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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Food Chain Island in Tabletop Games
Jul 1, 2020
With the current pandemic (not the game) going on in the world, and the necessity for people to distance themselves from each other, game nights everywhere have been put on hold. That doesn’t mean that gaming must stop! Whether you’re a seasoned solo gamer, or new to the solo genre, ButtonShy has done it again with a fantastic new little wallet game in their Simply Solo series – check it out!
You find yourself on a small, isolated island teeming with wildlife – but there is no set hierarchy! It’s a world of ‘eat or be eaten’ and you’ve got to survive. Manipulate the wildlife and organize the food chain in such a way that leaves you on top. Are you able to strategize the best meals, or will the island be left in chaos?
Disclaimer: We were provided a PnP version of Food Chain Island for the purposes of this preview. Please excuse my lack of a color printer, but rest assured that the artwork of the final product is eye-catching, colorful, and easy to read! Check out the Kickstarter (Live now through June 6th) for a look at the finished production copy. -L
Food Chain Island is a solo card game of network building and chaining in which players are trying to end with the fewest remaining cards possible. The game, like its other ButtonShy siblings, contains only 18 cards, divided into Land animals (16 cards) and Water animals (2 cards). All animals have a special power associated with it, and all of the Land animal cards are numbered from 0-15. To setup the game, set the 2 Water animals off to the side (you’ll use those later), shuffle all of the Land animals, and create a 4×4 face-up grid of Land animal cards. Now you can start the game!
Every turn you will move one animal card to ‘eat’ another. Select an animal, and move it one space in one of the four cardinal directions so that it is placed over top of another animal. The card that is now covered up is considered ‘eaten.’ Each animal may only eat certain other animals, however, so this is where the card number comes into play. An animal can only ‘eat’ any animal card that is 1-3 numbers lower than its value. For example, the ‘4’ animal can only eat cards 3, 2, or 1. Simple, right? Not so fast. Each animal also has a special ability on it, and you must activate the ability of that card once it has eaten another animal. This step is mandatory, and can really help or hinder your strategy – so make sure you are thinking about those abilities and not just the card numbers. At any time during the game, you may choose to discard one of the 2 Water animals from the side to perform its special ability in addition to, or instead of, the ability you just triggered. The game ends when you have only 1-3 animals remaining, the number remaining signifying varying degrees of success. If you have 4 or more animals remaining but are unable to make any more legal moves, the game is over and you have lost.
For being a game with such simple rules and gameplay, it is way more strategic than meets the eye. Each card can only eat specific cards, so you’re trying to position them in a way that fulfills those requirements numerically. You also have to be thinking ahead to each card power, because that step is mandatory. You cannot choose to ignore a card ability just because it may be detrimental to you – that’s what keeps your strategy changing at all times! You’re playing a long game here, and must be looking ahead several turns in advance so as to not accidentally strand yourself with no legal moves left. Every move should be thought through and carefully calculated to see if you can truly win the game. Along with that, every game will have a different starting grid which ensures that you won’t play the same game twice. The rules even suggest alternate beginning grid layouts to provide further challenge to players.
The other thing I love about Food Chain Island is that it is so fast to play, and it has a small footprint. If I only had 5 minutes to spare and was dying to play a game, Food Chain Island is what I would pull out. The speed of gameplay doesn’t take away from the engagement and thought needed to be successful, and that keeps me coming back for more. I rarely just play one game at a time – I will play 4-5 in a row because it is so addicting! Although it’s not officially a Tiny Epic game, it is designed by the one and only Scott Almes who hits it out of the park with this one as well. Coupled with the quick play time, the small footprint of the game makes it easy to play at any place or time you want.
With every new wallet game, ButtonShy continues to surprise me with quality gameplay and design using only 18 cards. Food Chain Island is no exception, and is a perfect first installation in their new Simply Solo line of wallet games. I know that this is a game I will be backing to get the final production copy in lieu of my PnP copy. I encourage everyone to check this game out – whether you’ve played solo games or not, this is a great little filler or introductory game to the genre. Visit the Kickstarter before it’s too late!
You find yourself on a small, isolated island teeming with wildlife – but there is no set hierarchy! It’s a world of ‘eat or be eaten’ and you’ve got to survive. Manipulate the wildlife and organize the food chain in such a way that leaves you on top. Are you able to strategize the best meals, or will the island be left in chaos?
Disclaimer: We were provided a PnP version of Food Chain Island for the purposes of this preview. Please excuse my lack of a color printer, but rest assured that the artwork of the final product is eye-catching, colorful, and easy to read! Check out the Kickstarter (Live now through June 6th) for a look at the finished production copy. -L
Food Chain Island is a solo card game of network building and chaining in which players are trying to end with the fewest remaining cards possible. The game, like its other ButtonShy siblings, contains only 18 cards, divided into Land animals (16 cards) and Water animals (2 cards). All animals have a special power associated with it, and all of the Land animal cards are numbered from 0-15. To setup the game, set the 2 Water animals off to the side (you’ll use those later), shuffle all of the Land animals, and create a 4×4 face-up grid of Land animal cards. Now you can start the game!
Every turn you will move one animal card to ‘eat’ another. Select an animal, and move it one space in one of the four cardinal directions so that it is placed over top of another animal. The card that is now covered up is considered ‘eaten.’ Each animal may only eat certain other animals, however, so this is where the card number comes into play. An animal can only ‘eat’ any animal card that is 1-3 numbers lower than its value. For example, the ‘4’ animal can only eat cards 3, 2, or 1. Simple, right? Not so fast. Each animal also has a special ability on it, and you must activate the ability of that card once it has eaten another animal. This step is mandatory, and can really help or hinder your strategy – so make sure you are thinking about those abilities and not just the card numbers. At any time during the game, you may choose to discard one of the 2 Water animals from the side to perform its special ability in addition to, or instead of, the ability you just triggered. The game ends when you have only 1-3 animals remaining, the number remaining signifying varying degrees of success. If you have 4 or more animals remaining but are unable to make any more legal moves, the game is over and you have lost.
For being a game with such simple rules and gameplay, it is way more strategic than meets the eye. Each card can only eat specific cards, so you’re trying to position them in a way that fulfills those requirements numerically. You also have to be thinking ahead to each card power, because that step is mandatory. You cannot choose to ignore a card ability just because it may be detrimental to you – that’s what keeps your strategy changing at all times! You’re playing a long game here, and must be looking ahead several turns in advance so as to not accidentally strand yourself with no legal moves left. Every move should be thought through and carefully calculated to see if you can truly win the game. Along with that, every game will have a different starting grid which ensures that you won’t play the same game twice. The rules even suggest alternate beginning grid layouts to provide further challenge to players.
The other thing I love about Food Chain Island is that it is so fast to play, and it has a small footprint. If I only had 5 minutes to spare and was dying to play a game, Food Chain Island is what I would pull out. The speed of gameplay doesn’t take away from the engagement and thought needed to be successful, and that keeps me coming back for more. I rarely just play one game at a time – I will play 4-5 in a row because it is so addicting! Although it’s not officially a Tiny Epic game, it is designed by the one and only Scott Almes who hits it out of the park with this one as well. Coupled with the quick play time, the small footprint of the game makes it easy to play at any place or time you want.
With every new wallet game, ButtonShy continues to surprise me with quality gameplay and design using only 18 cards. Food Chain Island is no exception, and is a perfect first installation in their new Simply Solo line of wallet games. I know that this is a game I will be backing to get the final production copy in lieu of my PnP copy. I encourage everyone to check this game out – whether you’ve played solo games or not, this is a great little filler or introductory game to the genre. Visit the Kickstarter before it’s too late!
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Pendulum in Tabletop Games
Sep 8, 2020
This review, like the many others in the Solo Chronicles series before it, will be focusing on the solo player’s experience. For the highly-anticipated Pendulum, an Automa Factory set of solo rules is included. Automa Factory creates rules for solo play for games and have created many for Stonemaier titles in the past. This is my first time using an Automa ruleset, and I wanted to know: how do Automa games play vs a group playthrough? Find out below.
Pendulum is a real-time worker placement game utilizing sand timers to control players’ actions. While sand timers have been used in games plenty of times before, they are special components in Pendulum that will have players cursing their existence throughout the game. In a solo game the human player will be attempting to win against two Automas, essentially creating a three player game. Now, while I normally reconstruct the rules in my reviews to give a brief overview, Pendulum has too many intricacies to truly detail, so my rules overview will be quite abbreviated.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Setup took me about 30 minutes the first game because I did not play it multiplayer first, but was setting up for my first Automa play. Setup is not difficult, but there are many small parts and different boards for which you must account. Subsequent games took significantly less time to setup so I was up and running immediately.
A game of Pendulum sees players vying for the crown by jockeying for mastery in Power, Prestige, Popularity, and completing a Legendary Achievement. These are all tracked on each player mat and the Automas’ mat. The game is a typical worker placement with all spaces giving some benefit, but also may be blocked by other players. By utilizing aggressive strategies and timing each worker action players will be gaining resources and votes and converting them into VPs on the individual tracks, the most important of which is the Legendary Achievement. No player may win the game without having completed a Legendary Achievement.
As the game progresses in real time, the sand timers will be flipped into areas blocking access to players, but allowing player meeples already stationed in these areas to enact their special abilities. Three timers of different time-lengths are used in Pendulum: 45 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. The action spaces corresponding to the 45 second timer are less effective than the 3 minute timer areas, but are indeed necessary to generate more resources.
After the 3 minute purple timer has been flipped three total times, the game halts and a special Council Phase is enacted. This phase allows players to receive Council Reward cards, assess and compare placement for the next round, and set up for the next round. After the fourth Council Phase, the game ends and players will check for victory conditions.
Components. Have you seen a Stonemaier Games title recently? The components are stellar. Everything from the plastic (resin?) cubes and vote tiles and meeples, to the good-looking sand timers, to the linen finish on the cards AND the rulebooks is just amazing. Several reviewers have issues with the art in Pendulum, and say that it is drab and “uninspiring.” Well, I think it’s great, and I also think it is a bit muted to get out of the way of play. I certainly would not appreciate this game more if it had more exciting art. More exciting art means more attention spent on appreciating the art and not playing the game. Normally this is a boon for me, but Pendulum is a REAL-TIME game. I don’t have time to be gawking at game art! Components: excellent!
I really enjoyed my plays of Pendulum using the Automa system. I can’t necessarily say it felt like playing against two other players, but I don’t think it’s meant to do that. The Automa players sufficiently block spaces, and gain VP each round to compete with the human player. Also, I have never played a game using Automas before, so I had zero expectations getting into Pendulum. I do think I would enjoy this game lots more playing against other humans, but the current virus situation has nixed that for me. The Automa system is good, and I am so happy that it exists for Pendulum. I just want to play it with other gamers.
Purple Phoenix Games never award games with scores for previews and Solo Chronicles. However, I would certainly rate Pendulum high. I don’t believe it will ever crack into my Top 10 Games of All Time, but I also can see myself pulling it out when I want to exercise my brain and I don’t have access to any other gamers. I want you to understand that I do like this one quite a bit, and would certainly recommend it. I truly enjoy having to keep on my toes (literally) controlling my components as well as keeping track of the Automa movements, and assuring the timers are being flipped appropriately.
If your collection is missing a game that utilizes sand timers for more than just buzzing others on their turn, certainly give Pendulum a look. The design is fantastic, includes the Automa Factory solo rules (and extra components), and is satisfying to play. Heck, I didn’t even sit down when I played this because I needed to be so active around the board. If it weren’t so late as I am writing this, I would break it out and give it another go right now. Alas, I am old and need to sleep. Check out Pendulum.
Pendulum is a real-time worker placement game utilizing sand timers to control players’ actions. While sand timers have been used in games plenty of times before, they are special components in Pendulum that will have players cursing their existence throughout the game. In a solo game the human player will be attempting to win against two Automas, essentially creating a three player game. Now, while I normally reconstruct the rules in my reviews to give a brief overview, Pendulum has too many intricacies to truly detail, so my rules overview will be quite abbreviated.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Setup took me about 30 minutes the first game because I did not play it multiplayer first, but was setting up for my first Automa play. Setup is not difficult, but there are many small parts and different boards for which you must account. Subsequent games took significantly less time to setup so I was up and running immediately.
A game of Pendulum sees players vying for the crown by jockeying for mastery in Power, Prestige, Popularity, and completing a Legendary Achievement. These are all tracked on each player mat and the Automas’ mat. The game is a typical worker placement with all spaces giving some benefit, but also may be blocked by other players. By utilizing aggressive strategies and timing each worker action players will be gaining resources and votes and converting them into VPs on the individual tracks, the most important of which is the Legendary Achievement. No player may win the game without having completed a Legendary Achievement.
As the game progresses in real time, the sand timers will be flipped into areas blocking access to players, but allowing player meeples already stationed in these areas to enact their special abilities. Three timers of different time-lengths are used in Pendulum: 45 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. The action spaces corresponding to the 45 second timer are less effective than the 3 minute timer areas, but are indeed necessary to generate more resources.
After the 3 minute purple timer has been flipped three total times, the game halts and a special Council Phase is enacted. This phase allows players to receive Council Reward cards, assess and compare placement for the next round, and set up for the next round. After the fourth Council Phase, the game ends and players will check for victory conditions.
Components. Have you seen a Stonemaier Games title recently? The components are stellar. Everything from the plastic (resin?) cubes and vote tiles and meeples, to the good-looking sand timers, to the linen finish on the cards AND the rulebooks is just amazing. Several reviewers have issues with the art in Pendulum, and say that it is drab and “uninspiring.” Well, I think it’s great, and I also think it is a bit muted to get out of the way of play. I certainly would not appreciate this game more if it had more exciting art. More exciting art means more attention spent on appreciating the art and not playing the game. Normally this is a boon for me, but Pendulum is a REAL-TIME game. I don’t have time to be gawking at game art! Components: excellent!
I really enjoyed my plays of Pendulum using the Automa system. I can’t necessarily say it felt like playing against two other players, but I don’t think it’s meant to do that. The Automa players sufficiently block spaces, and gain VP each round to compete with the human player. Also, I have never played a game using Automas before, so I had zero expectations getting into Pendulum. I do think I would enjoy this game lots more playing against other humans, but the current virus situation has nixed that for me. The Automa system is good, and I am so happy that it exists for Pendulum. I just want to play it with other gamers.
Purple Phoenix Games never award games with scores for previews and Solo Chronicles. However, I would certainly rate Pendulum high. I don’t believe it will ever crack into my Top 10 Games of All Time, but I also can see myself pulling it out when I want to exercise my brain and I don’t have access to any other gamers. I want you to understand that I do like this one quite a bit, and would certainly recommend it. I truly enjoy having to keep on my toes (literally) controlling my components as well as keeping track of the Automa movements, and assuring the timers are being flipped appropriately.
If your collection is missing a game that utilizes sand timers for more than just buzzing others on their turn, certainly give Pendulum a look. The design is fantastic, includes the Automa Factory solo rules (and extra components), and is satisfying to play. Heck, I didn’t even sit down when I played this because I needed to be so active around the board. If it weren’t so late as I am writing this, I would break it out and give it another go right now. Alas, I am old and need to sleep. Check out Pendulum.
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