Game Reviews and Author's Thoughts |
Board Game Reviews, Play Through Discussions, and General Gaming Thoughts
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Game Reviews and Author's Thoughts |
Board Game Reviews, Play Through Discussions, and General Gaming Thoughts
|
10 Minute Heist by Daily Magic Games
One of my favorite elements in any game, both video and board, is getting loot and lots of it! When I got the chance to review 10 Minute Heist by Daily Magic Games I was pretty excited because it is all about getting loot. You don’t have to fight any monsters, blindly explore countless rooms, or go on a magical quest; you just steal the wizard’s loot. That’s it? Yep, that’s it. Well, besides the fact that everyone else is trying to steal the same loot! 10 Minute Heist is a super quick set collection game that hits KickStarter on October 4th and will only cost $19 to add to your collection. Let’s take a closer look at this loot grabbing game. Game Play: You start by constructing the wizard’s tower in an 8 x 5 grid of cards face up that represent the different treasures of the wizard. The top two rows are made up of cards from the “light” deck and the rest of the rows are made up of cards form the “dark” deck. Each row represents a different floor of the tower. Once the tower is complete, players draft a card from the remaining light deck with the last player to move drafting first. This card is kept secret, it is the only card that is kept secret (the rest are face up), and you are now ready to steal as much of the wizard’s loot as possible! Every player starts on the top floor and during your turn you can either steal an item from the floor you are on, or drop to any floor below you and steal an item. The only catch is you cannot move back up. That’s it! Those are the only rules to the game. There are five different types of suits: tomes, potions, jewels, artifacts, and relics. To score points at the end of the game you must have the most points of any one suit. There are also additional points awarded for collecting the most 3, 4, and 5-point value cards. There is one caveat when grabbing all these loot cards, some cards are cursed and the person with the most cursed cards at the end is docked 3 points. Also, certain loot cards have special abilities that must be played immediately when they are stolen. These are nice little bonuses such as giving one of your opponents some curses, or allowing you to take an extra card or turn. Points are also awarded for the first and second player to exit the wizard’s tower. Final Thoughts: 10 Minute Heist: The Wizard’s Tower is one of the easiest rule sets I have seen. The game is easy to learn and takes 15 to 20 minutes to setup, play, and tear down. The fantasy element adds a nice touch to the simple set collection mechanic of the game. When I first read the rules and setup the first game I honestly thought this game was going to be too simple possibly to the point of being boring. All but one loot card is face up (I forgot to mention that the card right before the exit is placed face down) and you simply take loot until there is nothing left to steal. Where is the challenge? Where is the strategy? Everybody gets to see the cards and everybody gets to see all but one of your cards. Hmmm, maybe my view of loot has been skewed by countless games of facedown treasure decks. At any rate, I was nervous I wasn’t going to like it. The first game I played was a two player game and it went how I expected. Not much of a challenge, and was a total loot grab without too much other concern. The next game was a three player game with my youngest son, and oldest son. Suddenly a little strategy came into play. What a difference one additional player made in terms of strategy and fun. Now, two players were going after the same loot as I was and it was much more strategic. Do you drop down for a really good card or to possibly steal a card you know your opponent needs, or do you stay on the current floor to pad your current collection? The extra player also meant that there was another set of eyes keeping track of the sets I was trying to collect. I loved it, and my boys loved it too! We had tons of fun with three players. I believe this game would really shine with four or five. I was bummed I wasn’t able to pull together a four player game before this review. It would be nice to see a special two player rule variant to add the same excitement and fun as with three plus players. Perhaps something like only a total of three items can be stolen from each floor. It needs something a little different to spice up a two player game. With three or more players 10 Minute Heist is seriously one of the best “quick” games I have played. It’s amazing how Daily Magic was able to provide a good amount of strategy, and a huge amount of fun in such a simple game. If you have read my other reviews then you know how much I love games that are quick to setup and tear down, play relatively fast, have easy rules, and are inexpensive. 10 Minute Heist ticks all those boxes. Two features that would make this game even more amazing are a solo variant, and an improved two player variant. With having only 49 different loot cards the game could get repetitive given you could play many games in a short amount of time, however, it looks like they will be adding additional cards as mentioned in stretch goals on KickStarter. That helps alleviate fears of repetitiveness. Tony’s Pros and Cons Pros: Quick setup and tear down, easy rules, Loot, loot, and more loot, plays super-fast, amazingly fun with 3 or more players, great game to play with family or friends. Cons: No solo option, 2 player game is not nearly as fun as 3 plus, possibly too few cards for great replayability. Tony’s Epic Scale: 1 (easy setup, only a few cards and standees for components, quick play, I didn’t think a 1 could be this much fun!) Value: 10 (Under $20 on KickStarter. I challenge anyone to find a game at this price that is this fun!) Art: 8 (Great art! Nice being able to steal such beautiful loot!) Setup/Teardown: 10 (Separate light from dark cards, shuffle, construct tower, game on!) Re-playability: 6 (This could go up to 8 if more cards get unlocked through KickStarter.) Fun Factor: 6 (Split the difference between 4 of a 2 player game and an 8 from the 3 player.) Overall: 8.0 Check Out 10 Minute Heist From Daily Magic Games On Kickstarter October 4th! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dailymagicgames/332404453?token=93f52105 Below are pictures from the preview game: |
AuthorA software developer by day and avid game player by night.KickStarter has recently rekindled my love of board games. Now I am looking to help the little guys of KS get their games noticed and funded as well as demonstrate how easy or difficult a game is played its first time through. Archives
May 2017
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