Rolling With Reviews: Sparks

About Sparks, from BoardGameGeek:

This robot factory needs you! With the assistance of your trusty animal companions, mechanical marvels will soon start rolling off your assembly line - then you just need to add some spark to bring those robots alive. Explore the junkyard to gather dice for constructing robots or upgrading your factory. Keep a keen eye on your line-up of charming animal aides; they're the cornerstone of your winning strategy. In Sparks, each player runs a robot factory and takes turns being the active player. As the active player, you play one of your production tiles to take a number of dice from the junkyard; all other players then take one die each. All players simultaneously use their dice to complete robots or level up their factory. The game ends at the end of the round when all players have played their four production tiles. The player with the most points wins. Players can also use spark to activate the abilities of their completed robots, or use cogs to recruit their animal assistants. You start the game with six assistants, each with a unique ability, and you should shape your strategy around them. The variety of assistants ensures that each game provides a different challenge. In the advanced game, players draft the assistants, providing more strategic options. -description from the publisher