Purple Haze (2024)

Polygon highlighted Purple Haze among the notable and weird tabletop games demoed at the world's biggest game fair, showcasing its unique presence in modern board gaming.

Purple Haze is described by publisher Phalanx as being its latest “immersive simulation” title, following its ambitious app-powered board game set aboard a German U-boat during World War II.

“But, we really enjoyed Purple Haze and have played it a lot finishing 7 scenarios as already mentioned.”

The reviewer highlights Purple Haze as an immersive and deeply thematic cooperative campaign game set during the Vietnam War, offering compelling tactical choices and narrative weight despite minor rule complexity overhead.

The reviewer highlights Purple Haze as an immersive, narrative-driven campaign game offering tense tactical choices and survival elements set during the Vietnam War.

The reviewer had a really good time with Purple Haze, praising its immersive squad management and surprisingly impressive tactical combat. However, they noted that the narrative depth and component management might not appeal to everyone.

The reviewer presents a generally positive evaluation of Purple Haze, highlighting its immersive cooperative campaign mechanics and thematic depth as strong selling points for fans of miniature-based dungeon crawlers.

“It is an enormous failure of imagination and far and away the worst game I’ve spent far too much time with this year.”