Matthew BaileyToday we are going to be looking at Fliptoons, a quick, fun, and genuinely unique deck-building game with some very clever mechanics. This was not on my radar until we sat down to play it, and it really is something worth picking up. It feels like a much bigger game than it is and can absolutely hold its own alongside many of the larger box deck-builders out there.
Fliptoons casts players as rival talent agents scouring Flip Valley in search of the next breakout animated hit. Each round represents a fresh casting attempt, as you assemble an increasingly eccentric lineup of characters, all vying for fame on the silver screen. The theme is light, playful, and deliberately cartoonish, which fits the game’s chaotic flipping and stacking mechanics perfectly. It is not a deeply narrative game, but it gives the whole deck-building process a fun, charming sense of purpose.
You start with a matching deck of six cards, with a market laid out in front of you. What works particularly well with this market is that the cards are arranged by price rather than by when they were revealed from the deck, so grabbing a bargain is rare.
Each round begins with the Flip Phase, where everyone shuffles their deck and starts revealing cards one at a time into a 3 by 2 grid. Cards are placed left to right across the top row, then the bottom row. This is where the magic happens, because many Toons trigger abilities as they are placed. Some flip other cards face down, some stack, some modify scoring, and suddenly this tiny grid starts behaving like a much more complex engine. Abilities resolve left to right, top to bottom, and your goal is to generate as much fame as possible.
Once all players have filled their grid, you move into the Check Fame Phase. Here, everyone calculates how much fame their grid generated. Fame acts as your currency for the round, but it is also your score at the end of the game. What is particularly clever is that fame locks in once calculated. Even if cards are later dismissed, your fame total for that round does not change. If any player hits 30 fame at this stage, the endgame is triggered, which adds a lovely sense of tension as engines begin scaling up.
Next comes the Market Phase, the deck-building portion of the game. Starting with the first player, each person can take up to two actions. You can hire new Toons by spending fame based on the price row above the market cards, or dismiss cards from your revealed grid to thin your deck. That dismissal decision becomes surprisingly important, because you are sacrificing short-term fame potential for long-term efficiency. After each player’s turn, the market refills and reorders by rank, keeping things dynamic without adding unnecessary complexity.
Finally, the Cleanup Phase resets everything. Players gather their grid cards back into their deck, pass the first player token, and prepare for the next flip. If the 30 fame threshold was reached earlier, players perform one last dramatic Final Flip, with the highest fame total taking the win. It is a beautifully cyclical structure: build, explode, tweak, repeat. Simple to explain, but packed with satisfying decisions every round. What is particularly interesting is that just because one player initiated the endgame, it does not guarantee victory. A bad final flip can absolutely change everything.
This all works extremely well, and the whole experience feels very polished. Jack, who is a big fan of deck-builders, especially enjoyed this one. It felt refreshingly different from anything we have played before, which was a very welcome surprise. Despite its single-deck packaging, it feels like a much bigger game on the table, making it ideal for taking out and about.
The cards are well-made, and the artwork is fantastic.
Overall, we had a great time playing Fliptoons. Games are fast, and it never outstays its welcome, making it a brilliant choice when you do not have a huge amount of time but still want something that feels like a meatier experience.
Fliptoons is available to buy now and can also be played on Board Game Arena (link in the comments below). If you want to try it out, I would absolutely recommend it.
Disclaimer – A copy of Fliptoons was kindly provided by Thunderworks Games via the UK BG Review Circle.
