You've opened a new board game café and want to earn as much money as you can — but others are doing the same thing, so you better figure out how to succeed better than them!
Board Game Cafe Frenzy is a tactical trick-taking game that consists of two phases, "Preparing" and "Opening the Door", with each phase lasting ten turns. In the "Preparing" phase, each player buys a card from the market each turn, and cards come in five types: board game, snack, clerk, store, and wi-fi. Each kind of card gives you different items that are important for managing your board game café.
During each turn of the "Opening the Door" phase, each player plays a card from their hand that they acquired during the first phase; players must play a different color than what's already been played, with higher numbers also being important. Hope that you prepared well! At the end of a turn, each player can use one action disk from their action bar to perform one specific action. After this phase ends, players undergo a final scoring, then add their coins to see who has the most money and has won the game.
Try to find the right balance between all the elements needed for a café!
—description from designer
- dual-phase structure (preparation and opening) adds strategic depth
- realistic themes around cafe operation
- thematic synergy between trick-taking and worker placement could feel disjoint
- Entrepreneurship in launching and running a cafe
- A bustling board game cafe in a competitive city
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-Taking — historic card play with variable outcomes and timing
- Worker Placement — staff actions and cafe operations are managed through workers
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think that zoo-oo Cracy has the potential to either be a total mess or an intriguing exercise of diplomacy, negotiation and a bit of backstabber.
- the idea of using scissors as a game component to develop an innovative new mechanism is pretty intriguing
- Wayfinders joins my list because it's modular design makes it seem highly replayable
- you've been eaten can be played as a game for two players with a minor playing against a beast