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| By CMON Games |
Bottle Fame, Brew Glory, Even Stopper Death...
Oh, Harry Potter... The cultural phenomenon of 1997. All it took was a billion dollar New York Times bestselling franchise to get kids interested in going to school. I can't imagine how hoodwinked they felt when they all showed up to class expecting this:
But at best, they got this:
Those poor teachers. I'm sure they tried as best they could.
It's better this way, though. Better for children to lose faith in school at a young age than do something silly like earn a Bachelor's or Master's degree...
Well, some 20 odd years later (WOW, REALLY?!?) CMON Games has released a game that gives players a chance to rectify some of those unfulfilled fantasies with Potion Explosion. It places the players in Potion Making 101, choosing ingredients, trying to make chain reactions, and brew the best potions possible...
Masters of Mixology
Potion Explosion is a set collection physics style game where players are tasked with brewing enough perfect potions to become the star pupil of the class. But along the way, they'll have to create chain reactions, ask for help, and maybe even use the potions themselves as they're finished.
On their turn, players take turns choosing a single ingredient (colored marble) from the dispenser and placing it on the matching section of one of the two potions they're working on. When all the spaces on the potion have a matching marble in them, the potion is completed, and added to your collection. Each potion is worth a certain amount of points at the end of the game based on how difficult the potion was to complete, and they can be worth even MORE points if you complete a set of the same potions or one of each kind.
This may sound like simple gameplay and, frankly, it is. The core gameplay of Potion Explosion is simple enough for just about anyone to grasp, but just like most things, just because it's simple to learn, that doesn't mean it's simple to master.
You see, when you take a marble from the dispenser, more marbles roll down to fill the empty spaces. If two or more marbles of the same color bump into each other, like the yellow marbles do above, this causes a "Chain Reaction" and you get to take THOSE marbles as well, and then MORE marbles roll down, possibly causing another, and another, and another...
Does this sound familiar to you?
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| Now with 100% less microtransactions... |
Yep, CMON Games has effectively given us Candy Crush the Board Game. And you know what? It works really well.
It really does scratch that same itch, just instead of your biggest obstacle being the credit limit on your credit card, it's another person, possibly taking the marbles you've had your eye on for the past 3 turns!
You'll find yourself studying the marbles. Analyzing the marbles. Looking for meaning in the way the marbles fall. Before you know it, you'll be more paranoid about chain reactions and cause and effect than the kids from Final Destination.
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| I'd love to see what they would do if I showed them a Rube Goldberg Machine. |
Not-So-Hazardous Materials
Ironically enough, this game published by Cool Mini or Not Games has absolutely NO MINIS IN IT! That being said, it still has high quality components. The marbles are all a good size, brightly colored, and colors that are distinct enough for people to be able to easily distinguish between the four.
One small thing about this, though, is that there are no additional visual indicators for which ingredient is which. For most of us, this is a non-issue, but for people with certain types of colorblindness, it makes this game basically unplayable.
That said, the dispenser is easy to build, and the potions and player boards are made of sturdy card stock that doesn't feel cheap. Even better is the fact that the dispenser only needs to be built once! It fits neatly into the custom insert that comes in the box once fully assembled.
Buy It!, Try It!, or Fly It!
Welp. There's not much to say, or really many jokes to be made. What you have here is a REALLY solid game. Sure, it's a gimmicky game, but the gimmick WORKS. Not only does it work, but the game is designed so that the gimmick is necessary to the gameplay! That's how you do gimmicks!
This is a great game for gamers of all ages. In fact, it's a great game for non-gamers! This may be the BEST game I have every played for getting people interested in the hobby who would never even THINK to play a tabletop game. The gameplay is solid and simple, but with enough serious strategizing that it'll put a smile on even the most serious of gamer. Gimmick or not, that is a great thing to be.
The Verdict...?
BUY IT!
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