Adventure Store Preview - Deckbuilding in my Trick-Taking!
Transcript
Welcome to Board Game Animal. My name is Justin. Little little bit late to the party here. Sort of. The Adventure Store by Taylor Reiner from Inside Up Games is on crowdfunding right now, and you got to rush over there and check it out. Now, again, a little late, but we did already talk about it in our top trick taking games of all time. That's right. Despite having played tripledigit numbers of trick-taking games, in a very, very small amount of time, The Adventure Store climbed onto my top 25 of all time. It's that good. and that impactful. So, what's it all about? A point that bears repeating that I mentioned in the other video is that you wouldn't think trick taking really would work well and be that enjoyable where everyone around the table starts with an identical deck and you're playing off of that identical deck and then you continue to upgrade that deck over time to be more asymmetrical. It seems like something that would be counterintuitive to some of the fundamentals that makes trick taking enjoyable. But here, the variety of cards and upgrades, the catch-up mechanisms and mitigation options, the deck makeup in and of itself, the cumulative and progressive scoring and rewards, it all balances the game out and both rewards and offers consequences for risky decisions. And all of those bells and whistles allow you to play with the conventions of trick- taking games in continually more and more ingenious ways. But surprisingly, all the while, none of this takes away from the fact that you are indeed still playing a trick-taking game. A big involved one, sure, but at
the end of the day, you're still going to be itching to play the next round and the next round. Try out that upgraded deck that you have been forming. You know, I have come to explicitly appreciate small card games, trick- taking games especially, that are one-handers. And I think for me there's something more enjoyable and satisfying about playing the game, saying we finished it and saying, "Oh, let's run it back." than playing a couple hands and being like, "Oh, wow. We there's still two more to have played the full game." It may just be a personal thing. That just tends to be what I seem to like in a lot of games recently. However, the forward rush of adventure store carries that flavor and spirit of deck building games where you shuffle up and start fresh. And it kind of melds and mashes with the idea of playing multiple hands. so organically that it feels grand in a way, like you're building something substantial over time without it feeling like it's too much.
And here's how I'll explain that is what would be a hand in most trick taking games here is essentially what would be a couple turns in a deck building game. And somehow the fusion comes together in a really satisfying way. Not to mention, it's really fun to look at while playing. The artwork is sick and filled with cool characters, fun classic fantasy items, and there's something so classic gamey to have upgraded your deck in a certain way. It feels like you upgraded and unlocked an achievement. The theme really melds well with how this game plays out. And all of these come together to just make a really slick product all around. As I mentioned in my trick- video, Adventure Store really feels like it's going to be a modern classic. I think this is one that's going to be talked about for a while. It's going to be climbing the BGG ranks when it comes to tricktaking.
To me, it feels more like a trick-taking game for deck building fans than the other way around. But I do believe it's going to have its audience in both with a pretty healthy ven diagram in the middle. And the reason that is is because I don't want to overlook the fact that at the end of the day, this is a kitchen sink trick taker. games like Rebel Princess and Trick Takers and Origin Story where there's a lot of asymmetry and surprises and powerups and little twists on form. This game fits right at home in that category. But for me, it is actually the standout example in that space at the moment. There is something so exciting about constantly upgrading your deck, the variety of cards that you can include. It takes that real creative approach of deck building, puts it in trick taking while not squandering what we like that genre for either. So yeah, if you like trick taking, deck building both or games with a symmetry and variety, adventure store is one you don't want to miss out on checking out. Huge thanks to Inside Games for letting us take a look at this one. Make sure to check out the link in the description down below. And if you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Thank you so much for liking, watching, commenting, and subscribing.
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