It’s time for the final exam in your Potions class! Put your alchemy expertise to the test and create potions so excellent and valuable that not only will you pass the class with flying colors, but you might even be named student of the year!
Players take turns selecting ingredients in the form of brightly colored marbles from the available pool, with the hopes of causing chain reactions to increase the amount of ingredients they are able to collect during their turn!
The more reactions you create, the more potions you can make!
One of the unique mechanics this game provides is the marble tray included with the game box. Players roll the marbles into the reverse-inclined holes on the top of the device at the start of the game, which determines the slot the replaced marbles will fall into.
When a marble is selected, the ones behind them fall into place at the lowest position. If you manage to make two or more same-colored marbles collide, you’ve created a chain reaction! The ingredients “explode” and are collected by the player to be used in the potion brewing step of their turn.
The Bunsen Burner!
Once the ingredients are collected, it’s time to brew! Players place ingredients into the appropriately colored sections of the potions they are trying to create in their workstation until the potion is fully filled. Once the recipe requirements have been fully filled, congratulations! You’ve successfully brewed a magical potion! But, that’s not the end of the usefulness of the crafted potions. They can then be quaffed for a one-time wondrous power, allowing the player to manipulate a range of things, ranging from the flow of ingredients, to possibly stealing stored ingredients from competing students!
Once you’ve finished brewing your latest masterpiece, you can store leftover ingredients in your brewing flask for later use. After that, it’s time to return the unused ingredients to the dispenser!
Once all of the students participating have been recognized for their skill, the player with the highest amount of points will take home the Student of the Year award!
Overall, we believe this game will be very well received with family oriented play groups. The tactile feedback of the marbles provides a strong level of interactivity, and the visual representation is not only colorful, but encourages critical thinking to find the best possible chain reaction to create to create bigger and better potions!
Potion Explosion was created by Horrible Games, and published jointly with alongside well known producers Cool Mini or Not.
We look forward to hearing what you think about the game! Stay tuned for the next column, where we delve into the dense Legacy title, Sea Fall.
Jacksonville Game Center 