Video Game Champion – Survive School, Beat Games, Rule the ’90s

Let’s take a trip back to the ‘90s. You know, the golden age of video games. Back when controllers had cords, loading screens felt endless, and your parents still ruled your game time with the classic ‘only if you finish your homework’ rule. In Video Game Champion, you and your mates are doing your best to get through school while squeezing in every possible minute of gaming. The more you study, the more your parents trust you… and maybe even treat you to a new game or two. Between renting the hottest new releases and picking up magazines full of cheat codes, you’re trying to work your way up to the ultimate goal: becoming the video game champion of your group.

👥 2-5 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 50-90 minutes
📝 Designers: Patrick Matheus & André Luiz Silva Negrão

🏢 Publisher: TackTurn (review copy provided)

Gameplay Overview

The game takes place over five weeks, and your goal is to play, and ideally beat, as many games as possible before time runs out.

Each new week brings fresh games to the rental store and game shop, along with new magazines full of hints, cheat codes, and walkthroughs. On your turn, you’ll grab a button tile from the action grid. That tile lets you choose one of the two actions in the same row or column. But there’s a catch: you can never have more than eight tiles in total, and that includes both button and IOU tiles, so you’ve got to manage your hand carefully.

Depending on the button tile you choose, you might ask your parents for some pocket money, which comes with an IOU as a promise to behave. Or you can go all in and beg for a shiny new video game as a gift, but that’ll cost you three IOUs and might mean extra chores. To keep your promises and clear some space, you can also study or help around the house to discard IOUs. Some actions let you take more button tiles, while others send you to the rental store or the newsstand. Magazines and games cost a dollar each, but new releases are a bit pricier. Whether you buy or rent, picking up a new game or magazine always earns you a crystal, just make sure you actually sit down and play them.

After your action, it’s time to game. You can play any titles you own or rented this week. Each game needs a specific combination of button tiles to either play or beat it, depending on how far you want to go. Some are easier, others trickier, with patterns like matching numbers, sequences, or colours. Harder games can be played first, and beaten later with a bonus. Playing one gives you a wild tile effect that helps on your next attempt. And every time you play or beat a game, you get to take a bonus tile from the Thrill Trail, which can help set up your next move or fix a tricky combo you’ve been planning. New releases give you crystals when played, which go into your password notebook.

Magazines are handy too. Each one works for two game genres, and when used, they act like a wild tile for one of those genres. Once used, the magazine’s crystal moves to your notebook as well. And as you fill up rows and columns in the notebook with crystals, you’ll earn extra rewards.

If during your turn you meet the conditions for any achievement card, you immediately claim it. Only one player can complete each one, so act fast.

Once everyone has taken three turns, the week wraps up and the weekend begins. Before that, the turn order might change depending on who claimed the earliest wake-up spot. Then, over the weekend, players take turns heading to the rental store to pick up and try out up to three games.

After five weeks, the final scores are tallied. You’ll earn points for the games you played, which ones you beat, and how full your password notebook is. There are also bonuses for the player who played the most games, collected the most crystals, and completed certain achievements first.

Game Info

Video Game Champion is a competitive game for 2 to 5 players and usually takes somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes to finish. It’s designed by André Negrão and Patrick Matheus and originally published by Calamity Games. It says 14+ on the box, but younger players with a bit of board game experience will be just fine. Our review copy came from Sit Down!, who handle distribution in Dutch, French and German-speaking areas. It comes with rulebooks in all three languages, and since there’s no actual text on the game components themselves, it plays language-free once you’re set up.

Components, Artwork and Table Feel

This game absolutely leans into its theme. You can tell it was made with real love for the ‘90s, from the wild mix of pixel art and neon magazine layouts to the playful nods to old-school game genres. The video game cards look like something you might’ve found in a rental catalogue back in the day, and it’s fun spotting the little references to all sorts of classics, whether you’re into fighters, fantasy RPGs or cheesy sports games.

The components do their job well, but also help the theme pop. The button tiles are nice and big, kind of like clunky controller buttons. The crystals bring some colourful sparkle to the table, and the pixel-style meeples are just plain cool. One of my favourite bits is the password notebook, which looks like a kid’s homework sheet. It’s used to track your crystals and bonuses, and it’s as useful as it is charming.

It’s clear that usability was part of the design, not just aesthetics. The layout of the game cards is clean, with genre icons and difficulty clearly marked, so you’re not squinting across the table to figure out what someone just picked up. That said, the table does fill up fast. You’ll want a bit of breathing room, especially with more players.

How It Plays

This one sits comfortably in the light-to-midweight category. The rules are straightforward enough to learn in a single sitting, but there’s a decent bit of decision-making once you get going. The five-week structure helps pace things well. Each round gives you enough time to build up a plan, but also keeps the game from dragging.

Once you’ve played a round or two, everything clicks into place. The rulebook walks you through the basics clearly, though expect the first game to include a bit of back-and-forth checking, especially around timing or how certain things interact. After that, it’s smooth sailing, and turns go by pretty quickly.

It also helps that there’s barely any reading during the game. Everything is visual, with icons doing the heavy lifting. That makes it an easy one to teach without needing to explain every card or rule multiple times.

Strategy, Variety and Timing

What makes the game interesting is how open it feels. There’s no single path to victory. One round you might go full throttle, trying to play loads of small games just to flood your notebook with crystals. Another time you might hold back, save up some money and go for those high-value new releases.

If you enjoy timing your plays around changing markets or rotating options, this really scratches that itch. You can’t just sit back and wait for your perfect game to show up. Some cards vanish if no one buys them, and if you miss your chance, it might not come back. It adds a bit of pressure without feeling punishing.

Another fun part is building your password notebook. It feels like a small side project within the bigger game. Filling in rows or columns with crystals to get bonuses is surprisingly satisfying. Plus, the achievements push you to explore different play styles without forcing you into one.

The Weekend Twist

The weekend phase is where things get spicy. Since players take turns visiting the rental store, the turn order suddenly becomes very important. If someone grabs the game you had your eye on, that one move can throw your whole plan off.

It’s not a super aggressive game, but there’s definitely room for a little friendly blocking. Picking up a card someone else clearly wanted feels cheeky in just the right way. And since you can only rent three games at a time, you’ve got to make those choices count.

Our Experience

We had a great time with this one. The theme pulled everyone in straight away. We had a good laugh joking about IOUs like we were actually negotiating with our parents again, or or bragging about finally getting the game we’d been chasing all week.

What really worked was how each player found their own rhythm by mid-game. Some went after achievements, others focused on their notebooks or snapped up every new release that hit the table. It was nice to see that you could play it a bit differently each time and still stay competitive.

There were a few accidental blocks and some light-hearted groaning when someone took a game you needed. But it never felt mean. That level of interaction added a bit of tension and made the decisions more fun without turning things sour.

Final Thoughts

If you like games where the theme actually matters and there’s room to be clever without frying your brain, Video Game Champion is worth a look. It doesn’t try to be a brain-burner, but it still gives you plenty to chew on without overstaying its welcome. It’s got charm, clever mechanics, and just the right amount of player interaction.

That said, there are a few little quirks. The crystals, while pretty, don’t always feel super connected to the theme. And the table gets crowded quickly, especially at higher player counts. The first play might also feel a bit info-heavy as you get used to how the weeks flow, but once you’re familiar, it all starts to hum along.

For us, three or four players felt just right. You get enough tension on the action grid and at the rental store, without the game slowing down too much. Five players works too, especially if your group likes a bit more chaos and competition. Two players turns it into more of a planning puzzle, which might suit some better than others.

There’s definitely replay value here. The rotating achievements, changing market and different approaches you can take each round keep it fresh. And if you’re a ‘90s kid, or just someone who enjoys games where the theme isn’t just painted on, this one’s well worth checking out.

📝 We received a review copy of the game from Sit Down!