Cryptozoic Entertainment Uncooperative Board Game Portal Review

what our customer say this product:

Powered by

1. GroversGal Verified Buyer – 2 April 2024

   I will start by saying that I have not played the game yet. The first game I bought (last two pictures) came with another board game and the corners were badly damaged and the box had been caved in. I ordered a replacement, this one with the clear wrap around it (no box). The corners are better but a little damaged still. It’s frustrating paying $50 for a game and the outside damaged.

   

2. Anonymous Verified Buyer – 17 June 2024

   Quick take: Don’t worry, it’s good. A worthy use of the award-winning video game’s IP, Portal: the Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game is very good. For fans of the Portal series (like me), it’s great. It would also be fun without the Portal universe supporting it, which certainly is the mark of a great licensed game. The videogame was groundbreaking; the boardgame isn’t quite that but the core gameplay mechanics are still unique and interesting, Positives The game, at its simplest, works like this: use your Test Subjects to gain Cake and/or more Test Subjects. Once you have more Cake on the board than your opponents, you will try to end the game by getting rid of all of your own or one opponents’ Test Subjects. However, if you’re too slow at doing this, you leave your opponents with an opening to add Cake to the board with their own (dwindling) Test Subjects and turn the tables by taking advantage of your “help.” This balancing act makes for a fascinating game. The board itself is also unique. It is made up of fifteen interlocking tiles that create the Laboratory. Familiar Portal staples such as Test Subjects, Cake, a Turret, a Companion Cube, and portal tokens will be moved around on these tiles. Every turn, each player is required to choose a tile on the “old end” of the Laboratory to activate. The tile will give bonuses to Test Subjects on the tile and then flip over to the “new end” of the Laboratory, creating a constantly changing and recycling board. It’s the good kind of chaotic, especially with three or four players. The Aperture cards that players will use throughout the game are also a great addition. They can be quite powerful, but they are easy to obtain so other players aren’t at a disadvantage. The cards are especially interesting because the other side of each card has a unique character from the Portal universe which alters the game for all players. So, you’ll play one of Aperture cards that allows you to destroy a Test Subject, but which in turn activates “Chell.” Chell allows the next player to freely move a Portal token to any Test Chamber, potentially a very powerful ability. More often than not, every decision in the game has these cause/effect scenarios and the board often changes quickly and dramatically. I would be remiss to mention the inclusion of the Portal universe. The miniature Test Subjects, miniature Companion Cube, and miniature Turret match the look and feel from the videogame, and the colored cake pieces are a cool touch. The Aperture cards are interesting and thematic. The sardonic humor of the original game comes through even in the very premise of this game: doing whatever you can to gain Cake and often sacrificing your own Test Subjects in the process. The namesake portal tokens for jumping around the board are there but aren’t the focal point. Which is fine. Negatives The concept of the interlocking tiles and the constantly recycling game board is a good enough concept to base a game on. However, it isn’t perfectly accomplished. The pieces are smaller than Catan tiles, with additional tabs that are meant to lock into each other so that the board can be easily shifted on the table. Some tabs fit, but many others don’t or they fit too well and make it difficult to pull the tile up. This isn’t a game breaker but it’s something you’ll quickly notice as you play. From a thematic perspective, GLaDOS doesn’t really play any kind of role, which is a little disappointing since the Companion Cube, Turret, Cake, Test Subjects, and portals are used throughout in gameplay. She doesn’t even have her own Aperture card. Still, a minor qualm. Final Thoughts When I heard that Valve was involved with developing a Portal boardgame, I knew that we would have to check it out. I’m happy to relay that it’s a lot of fun. With two players it’s quite strategic, though can sometimes trigger long thinking turns for AP prone players. Three and four player games are more chaotic and tactical, with the game board changing dramatically by the time it gets back to you for your turn. There is a ton of player interaction, both direct and indirect. It’s a special kind of fun to grab your opponent’s Cake and march through a portal, activating a test chamber and incinerating their Cake piece in the process. You’ll make constant risk/reward decisions like this, sometimes teetering on the brink of being eliminated until you have enough Cake to win the game by intentionally walking your Test Subject into a Turret. Games will usually end quickly and abruptly like this. Overall, the game is one of the more unique ones that we’ve played. Portal fans or those who like puzzle-type games with a lot of player interaction will find a lot to like here. Note: reviews of this game and others, including gameplay descriptions, more bad puns, and a lot more pictures available at playbegins.com

   

3. Ian H. Verified Buyer – 13 November 2024

   My family enjoys gaming: board games, card games, and video games – Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game brings all three of those together, along with the lore and quirky humor that mark the beloved Portal video game series. This is most certainly a game of strategy, although circumstances change rapidly and you will have to adjust your plans often if you really want that cake (which isn’t a lie in this game, funny enough – or maybe it is to the test subjects who don’t get to eat any…) The board is made up of test chamber tiles, and my only complaint is that they are cut like puzzle pieces that make them difficult to remove and attach. It would have been more sensible to make them smooth-sided (like Catan hexes). But no matter, as long as you are careful not to disrupt the board when removing the tiles it doesn’t detract from the gameplay. Important: you can play more than one card. At first we thought that you could only play one a turn and this made things verrry slow. When played correctly, and depending on how good the players are and how the cards are played, a game can last anywhere from 15 minutes to… our record of two hours. It honestly reminds me of a methodical game of chess where every move counts… and sometimes it seems like a turn timer would be a good idea (except on my turns, of course 😉 All in all, if you enjoy strategy I highly recommend this game – and hopefully, in contrast to what the box description tells you, you will still be friends with your opponents afterwards and be able to appreciate their ruthless efficiency in destroying both yours and their own test subjects all for a single slice of cake…

   

4. Steve Beaulieu Verified Buyer – 25 December 2024

   Good game both for experienced gamers and for the new ones. Play as an evil AI and torture your test subjects to achieve victory.
   

5. Carlos Verified Buyer – 5 February 2025

   Tanto para los que jugaron a Portal como para los que no, este juego permite echar un rato alocado y agradable con los amigos. La pega que le pongo es que para el precio que tiene, los elementos del tablero que deben recomponerse continuamente a lo largo de la partida deberían tener un acople mucho más sencillo al estilo piezas de dominó. Estoy pensando en algún mod que permita tenerlo con un cartón debajo.
   

6. Anonymous Verified Buyer – 18 March 2025

   Quick take: Don’t worry, it’s good. A worthy use of the award-winning video game’s IP, Portal: the Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game is very good. For fans of the Portal series (like me), it’s great. It would also be fun without the Portal universe supporting it, which certainly is the mark of a great licensed game. The videogame was groundbreaking; the boardgame isn’t quite that but the core gameplay mechanics are still unique and interesting, Positives The game, at its simplest, works like this: use your Test Subjects to gain Cake and/or more Test Subjects. Once you have more Cake on the board than your opponents, you will try to end the game by getting rid of all of your own or one opponents’ Test Subjects. However, if you’re too slow at doing this, you leave your opponents with an opening to add Cake to the board with their own (dwindling) Test Subjects and turn the tables by taking advantage of your “help.” This balancing act makes for a fascinating game. The board itself is also unique. It is made up of fifteen interlocking tiles that create the Laboratory. Familiar Portal staples such as Test Subjects, Cake, a Turret, a Companion Cube, and portal tokens will be moved around on these tiles. Every turn, each player is required to choose a tile on the “old end” of the Laboratory to activate. The tile will give bonuses to Test Subjects on the tile and then flip over to the “new end” of the Laboratory, creating a constantly changing and recycling board. It’s the good kind of chaotic, especially with three or four players. The Aperture cards that players will use throughout the game are also a great addition. They can be quite powerful, but they are easy to obtain so other players aren’t at a disadvantage. The cards are especially interesting because the other side of each card has a unique character from the Portal universe which alters the game for all players. So, you’ll play one of Aperture cards that allows you to destroy a Test Subject, but which in turn activates “Chell.” Chell allows the next player to freely move a Portal token to any Test Chamber, potentially a very powerful ability. More often than not, every decision in the game has these cause/effect scenarios and the board often changes quickly and dramatically. I would be remiss to mention the inclusion of the Portal universe. The miniature Test Subjects, miniature Companion Cube, and miniature Turret match the look and feel from the videogame, and the colored cake pieces are a cool touch. The Aperture cards are interesting and thematic. The sardonic humor of the original game comes through even in the very premise of this game: doing whatever you can to gain Cake and often sacrificing your own Test Subjects in the process. The namesake portal tokens for jumping around the board are there but aren’t the focal point. Which is fine. Negatives The concept of the interlocking tiles and the constantly recycling game board is a good enough concept to base a game on. However, it isn’t perfectly accomplished. The pieces are smaller than Catan tiles, with additional tabs that are meant to lock into each other so that the board can be easily shifted on the table. Some tabs fit, but many others don’t or they fit too well and make it difficult to pull the tile up. This isn’t a game breaker but it’s something you’ll quickly notice as you play. From a thematic perspective, GLaDOS doesn’t really play any kind of role, which is a little disappointing since the Companion Cube, Turret, Cake, Test Subjects, and portals are used throughout in gameplay. She doesn’t even have her own Aperture card. Still, a minor qualm. Final Thoughts When I heard that Valve was involved with developing a Portal boardgame, I knew that we would have to check it out. I’m happy to relay that it’s a lot of fun. With two players it’s quite strategic, though can sometimes trigger long thinking turns for AP prone players. Three and four player games are more chaotic and tactical, with the game board changing dramatically by the time it gets back to you for your turn. There is a ton of player interaction, both direct and indirect. It’s a special kind of fun to grab your opponent’s Cake and march through a portal, activating a test chamber and incinerating their Cake piece in the process. You’ll make constant risk/reward decisions like this, sometimes teetering on the brink of being eliminated until you have enough Cake to win the game by intentionally walking your Test Subject into a Turret. Games will usually end quickly and abruptly like this. Overall, the game is one of the more unique ones that we’ve played. Portal fans or those who like puzzle-type games with a lot of player interaction will find a lot to like here. Note: reviews of this game and others, including gameplay descriptions, more bad puns, and a lot more pictures available at playbegins.com

   

7. Natasha Verified Buyer – 10 April 2025

   This does not appear to be a new item, but rather a refurbished item. Pieces inside were in damaged bags (and bagged differently to each other). Booklet and cards had crinkles in them as if they had been used before. The box was beaten up: scratched, pushed in corners, paint worn away. Very disappointed that for $70 the item was not in new condition. Not suitable for a gift.