Potion power – Apotheca game review
If you’re up for some potion practice, then you’ll want to check out the upcoming game – Apotheca.
Apotheca is a light strategy game where players compete to organize potions in the right ways and at the right times to best their opponents.
We very rarely preview upcoming games, but Apotheca interested us enough to take a closer look.
And we’re very happy that we did, because Apotheca mixes up the right formula for an enjoyable family game.
Get a peek at the game and how it’s played in our video preview:
Can the whole family enjoy Apotheca?
The ‘Age’ indicated in the Apotheca rulebook currently says 14+, but we don’t know why the bar is set so high. Apotheca is definitely simple enough to understand, play, and be enjoyed by younger kids as well.
As you can see in our video review, there aren’t any complicated rules to remember in Apotheca. And the objective is very straight forward: Match 3 potions in a row 3 times to win.
However, having said that, Apotheca still is a strategy game and players with a keen mind for puzzles will do better than others.
Since players are limited to taking just 2 of the 4 possible actions each turn, knowing when to take certain actions is an important part of the game play. Not only can the actions benefit you, but you can also thwart the other players along the way.
So while the game can be played by younger kids, some strategic thinking will go a long way.
If it were up to us, we’d set the recommended ‘Age’ at 8+.
Strategy vs. Luck
As frequent viewers and readers of our board game and card game reviews will know, we love games that have a good balance of both strategy and luck. Striking the right balance is one of the 5 traits that make a great Family Game.
Apotheca strikes that right balance.
In a short, light game we don’t expect many layers of strategy. But we still do expect to exercise our brains.
At the same time, elements of luck keep the game interesting and add to the replayability.
And with different player counts, Apotheca shifts a bit from one side of the equilibrium to the other. But not far enough to dislike it at any player count.
For example, in a 2-player game, where the actions are very back-and-forth between the players, actions can more easily be used to set oneself up for actions on his/her next turn. The placement of potion cards and use of apothecary powers can be combined nicely to limit options for an opponent while setting up a score for oneself.
However, in the 3- and 4-player games, where the elements on the board have more opportunity to be changed before a player gets his/her next turn, luck plays into the game a bit more. It’s not a huge, detrimental shift, but it does alter the element of strategizing.
But that’s also one of the reasons the game ended up being so appealing – because it changes slightly from game to game. And each time we play, we need to plan out things a little differently than the last time.
Which leads us to what we like the most about Apotheca…
Puzzle it Out
The thing we enjoy the most about Apotheca is thinking through how to combine limited actions with the special apothecary powers to claim victory.
Every apothecary in the game is unique and each have their benefits. But unfortunately, you can’t have them all. So you have to make due with what you have – or what you can acquire.
Players are also able to see the apothecary powers of their opponents. Seeing what they may be able to do on their turns is all part of the strategy in limiting their options to score.
Add to that the fact that when you score a match, you then have to decide which apothecary power you want to cover up and thus not get to use through the rest of the game. So it will limit your options in future turns.
Of course, on the flip side, the same thing will happen to your opponents. They may score one match, but will be limited later. So strike out and take advantage of their now limited abilities.
It’s this puzzly nature that makes the game fun.
Production Quality
As mentioned in our video review, while the version we have is just a prototype, it is perhaps the most well-produced (or farthest-along) prototype that we’ve previewed.
With Kickstarter campaigns, it’s sometimes hard to predict the production quality of the final product.
From what we’ve experienced with Apotheca, we’re pretty confident that Knapsack Games will see to it that the production quality remains very high.
How does Apotheca score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
Apotheca has scored high on our “let’s play again” game meter because of all the reasons mentioned above. It has easy to learn rules and objectives, a good balance of luck and strategy, great components, and engaging game play.
So we haven’t been able to stop ourselves with just one play. As soon as one game ends, we’ve all been ready to go at it again.
We definitely look forward to seeing Apotheca on game store shelves.
Go ahead and join in the Apotheca Kickstarter campaign.
