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I love Picture Perfect and I especially love the Movie Star expansion (my review of which you can read here) so I was super excited to get the Picture Perfect Pickpocket Expansion.
Before starting this review let’s get something out of the way immediately, there are not really three new modes in this box despite it claiming that in the instructions. The reality is you get the pickpocket mode and then options for adding the pickpockets as normal guests and / or combining all guests for a massive party (even including the Movie Star expansion guests if you are feeling crazy).
But don’t read that and think I don’t recommend this expansion, quite the opposite is true, I highly recommend this expansion if you enjoy Picture Perfect especially if you want more of a challenge.
Let's Get Theiving
In this expansion you get three pickpocket standees (with envelopes) to mix into your base game with enough of each for up to six players. All three of the pickpockets are female and are in typical burglar poses at three different heights (which will help with hiding them). In addition there are eleven new preference cards, seven new exchange cards, four new auction cards, valuables cards, reference cards and a sand timer.
I Think She Stole His Wallet
The big draw in this expansion is the Picture Perfect pickpocket mode which increases the difficulty and can have a large swing on the final points tally. Before playing you will need to remove eleven random preference cards from the base game and replace them with the ones that come with the expansion. Then give each player a valuables card and reference card. The sand timer is placed in the middle of the table but can be ignored for now as it isn’t used until the end of the game. The pickpocket envelopes are not used in this mode so they can be placed back in the box for now.
Each player chooses one of their starting envelopes and places their valuable card in it. The aim of the game (in addition to the normal scoring for Picture Perfect) is to get your thieves next to the characters who are holding the valuables cards. However, you are not allowed to place any of the thieves on the player mats until the end of the game.
As you play through the normal course of the game you will hopefully come across the characters who are holding valuables and you will need to remember these and leave space next to them. Then after the final round (but before final scoring) the sand timer will be flipped and you have to place all three of your thieves before the time runs out. Keep in mind that any character that is next to at least one pickpocket loses one point therefore careful planning is required.
There are some provisos for a successful heist as follows:-
- Each pickpocket may steal only one valuable
- Each valuable can only be stolen once
- Pickpockets can only steal if their entire face is hidden from view
A big twenty five points are available to players who steal all three valuables, thirteen for two and five for one valuable.
This expansion really increases the use of your memory bank as you cannot place the pickpockets until the end of the game and therefore may be too much for some players. You could just ignore the pickpockets but this would mean a significant drop in points compared to players who went all in. Another consideration is the spaces the pickpockets take up could have been used by other characters.
As per the Movie Star Expansion the new exchange and auction cards are great and help with the variety between plays and can be used with the pickpocket mode or just the standard game.
Final Thoughts
Although I don’t enjoy this Picture Perfect Pickpocket expansion as much as the Movie Star I am still very happy to recommend it to anyone that likes Picture Perfect. New standees, preference cards, exchange cards and auctions cards are a welcome addition and the pickpocket mode adds a further level of complexity if you find the base game too easy.
Special mention to the preference card that requires the guest to have their face obscured by a decoration and / or the potted plant, it gave everyone a chuckle each time they discovered it in an envelope.
Arcane Wonders & Corax Games continue with this excellent game series with the recently announced Sherlock expansion and I wonder if he might be trying to solve this crime or maybe a……….. murder.
