Suppose & Welcome Demons Reviews
Transcript
Welcome to BoardGameAnimal. My name is Justin. Today we're talking about the latest batch of games from New Mill Industries, and these games are pretty quirky and surprising, especially given the fact that the New Mill is never shy about introducing some surprising and unexpected games into the trick-taking and climbing shedding scene. But for all of you cool cats out there, I think both of these, for some of you, will absolutely be taking some cake. Because while I found personally they can be a little bit divisive depending on your audience, for those that they sing for, they really, really sing. It's a strange coincidence to me that these are coming together, because I think both break so many conventions of their respective genres, and break those conventions in deeply interesting ways that will be just the revolutionary weirdness the sickos who seek these kind of games out will want to sink their teeth into.
Welcome, Demons by Daniel Newman is a really peculiar, eccentric, never quite seen anything like it climbing shedding game. Because you're kind of shedding out your hand and also a deck simultaneously, sort of, and you're climbing in a kind of non-traditional sense, and you're all doing it in a race. Well, hold on, let me explain. I find the theme of this one funny because it's named after the Oni that are dubbed the Welcome Demons, Oni that are welcoming you and guiding you through your tour of the Springs. It was named after an actual spot that showed up on the map for Daniel on one of his trips to Japan. A bizarre theme based on an amusing anecdote for a bizarre and amusing game, indeed. The artwork is great as you watch your friendly little ogres guide your travelers and add a satisfying touch to the puzzle you're already forming.
As far as the climb is concerned in actual gameplay, you have to match the Oni in your hand to the travelers they're guiding, meaning the suit or value has to match what the respective travelers are looking for. And as you escalate, you either have to play the same number of hikers with a total higher Oni value or one more hiker with a total lower Oni value. Unlike a lot of climbing shedding games, this one is very much a little bit of a puzzle each and every turn that you're trying to solve. You may be used to a climbing situation where you assess your hand and you see, let's say for example, you have multiple pairs and you say, "I'm going to play a pair of twos." The next person plays a pair of fours, so on and so forth. It gets back around to you and maybe you had a pair of sevens and a pair of tens. Now, it's higher than sevens, so you have to play the pair of tens and you continue on in that way.
Welcome Demons on each turn is going to require a lot more thought than just looking at a couple things in your hand and picking which one to use. It's a lot more complex and the turns will take maybe a little bit more time to parse how you're going to approach the situation that arises when the turns come back around to you. And you're trying to also do it in a way to manage what Oni you have left in your hand, so when the end game rolls around, you're not stuck with weaker or a lousy your hand to get those finishing steps across the finish line to be the first person to shut out completely. This one is a one-hander and I think that is very appropriate. Because of the tempo and the pace of the game and the amount of thought process that goes into it, it is very satisfying to just play one hand and you'll feel pretty accomplished by the end of it. Fact that it's three-player exclusively has a really crunchy climb process. You're managing two types of cards and have the goal to essentially not be the loser. It means that playing this one may be jarring compared to some other climbers.
However, all of those qualities, I think make this one a fascinating one-of-a-kind feature that's going to be a hot oddity in this space. This one is an 8.5 for me because it just scratches some itch. I just find the the way all of these cogs come together really fascinating. It's absolutely something that anyone who wants something strange and something with like kind of new life breathed into a climbing shedding situation would definitely want to check out. Because even though it's wearing a lot of novelty on the outside, there is a really rich deep think with staying power underneath. Suppose is really weird and I like it. Suppose is a may follow trick-taker because really at the end of the day you don't have a choice. There are many situations where you're essentially going to be forced to may follow. The way suppose works is that each player is going to arrange a hand from high to low with the different suits separated. Uh put markers on them, flip over three of the cards, the ends in the middle, and hand it to their neighbor who will then splay the cards in a way where they can only see three of their own cards. The person who arranged the cards is now going to predict how many tricks they think that hand that they arranged and passed is going to win. This isn't the only game of its ilk out there. There are other games like Xylotar for instance where you didn't see your hand and it's in front of you. Someone else arranged it and you're going to be playing it. But what I really appreciate about suppose is that it takes it a step further. It's not just a matter of not knowing what cards are out on the table and you're taking chances hoping to
succeed. And through process of elimination or card counting, you might get it right and that's a huge win. But in suppose, it does take it a step further. Keep in mind that the whole time you can see the majority of everyone else's hands. So, based on the cards that have already been played and the cards you can currently visibly see in everyone else's hands, whenever you go to play a card that you can't see what it is, you can suppose and predict what card that is that you are going to play. And if you are correct, you get a token that every two will count as a victory point at the end of the game. I think there is something immeasurably satisfying about supposing or predicting, deducing really, what your cards are and getting it right and super entertaining when you're wrong. And it's fun to watch around the table because you know if the next player is going to be correct or not and it's a real hoot to watch.
But it's also cool because not only do you feel clever in those moments, but the game is like, here, have a little treat for getting it right, too. And especially as you are seeing predictions come close for the number of tricks won, you're seeing the number of tokens other people get, you can kind of keep track on how everybody is sort of doing, and sometimes those tokens can be the make or break of whether you are going to succeed or not. On top of that, I definitely want to address its appearance as one of the best looking and most surreal New Mill games visually. The art implies a story and world as odd and surprising as the game itself. It suggests the unusual and somehow matches the unexpected energy that the gameplay brings to the table. I really think Suppose is neat. It's not going to be for everyone, and this kind of trick taker isn't one that I'm always going to be a super rush to pull out either.
But for now, for me, in this arrange a hand, pass it to the next person, try to to do some figure out your hand sort of thing in trick taking, I have to say that Suppose is my favorite one in that genre. I give it a 7.5 with room to grow because for some reason this one keeps calling to me. And while both of these games aren't in the rush to pull out for everyone conversation, they're both in the oh, I have specific people who need to play these conversation, and that's where they're going to really shine. If you want something surprising on your trick taking or climbing shedding experience, these will not disappoint in delivering the ooh, you got to try this out. Thanks to New Mill for the review copies of these games, and for complete transparency, I will say that I also was able to playtest Welcome Demons early on in its development. As I've expressed [clears throat] in the past, regardless of how I've been able to play a game or how I've had that opportunity or who designed it or whatever, you're always going to be getting a full honest opinion about the games that we review here on Board Game Animal. If you have any questions, please leave them down below. The link to these games is going to be down in the description.
Definitely check them out. Thank you so much for liking, watching, and subscribing, and don't forget to always play board games like an animal. Even like whatever this is.