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Axes, wands, armour and potions, Bargain Quest has all your adventuring needs! Open up your shop and challenge business competitors within the market. Find financial success by funding the adventuring heroes visiting town.
Bargain Quest is a Kickstarter hit of 2017 from designer Johnathan Ying and artist Victoria Ying. Now backed by Renegade Game Studios, the publishers of other high-quality games such as Raiders of the North Sea.
Bargain Quest – The Game
Bargain Quest allows for two to six players who are looking to start their adventuring business. A game of Bargain Quest only takes around 30-60 minutes. Considered as an ideal ‘warm-up’ game before a long session of hard-core gaming, or a quick party game.
Like many great games, Bargain Quest begins with a card draft. Players draft item cards to determine what they will be selling and displaying in their shop, for that turn. Cards have an appeal rating and user type which dictates their value.
Cards with a high appeal are great to put on display, as this will allow you to entice the hero you desire. The type of a card not only dictates who it can entice but also which heroes you can sell it to. Each hero has different tastes of weaponry and gear. Rangers prefer crossbows and knifes. Whereas mages love magical wands and pointy hats, naturally.
Employees can be hired to help out around the shop. For example, Sales Clerks will be hired to alter prices of items, while City Guards are able to protect your shop from monsters. Some special employees can even boost the power of your items.
Once you have sold your goods to the heroes, they will party up and take their new gear into battle. The humble merchant district will be plagued by evil creatures. The heroes must encounter three evil enemies, with each evil more powerful than the last. Enemies also have various effects. The unique abilities of each enemy gives an extra interesting layer and adds to the replayability factor.
Components
Despite the relatively small box, Bargain Quest is filled with high-quality components and an extensive range of cards. Although an affordable game, Bargain Quest has great attention to detail. A highlight being the charming artwork for every hero and item card. Featuring six unique shop boards, each player can have their own establishment, creating a personalised experience. There is something very satisfying in, literally, opening up the shop board. It certainly adds to the sense of running your very own shop!
Final Thoughts on Bargain Quest
Bargain Quest is simple and compact but also a well-rounded game. There are a variety of expansions which allows you to expand and take your Bargain Quest experience in different directions. A solo mode, new heroes to trade with and employees to hire can alter your entrepreneur adventure. There is even a shifty Black Market Expansion, which allows players to dabble in the criminal underworld.
The economy mechanics of the game are pretty simple for a game about being a business owner. Bargain Quest is not as complicated as other economy games, (a positive or a negative, depending on your personal preference). However, a complicated economy system is not necessary when there are many more fun aspects to focus on. Bargain Quest has a great balance of fundamental shop management alongside combat and loot systems.
Overall Bargain Quest is a fantastic game with high-quality components and gameplay throughout. Bargain Quest is a very well-rounded game. Simple enough for new board gamers to get to grips with, whist also being interesting enough to captivate veteran gamers.