of place on my bookshelf.
While the satirical edge of the main theme may fly over the heads of some, those who get it will have a good laugh playing, whether you’re more of a Candy Crush player than a League of Legends sweat. It offers a truly unique and entertaining experience for a card game, and for that is well worth a spot in your collection. Just remember to keep the whole deck intact and make sure to save the booze until after you’ve dealt the cards.
If you want to try the game for yourself and happen to be in the UK, the Console Wars team will be at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham from May 30 to June 1, 2025.
