Que onda, readers! The Secrets of Zorro is a cooperative tabletop game from Double Combo Games, and inspired by the titular hero. It focuses on strategic planning and card action, with small narratives to drive unique scenarios.
In The Secrets of Zorro, heirs to the swashbuckling hero work together to battle a cruel governor and their soldiers in California. You’ll gain equipment, expand a hand of attack cards, and uncover vital information in town to prepare for nighttime combat. Meanwhile, the Governor’s plan intensifies, pressuring players until a final confrontation.
The Secrets of Zorro launched successful campaigns on Gamefound and Kickstarter, and eventually shipped out this year. It supports gameplay for up to 1-4 players, and I’ll be reviewing the base game.
Here’s the original cinematic trailer, which briefly breaks down the setting and shows a few components:
My wife and I both grew up with The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro, which I still adore. Between that and mi gente, I was naturally thrilled to discover this project. Zorro’s wit, playfulness, and unique historical setting are timeless!
The Secrets of Zorro uses classic story elements and characters from many versions of Zorro. Motivations and consequences are taken seriously in the scenario cards, while battles are brisk and flashy.
I enjoy the overall game flow, mitigating surprises and plotting by day before striking the roads at night. I also appreciate that the town feels like a character thanks to vital locations and characters, from traveling doctors to Zorro’s secret cave. Garcia adds just a dash of humor, a fun wink but also quite useful.
The combat is a straightforward numbers game, simple to resolve. But you’ll need to distribute your limited and unique attacks carefully to overcome enemies. Especially since they often spawn in waves. There are also fun ways to build up different aspects of your character, but they aren’t asymmetrical at setup.
When players fight together, they can find some neat combos, especially useful for the big showdown with the governor! The game frequently rewards you for spending time and resources wisely.
Luck can play a large role in your night events, though. If you aren’t careful, the governor’s plan can shoot up the track all at once, ending games quickly.
The scenarios are each unique enough, though I feel that only one in particular drastically altered the gameplay. For hobby gamers, the Hope of the People expansion adds deeper complexity and even more theming!
The art design is very thematic, with character boards and cards that are full of personality, akin to a graphic novel. But, I do wish the board’s artwork wasn’t so busy—less detailed, and more abstract like the other components.
Final Thoughts
The Secrets of Zorro is a breezy, thoughtful homage that includes all of the archetypes you hope to see in such a niche adaptation! It feels like a passion project that should please Zorro fans of any era. It isn’t really an epic adventure in scope. But it is an easygoing action game with strong replay value, fun strategy, and excellent theming.
Score: 7.5/10
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