The OP Games gives players an interactive experience in “Avatar: The Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny.” Follow along Aang’s journey as he and his companions traverse the Four Nations to restore balance to the world and fulfill Aang’s role as the Avatar. Players will take the role of Aang and his companions, including Appa, Sokka, Katara, and more. This deck-building game is a fun story-driven interaction for two to four players to enjoy! 

No prior knowledge of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is essential to enjoy this game and find the challenges thrilling. However, fans of the show will be thrilled to see how accurately the boxes follow Aang’s adventure. Unveiling what the next box holds is always a treat with new enemy adversaries, allies, playable hero cards, and objectives.

In this review, we will go over the rules and how to play for two players.

Players: 2-4 Players  |   Time: 60+ Minutes   |  Ages: 10+

Setup

Upon opening the box, players will find a Rulebook for Box 1. Box 1 has everything you will need for your first game. Spoilers for the show will follow throughout the other boxes. The Rulebook has a set-up page that goes through the necessary steps to get your board game ready to play. Each player will get a Player Board with a single red heart health tracker. After choosing the Hero you want to play, take the necessary 10 Hero-specific starting cards. 

All Box 1 components have their designated areas that are seen upon the booklet: Fire Nation Adversary cards will be in the top left corner, Support cards consisting of General and Bending cards will be below those in the bottom corner, to the right will be the General Support Cards, above those will go the Objective cards, leaving the Fire Nation Tracking cards on the top right.

Hero Setup

After everyone has chosen their heroes, hand out the proper Bending Tokens displayed on the Hero card on the top left. For example, Aang has a yellow Air and a blue Water Bending symbol in the top left corner. Every player also gets a Turn Reference card, a nifty little reminder on the steps of your turn.

Every player should shuffle their unique Hero starting cards face down and then draw 5 cards. Place the remainder of your cards on the left of your Player Board. These cards are just the start of the deck you will build on.

Don’t forget to prop up the Fire Nation ship and place it at the starting marked #1 on the Fire Nation Tracking card. After following the Rulebook, you and your allies will be ready for your first adventure!

There is much more to this deck-building game that goes beyond Box 1. There are seven boxes for seven different games. The difficulty and complexity increase, but so does the excitement. Be aware that spoilers for Aang’s story will follow throughout the other boxes.

How To Play: Fire Nation Cards 

The objective of Aang’s Destiny is to work together as a team of Heroes to overcome all adversaries and complete all the objectives before the Fire Nation can capture you. This occurs when the Fire Nation reaches the end of the Fire Nation Tracking spot marked #15.

First, determine which player will go first, and then it is time to reveal your first Fire Nation card to kickstart the game. The Tracking Path tells you how many Fire Nation cards to reveal. You will only draw one Fire Nation card at the start of your game (and for the first #1-9 spots). A card will be revealed at the start of each player’s turn. 

Fire Nation cards have a variety of detrimental effects. For example, a Fire Nation card might instruct you to add 2 Tracking, causing you to advance the Fire Nation ship piece to two spaces along the Tracking Path. One at a time, reveal and resolve the Fire Nation cards and place each in the discard pile beside the deck.

Reveal your first Adversary card next. Adversaries remain in play until their condition is met. Every Adversary card has a unique ability with different terms. For example, Prince Zuko has 6 Health points, requiring players to attack him for 6 Combat points. Prince Zuko’s ability states, “Each time an effect adds any number of Fire Nation Ship movement, active Hero loses -2 Heart Points.” Some effects only affect the active hero (whose turn it is), while others affect all Heroes.

How To Play: Hero Actions

Once you are the active Hero, you can engage in any of the following activities in any sequence you prefer and as often as possible.

• Play cards from your hand to gain resources such as Combat and Purpose tokens. Once you play these cards, place them face up in your Discard Pile to the right of your Player Board. Any Tokens collected can be stored on your Player Board until the end of your turn. These tokens cannot be saved over the course of your turns, so be sure to use them all before your turn is over. For example, playing the “Offer Aid” card will grant you a +1 Purpose token. You can play multiple cards at a time to collect Tokens.
  
  
• Attacking Adversaries can also be done during this time. Remember, the number of health points equals the number of combat points. Defeating Adversaries also grants the rewards stated on each card.
  
  
• Assign resources and complete Objective cards by meeting the required check. Objective cards will require either Purpose, Health, and/or Combat tokens to be completed. Rewards are achieved immediately upon completing the Objective. Rewards that are provided can be drawn from the Objective deck and placed into the Hero or Support decks, as directed.
  
  
• Spend Purpose tokens to acquire more cards for your deck. Face-up Support cards are available to trade for Purpose tokens with the necessary amount on each card’s bottom right. You can get multiple cards if you have Purpose to spend. Support cards in the four general Support spaces include Action, Ally, and Item cards. To the left of the board, players can also trade Purpose for Bending cards, but remember that the second ability on Bending cards can only be played if your Hero has that Bending ability.
  
  
  Immediately place newly acquired cards in your Discard pile (unless otherwise stated). Once your deck runs out of cards, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck to pull from.   

Last But Not Least

Before the end of your turn, be sure to check the Adversary’s health to see if a new Adversary needs to be placed down and if the Objective has been met and needs to be progressed with the next from the stack. Refill any empty spaces for your Support cards and place all your played cards this turn into your discard pile. No cards, Purpose, or Combat tokens can be saved for your next turn. Next, draw a new hand of five cards. You only shuffle your discard pile and make a fresh deck once your deck is empty.

You are ready to play the game now that you know the steps for the active Hero! The first player goes through the steps, and afterward, it is the next player’s turn to be the active Hero. Players repeat the cycle of steps until the Objectives are complete or the Fire Nation ship reaches the end of the Tracking Path. 

Reminders

Hero Health
Once a Hero loses all their health points, that player is considered “stunned” and must halt play. To recover from this condition, the player cannot lose or gain any more Health points that turn, but they can use abilities to place Health points toward Objective cards. The player must discard their Purpose and Combat tokens and half the cards in their hand, rounded down. Effects for discarding cards are not granted. Advance the Fire Nation ship along the Tracking Path by one space. At the end of your turn, you recover and regain a total of 10 Health points!

Storing The Game
The Rulebook greatly explains storing the cards and pieces back into the box. Complete with a card breakdown and the necessary card and token numbers you should have at the end of play! The Rulebook also has a ‘Quick Reference’ sheet on the back that gives players a rundown of what the symbols mean and the different card types. 

“Our team has poured immense creativity and passion into crafting this deck-building game, ensuring it captures the essence of the beloved series and offers players a thrilling and immersive adventure.” – Patrick Marino, Director of Hobby Games at The Op Games.

Verdict

Playing through Box 1 of Aang’s Destiny was a gripping, thrilling, and engaging experience. I sincerely appreciated the Rulebook’s illustrations and thorough rules, and once we started playing, the game became a breeze of exciting action. Of all the deck-building games I’ve played, this has been the most story-driven by far, and it left me eager to discover what the next Box would uncover for the story. I loved the objectives and found them fun, although a little easy to accomplish in Box 1. The rewards guarantee great additions to your deck, and when I received a card designated for my Hero, I felt exhilarated to have a piece that could help my team.

As a fan of the franchise, I am eager to play through the other Boxes and discover my favorite characters as allies and how they will mesh into this board game style. I also look forward to the challenge and increase in interactivity as I progress, and I would love to see an addition to Kora’s story, too!

Thank you to OP Games for providing a copy of the game for this review.