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Description
Being a witch is all about wielding powerful magical ingredients — but a witch can wield only so much power before everything blows up in their face. Choose your recipes wisely to clear your workbench and stick others with too much raw material because the first player to overflow their nemesis' cauldron with enough ingredients wins!
In Whirling Witchcraft, you start with a hand of four recipe cards, as well as a number of ingredients on your workbench; ingredients come in five types, and you have a limited number of spaces for each type on your workbench.
Everyone plays simultaneously during each round. You all choose and reveal a recipe from your hand at the same time, then you can use as many recipes in play in front of you as you wish to convert and transform ingredients. Maybe you'll turn a mushroom into the harder-to-find mandrake, then you can turn two mandrakes (using an older one and the one you just created) to make three mushrooms. You can use each recipe at most once a round, and when you're finished, place all of the final ingredients into a cauldron, then pass it to your neighbor on the right. They must then fit all of these ingredients on their workbench — and if they can't, they must return the "extra" ingredients to you for placement in your "Witch's Circle".
If you now have at least five ingredients in your Witch's Circle, the game ends and you win; otherwise you all pass your recipe cards in hand to the player on your left, refill your hand to four cards, then start a new round.
The game includes personality cards you can use to give each player a unique power, in addition to a different set of starting ingredients. Some recipes can be played in either of two directions to help you customize how you transform ingredients, and recipes might also have arcana symbols that give you bonus powers when you collect enough of them.
Can you put together the right cookbook to land your neighbor in hot water?
Year Published
2021
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 10
This page: 10
Sentiment:
pos 7 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 2
Showing 1–10 of 10
Video NklmQtThfDc
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 8:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13255 · mention_pk 38835
Click to watch at 8:05
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Cascading effect is fun
- Variable powers
- Good player interaction
Cons
- One witch appears overpowered
Thematic elements
- Witches brewing potions
- Fantasy/Magic
- Light strategy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Exchange Mechanism — Trading cauldrons with other player
- Resource Overflow — Getting items back if opponent has too many
- Variable player powers — Different witch powers available
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Foster the Meeple - a channel all about board games
- we have our team jeff team jamie patreons who are going to be voting on what the loser has to do
- i love res arcana res arcana is quickly becoming one of my favorite games
- adult where's waldo
- knocked our socks off
- i love it
- so much fun
- winter is coming
- board game city up in here
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video R95vtRFBSro
Brothers Murph top_10_list at 5:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13223 · mention_pk 38671
Click to watch at 5:01
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique theme
- Quick gameplay
- Engine building
- Player interaction
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Potion brewing and resource management
- Witch's workshop
- Competitive magical crafting
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- drafting — Select and pass recipe cards each round
- engine building — Develop recipe and ingredient production system
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Halloween is right around the corner and it's time to play the five scariest board games of all time
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SttcVIQIuJs
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 4:55 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12761 · mention_pk 37244
Click to watch at 4:55
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- beautiful game
- stunning art
- super fun
- seasonal appeal
Cons
- seasonal - mostly for halloween
Thematic elements
- halloween
- witches
- spooky
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine building — bit of an engine builder aspect
- player interaction — trying to overwhelm other players with ingredients
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we have a problem
- it's a beast you need a table to play a table
- it's freaking fantastic it's super good
- i've said a million times how much i love res arcana
- the art is stunning
- ford is one of my favorite games
- this is just a super fun halloween time game
- shipping in canada at night it's so exciting everywhere is a bit of a nightmare right now to be honest
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xrFFy3uoBPM
Jungus Games general_discussion at 24:09 sentiment: negative
video_pk 10330 · mention_pk 30494
Click to watch at 24:09
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- strong initial impression
Cons
- subsequent plays not as good
Thematic elements
- crafting and magical experiments
- fantasy/wiccan motif
- thematic and experimental
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- mechanics/discussion-based puzzle — Early play was enjoyable, but subsequent plays declined in enjoyment.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a full-time successful job for me
- the newest macbook pro line is significantly faster
- i'm in a much better headspace about the numbers
- i'm not sitting there thinking that a three video per week plan is sustainable
- there's a lot of evidence to show that putting out more videos is not necessarily better for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video fh9uP3DwYXA
Good Morning Society game_review sentiment: positive
video_pk 10114 · mention_pk 29768
Overall sentiment (raw)
very positive
Pros
- Quick gameplay
- Interactive mechanics
- Simultaneous turns
- Engine-building with player interaction
Cons
- Potential complexity in ingredient management
Thematic elements
- Potion brewing and ingredient management
- Witch's workshop
- Competitive spell creation
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine building — Creating and managing ingredient production
- hand management — Managing spell cards and ingredient production
- Resource conversion — Converting ingredients into potions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- May the witch inside you fill her cauldron
- What up, witches!
- We're going to be producing spells, this is our workbench
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video RiFOfhs_f9I
Unknown top_list at 30:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6003 · mention_pk 17809
Click to watch at 30:49
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Super fun
- Unique mechanic
- Quick to start
- Not mean despite attack nature
- Great spell combinations
- Cute cauldron components
- High play count
- Quick game
- Well-designed
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- witches
- magic
- spells
Comparison games
- I Love Lucy chocolates scene
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a full day of gaming you got a plan for snack breaks you need to plan for nap breaks
- this cool game about sliding these things around the board and it's so stinking satisfying
- we really enjoy unfair but i don't enjoy all the mean stuff so every single piece so fun fair just really fixes that problem
- this one completely changed what a roll and write can do
- my brain turned to much like i literally need to power down for a little while and let my brain reset
- there's something special about it you know that really makes it stick out amongst everybody else
- this replaces terraforming mars for me
- it is just such a smart idea that is so simple
- orange nebula designs just incredibly unique incredible experiences
- the way that you use your hand management and the resource management it all just sings together really well
- they're there this isn't like a we're just going to reskin something
- it does a really great job of letting those last two players have the opportunity to really challenge the people that are in first and second
- it's quacks of quinlenberg the dice version
- i'm a sucker from dice i love the tactical sensation of just chuck and dice
- you really are paying attention to what's going to fill up each cauldron
- the best hidden movement game that i've played ever
- if you like the crew to begin with you can literally throw it in the trash and get this version
- it's brilliant from a design standpoint it's absolutely brilliant
- it's that wonderful tension right every round where am i gonna place where am i going to you know place my bid
- it's so relaxing it's so satisfying it's gorgeous
- i've needed my board gaming to be a warm thumpy blanket
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5gHHUMPmroY
Chairman of the Board top_20_list at 2:23 sentiment: negative
video_pk 5295 · mention_pk 15748
Click to watch at 2:23
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- clever concept
- tacky-on mechanisms abortive to experience
Cons
- subject to bad card draw luck
- unfulfilling endings
Thematic elements
- cauldron-based engine-building with cube management
- witches, cauldrons, and cubic resources
- thematic but abstract
Comparison games
- Kanamekoji
- Stellar
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/overload pressure — overloading a cauldron causes a cascade of effects
- engine-building — convert cubes and manage engine outputs against a rotating cauldron
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this one might be the most diverse one
- i thought this game had some really tacked on mechanisms that just did not need to be there
- this is basically a kids game
- it's striking, but not everything lands
- a very solid gateway game
- goa is a great example of classic euro design
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IwTJUUsaMSU
Peaky Boardgamer general_discussion at 0:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4715 · mention_pk 13755
Click to watch at 0:24
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fast-paced gameplay ideal for family gaming
- Engaging arcana mechanics and multiple strategies
- Clear demonstration of rules through video explanation
Cons
- Potential chaos with simultaneous actions at higher player counts
- Rule clarifications required for new players per rulebook notes
Thematic elements
- Potion brewing and magical competition
- Fantasy sorcerers competing to brew potions in a magical workshop
- Procedural teaching with demonstration
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Arcana track and effects — Playing cards may trigger arcana symbols; markers move along a track, triggering effects at even numbers.
- Card drafting / selection — Each round, players choose one recipe card to play face down, influencing inputs and outputs.
- End-game scoring via witch's circle — Game ends when a player reaches five ingredients in the witch's circle; most wins with tiebreakers.
- Passing and unloading — Cauldrons are passed to the right; players unload to workbenches and may fail to unload and pass penalties.
- Resource management — Players manage ingredient cubes on their workbenches, loading them into cauldrons and scoring when overloaded.
- Simultaneous action and sequencing — Brewing phase happens simultaneously; players commit multiple recipes before applying effects.
- Top/bottom recipe card inputs/outputs — Cards have top (inputs) and bottom (outputs) parts; inputs must come from own resources, outputs from general supply.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- a very fast-paced family game that i really enjoyed to play
- it's a game for two to five players
- very important the player must choose the direction when playing them facing downwards
- i cannot explain each one of those however you can find some clarifications in the last page of the rulebook
- first examine their cards and then choose one to play facing downwards in their play area
- the card has to be positioned so that the arrow points downwards
- this cauldron symbol so i move the cauldron marker to the first space
- the game ends and the player who has the most cubes in the witch's circle
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video E3jyxfSrLHI
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 1:58 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2754 · mention_pk 8076
Click to watch at 1:58
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- thematic and breezy Halloween party vibe
- tight 30-minute playtime makes it a good starter for a Halloween game night
- high player interaction and replayability through character abilities
Cons
- light on depth; may disappoint players seeking heavier strategy
- potential frustration if board overwhelm leads to cascading passes
Thematic elements
- witchcraft, potion-making, light-hearted chaotic interaction
- Halloween-themed witch workshop: witches collect ingredients in a cauldron and pass them to neighbors as boards become overwhelmed
- light, party-oriented with friendly competition and take-that interactions
Comparison games
- Horrified
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand management — players manage a hand of ingredient tokens and use passes to neighbors to avoid overflow
- pass-and-receive interaction — when a player's board is overloaded with ingredients, they pass some back to adjacent players
- Variable player powers — each witch character offers a unique ability that can affect passing or timing
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- our perfect halloween game night would not include our catfish god
- we caveat everything
- this game is a fantastic little halloween game
- the first person to five ingredients wins
- you are an innkeeper who uh is a little bit sketchy because you're a little bit sketchy
- you are trying to murder all of your guests so that you could take their money
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5p9Lfrw1kwY
Chairman of the Board general_discussion at 1:07 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 2485 · mention_pk 7248
Click to watch at 1:07
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- witchcraft, potion crafting
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you start rich and you're trying to blow as much money as you can as quickly as possible by making bad investments
- this one however has a quite a different feel to a lot of the other rolling rights
- it's strictly two player puzzly abstract style game
- this is the newest printing of the bunk
- this one actually uses the between two cities mechanism where you're working with the people to your left and right except on this one
- it's a game that's fascinated me
- the idea of puzzle this stuff around get the ideal family photo
- gamers bingo
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–10 of 10