Time to play: 120 minutes
Players: 2-4
Suggested
age: 13+
Price: £35 approx.
Mike:
Hi
all, we felt that we haven’t done a big game review for a while now so no
filler game this week. Our game for review is Alchemists by Czech Games
Edition.
Before we delve into the game let’s get something
out of the way. This game requires the use of an app. Now I have read
discussions about games that integrate with apps and how it has divided opinion
in the board gaming community. I’m all for it as long as it’s done well and
love to see where it might lead to over the next few years.
Is the app for Alchemists just tacked on or a
gimmick? No absolutely not the app does a great job of randomising the game. There
is an option for playing this game without app support. To do this however would
involve someone being games master and sitting at your game for 2 hours not
being able to play. How boring would that be? I think I’d rather play monopoly.
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The App game screen. |
The eight ingredients you will be working with. |
The other side of the game is a logic based puzzle
where you are trying to work out the chemical makeup of the ingredients. This part
of the game is key to get right and will be the main focus of your time. By
mastering this side of the game you will be able to publish your theories and
debunk others.
David:
Yes
I like the way the app reveals what I have made when mixing ingredients. The
app lets us use a phone each as well by putting in the game code at the top of
the screen. This is good as we don’t have to pass the phone back and forth.
I found this game a bit confusing at first as there
was a lot to remember. But after a few goes I think I have cracked it. I
sometimes forget to sell potions or buy artefacts. The artefacts can give you a
lot of victory points at the end and can give you useful bonuses in the game. I
do get worried sometimes that if I make a mistake it will ruin the game.
Your checklist - don't make a mistake. |
Mike:
You’re
right this takes a few plays to get to grips and this logic puzzle element isn’t
going to be for everyone. If you do make a mistake early on it will impact the
rest of your game there is no getting away from that. You can still win by
gaining points from artefacts and also exhibiting potions at the end round. It
will be harder though if you have made some mistakes as in logic based puzzles
one error can really spoil your party.
We found playing your first game open and showing
each other what we are doing with no secrets a great way of learning the game. The
rulebook is a hefty 20 pages and a bit overwhelming. The first few pages do a great
job of explaining the alchemy which can take a bit of time to get to grips
with. Let me explain a bit further.
Potions will be made from one big circle on one side
and a little circle on the other. So in the example above the big positive red
mixes with the little positive red to make a potion of health (positive red).
So after this experiment you can cross off any negative red on your record
sheet as it’s not possible for these elements to be present.
David:
I
understood this after a few goes. It was helpful to play the demo game at the beginning
of the hand book. I can now mark off the sheet correctly and know what to do if
I make a neutral potion. I like the way you have to plan your turn and choose
if you go first or last. You need to think carefully about what you want to do
and do you have enough gold to pay for some of the actions.
Mike:
Oh
yes a neutral potion happens when the ingredients are exact opposites. This can
be very useful in the later part of the game as it will allow you to mark off
quite a bit of information if you have worked out the logic to the puzzle.
As you might have guessed by now there is quite a
learning curve to be had here. I’ll go back to what I said earlier play a few
games and help others out.
A Neutral Potion. |
David:
I
really like this game it makes you think and the best bit is when the answers
are revealed at the end you can see how good you were at working it out. This
is what makes it a great game to play though as each time I play I learn
something more and get better at solving the puzzle.
Mike:
In
my opinion this is not an entry level game. I believe it will play best with a
group of gamers that are used to some worker placement games and want to step
up the challenge. The main point here is there is so much going on. By the time
you have understood how to effectively manage your turn the end game is
approaching. Stick with it though it is highly rewarding. There is something
about deduction based games that entice me in. For me it ticks all the boxes.
The app as I have mentioned is a necessary addition there
is no getting away from the fact that this wouldn’t work without it.
Do we recommend it? Yes absolutely we have played
this multiple times on the apprentice level of difficulty and will like to try
out the master version of the game next.
Judge your gaming group though it’s not as heavy as
it may sound but the thought of spending 1-2 hours solving a puzzle will switch
some gamers off. I personally love it and I’m excited to see app integration
continue as long as it’s implanted as well as this.
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