Cauldron Master: New to Kickstarter

In the first of a weekly series Zatu Games guest blogger, Martyn Poole, takes a look at a brand-new board game which will be released onto Kickstarter this week. This time he takes a look at Cauldron Master by Alley Cat Games!

This is the latest game from the team that brought you Lab Wars. I was lucky enough to have a hands-on play test and I have to say that myself and my daughter really enjoyed it. As my 10-year-old put it "playing as a witch and making spells/ potions is really fun" and I have to agree, this game gives you the chance to collect ingredients and brew up potions.

Premise

You play as a covert of witches trying to score points, called spell points, by collecting ingredients and storing them in your cauldrons. There are five different types of witches, all of which allow you to pick up different ingredients.

There are three types of cauldrons that act as storage for the ingredients and all of them can store different amounts. Elixr cards are kept secret and give you bonus points for completion of set goals on the cards.

Initial setup

Each player is given one of each witch card and one of each cauldron card. Each player is also given one Elixr card that is looked at then placed face down. You then take the ingredient cards, shuffle and place the deck in the middle of the table.

Depending on the player count you reveal eight or more cards from this deck and this creates your supply pile that you can take from.

The game is now ready to be played:

1. In this round you will decide what Witch you will use thus what ingredients you can collect. You select your card in secret and then place it face down. Each witch has a number on the card that the one with the lowest value determines first player.
2. You now select ingredient cards according to the selected Witch card. Cauldrons have limited space and you must not overfill.
3. Once a cauldron is full this means your are ready to brew a potion and score points.

Point Scoring

On the ingredient cards are different numbers that are the value of points you will get. For example the spider venom card has five values on it so the more cards of that type you store before brewing your potion means you will score more points. You then score your elixir card if you have achieved the goal, which can be collecting a set number of ingredients or a particular type of ingredient.

Once this is done it's your go over and it's the next person's go and they'll do the same as above. The ingredients pile only refills when all players have had there go and once this deck has run dry its the final round.

Final thoughts - Back or Not?

The game is very thematic and everything has a kind of 'Hocus Pocus' feel. The artwork is good and if Lab Wars is anything to go by the game should be finished to a very high standard.

The biggest drawback of the version I played was the instructions and they need some work to help make the game clear for children, this game is not just for children and has enough depth for any age gamer, but I have been told this is being worked on.

You can play without the Elixir cards for your first few goes to help nail down the rules, however they do add an extra level of strategic planning and the game is more complete with them.

Overall this is a game that I can see being played before or after a game night's main attraction. It's not quite a filler game nor a fully fledged heavy-thinker but it does fit in great with gamer's schedules.

The quick setup time means it should find a place in most people's collections fairly easy. The game launches on Kickstarter March 1st (Salem witch trials of 1692!) at Midday and I will be watching to see how well this does.

Depending on price point this is a project I would back and watch how the campaign unfolds. You find out more about this game on its official Kickstarter campaign page. 

Credit to Alley Cat Games for the images.