Potion explosion is another oldie but goodie game from Cool Minis Or Not (CMON). Danny and Frannie brought this game home from one of their expos a few years back excited that they had found a game they thought I’d really enjoy and they were right. We played it several times and I immediately downloaded their app and have played that version frequently as well.
The Game:
For those new to the game, let me try to give a brief overview. You have a pool of 5 slide tracks that all fill with marbles of various colors – red, black, yellow, and blue. You also have a “desk” in front of you that houses 2 potions you’re working on and a slot to save up to 3 ingredients. When it is your turn, you take a marble and get that marble plus any “explosions” that are caused. This occurs when 2 marbles of the same color hit because of the marble you removed and they can be chain reactions. This is the ideal. You want to gain as many useful marbles as you can to fill potions. Each potion has a score and also can be used for its ability. At the end of your turn, you fill any empty potion slots in your desk.
End of game scoring is based on your completed potions values (and any negatives from bonuses you have may taken)
Oh, and there is an element of it that is a bit of a race because of a countdown mechanic. You begin the game with a designated number of ribbons based on players. ribbons are earned for 3 of the same kind of potion or 4 unique potions completed. The game end is determined by running out of available ribbons (and everyone getting one more turn to make it even).
The Review:
Overall, we thoroughly enjoy this game. It is simple enough but there’s a lot of strategy in which marble to pull, which potions to use, and which potion to draw to refill (of the 5 showing). There’s something very tactile about collecting the marbles and then dumping them back in to refill. I enjoy the app, but that element is missing from it giving the game a place beyond the app.
