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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Apotheca in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
In the fantasy world, Witches and Wizards get all the credit for magical feats. But if it weren’t for the proverbial ‘man behind the curtain,’ those feats wouldn’t be possible! Who am I talking about? Apothecaries, of course! Yes, maybe a Wizard single-handedly defeated a dragon, but only after drinking a healing potion to recover some strength. And maybe a Witch was able to sneak past some henchmen after drinking a potion of invisibility. The list goes on! The point is, apothecaries can do some cool magical stuff too. So keep crushing it out there, apothecaries – this game is for you!
After years of study, you have finally become a master apothecary, and making magic potions is your passion. You buy all of your ingredients in a secret marketplace with no problem until one day, you come across another apothecary trying to buy all of the same ingredients as you! Who does this person think they are?? Using your quick wit, and some sleight of hand, you manage to scatter the ingredients around the marketplace to hide them from your rival. Now all you’ve got to do is give them the slip so you can go pick up the ingredients. Be careful, though – you’re rival is as sly as you are, and is scouring the marketplace to find them first!
In Apotheca, players are racing to create three magic potions before their opponents do. To craft a magic potion, players must make a match of three potions of the same color in a row. Played on a 4×4 grid, potions are manipulated by apothecary powers from recruited apothecary cards in a manner similar to movement in chess, or better yet – Onitama. Complete three matches, and you win! As a whole, I could describe Apotheca as chess with a helping of tic-tac-toe.
One thing I really like about this game is that it’s a game of semi-hidden information. Some things are hidden and some things are not. You do know the apothecary power(s) your opponent has, but you don’t know the color of the potions they put into play. Based on how they use their powers to manipulate potions, both face-up and face-down, you must deduce their strategy and thwart their attempts at making a match! Of course, they are doing the exact same thing to you – only you know the color of potions you place, but your power is known to your opponent. It’s a unique game of deduction and deception that requires more strategy than meets the eye.
Apotheca can be played with 1-4 players, but I think the best player count is 2. In a 3-4 player game, it can be difficult to build a concrete strategy because the board can significantly change between your turns. In a 2-player game, the board changes as well, but not nearly as quickly since it is just a back-and-forth with turn order. Also, more players means more hidden information – it can be tedious trying to remember who performed what action and who has what powers as you try to deduce everyone’s strategy. I don’t mind Apotheca as a 3-4 player game, but I would certainly prefer to play it as a 2-player game.
As you can see by our individual ratings, we are a little split on this game. It requires a decent amount of strategy and deduction, which work well together in this game. Apotheca was one of the first games in my collection, and it’s one that will stay there. Overall, Purple Phoenix Games gives Apotheca a sneaky 12 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/apotheca-review/
After years of study, you have finally become a master apothecary, and making magic potions is your passion. You buy all of your ingredients in a secret marketplace with no problem until one day, you come across another apothecary trying to buy all of the same ingredients as you! Who does this person think they are?? Using your quick wit, and some sleight of hand, you manage to scatter the ingredients around the marketplace to hide them from your rival. Now all you’ve got to do is give them the slip so you can go pick up the ingredients. Be careful, though – you’re rival is as sly as you are, and is scouring the marketplace to find them first!
In Apotheca, players are racing to create three magic potions before their opponents do. To craft a magic potion, players must make a match of three potions of the same color in a row. Played on a 4×4 grid, potions are manipulated by apothecary powers from recruited apothecary cards in a manner similar to movement in chess, or better yet – Onitama. Complete three matches, and you win! As a whole, I could describe Apotheca as chess with a helping of tic-tac-toe.
One thing I really like about this game is that it’s a game of semi-hidden information. Some things are hidden and some things are not. You do know the apothecary power(s) your opponent has, but you don’t know the color of the potions they put into play. Based on how they use their powers to manipulate potions, both face-up and face-down, you must deduce their strategy and thwart their attempts at making a match! Of course, they are doing the exact same thing to you – only you know the color of potions you place, but your power is known to your opponent. It’s a unique game of deduction and deception that requires more strategy than meets the eye.
Apotheca can be played with 1-4 players, but I think the best player count is 2. In a 3-4 player game, it can be difficult to build a concrete strategy because the board can significantly change between your turns. In a 2-player game, the board changes as well, but not nearly as quickly since it is just a back-and-forth with turn order. Also, more players means more hidden information – it can be tedious trying to remember who performed what action and who has what powers as you try to deduce everyone’s strategy. I don’t mind Apotheca as a 3-4 player game, but I would certainly prefer to play it as a 2-player game.
As you can see by our individual ratings, we are a little split on this game. It requires a decent amount of strategy and deduction, which work well together in this game. Apotheca was one of the first games in my collection, and it’s one that will stay there. Overall, Purple Phoenix Games gives Apotheca a sneaky 12 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/apotheca-review/
Liliannar (58 KP) rated Bears vs Babies in Tabletop Games
May 25, 2018
Family friendly (2 more)
Easy to play
Interesting box
Short play time (1 more)
Repetitive play
Enjoyable but not a favorite
My 9 year old absolutely loves this game which means it's a nice way to play a quick game as a family before dinner. That being said, it's repetitive in nature, and the winner of the game can be determined in the first 5 minutes or so. There isn't much skill or strategy to the game. This is a game that is great the first two or three times you play, but after that it's just not very interesting. I'm glad I got it on sale for less than half price. I wouldn't ever pay more than $10 for it.
Red Otter (340 KP) rated Splendor in Tabletop Games
May 31, 2019
Splendor is one of my go-to games for introducing new people to the hobby as it revolves around 2 simple actions. Get gems, and buy cards with gems. Easy to teach and people feel good when they manage to link several actions in a row efficiently or when they learn that picking up all of the gems of a colour is a annoying yet hilariously effective strategy at times. It has enough depth to last a while and for someone experienced to consistently beatsomeone who is learning, but eventually you'll want something a bit more complex. In terms of theme, there really isn't any, just gems and Nobles for some reason.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Bonnie and Clyde in Tabletop Games
Mar 14, 2018
Easy to teach if you know rummy already (1 more)
Fun theme
Do you like Rummy, this is a upgraded twist on it.
Number 5 in the series... It's classic rummy with a twist; players playing melds and layoffs of Evidence cards to score points. Move the car to different locations and try to find the notorious bandits. Simple but with slightly more strategy and therefore more interesting. Can be played with young and old alike. There are more in this series so if you enjoy this you might like the others:
Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper
Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue
Mystery Rummy: Jekyll & Hyde
Mystery Rummy: Al Capone and the Chicago Underworld
Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper
Mystery Rummy: Murders in the Rue Morgue
Mystery Rummy: Jekyll & Hyde
Mystery Rummy: Al Capone and the Chicago Underworld
Ross (3284 KP) rated Yahtzee in Tabletop Games
Apr 4, 2018
The game of perfectly combining luck and strategy
The ability to read the dice and hold/roll again is something that develops after a few games. You roll the 5 dice and are looking to make poker-hand combinations (total of 3s, 3 of a kind, straight, etc) in order to fill the scoreboard - if you pick the wrong space in the scoreboard too soon you can end up scoring nothing for an excellent throw.
Learning what to hold and what to spin and keeping your options open is a must - you can't go all out for 5 of a kind (Yahtzee!) on 6s if you have already scored for 6s etc.
Learning what to hold and what to spin and keeping your options open is a must - you can't go all out for 5 of a kind (Yahtzee!) on 6s if you have already scored for 6s etc.
Renata Adam (34 KP) rated Lost Cities in Tabletop Games
Dec 2, 2018
Mainly for non-gamers
Today I had a chance to play Lost Cities. I was quite excited by the game as the concept/rules weren't new to me. Once I played few rounds (as it is fairly quick game), it became very transparent that this game is mainly aimed as an introductory game into the gaming world for non-gamers. If you judge it on this merit, then it is a fast nifty game that anyone can enjoy with simple rules to follow. I think experienced gamers might get bored fairly quickly. For those, I would recommend the travel edition of Keltis, as the rules are similar but the strategy has much greater slope and it has great playability.