Alice in Shroomland: Spore Cultivation, Kickstarter Review

Alice in Shroomland: Spore Cultivation
Kickstarter Review

Information:

Mechanics: Deck Building
Play Time: 30-60 Minutes
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Age: 18+
Designer: Nick Leo
Artist: Alisha Volkman
Publishers: Game Trippers LLC
BGG Weight (Game Complexity): 2/5

Disclaimer: This is a prototype copy so everything could change once the game is finalized.

Shroomland is not a place for the feint of heart. It contains magic mushroom leaders whose sole purpose is to fight against you; and fight dirty they will! Facing dastardly minions, dreaded curses, and local denizens, you may think the odds are stacked against you but you have the ability to make your army whatever you want. Build and manipulate your deck by buying cards that will help to defeat the scum of Shroomland; the power is yours.

Set up:

All cards are sorted into piles. To help separate the piles, the cards have the word written to the left and right of the central image and the bottom rectangle is colour coded.

These piles will be:
Hybridz.........................[Blue]
Indicaz.........................[Green]
Sativaz.........................[Lavender]
Gear.............................[Peach]
Merchandize................[Yellow]
Curse...........................[Blue]
Sinister........................[Purple]
Tripper's Kit................[White]
Bad..............................[Pink]

Each player will decide what colour they want to be between Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue. With this they will get 2 meeples and a tripper's kit (12 base cards to start your deck). Now as a group you will decide whether to play co-operative mode (Friends Forever) or versus mode (Ruler of Shroomland). In co-op mode the players work together to defeat the evil magic mushroom leader whereas in versus mode 2-4 players will attack each other until only one side is left standing. Choosing the game mode is to be a unanimous decision between all players; the backstabbing doesn't start just yet!

To see who will go first, all players shuffle their kit and draw cards until their "Inner Zen" is drawn. Whoever drew the least number of cards before drawing the inner zen will go first with play continuing clockwise. To keep randomisation, players must shuffle their kits once more before playing.

Another choice to be made before starting is whether to play with the faction of Sativaz or the Indicaz. The Sativaz are the peace keepers of Shroomland who want to aid in the defence against evil, where the Indicaz are the maleficent force wanting to push the front-line forwards until Shroomland and it's opposing inhabitants fall to their knees.Once again this decision must be unanimous. For whichever faction is chosen shuffle the cards together and draw 2 cards starting with player 1. From these cards, one will be your tripper (character) which remains in front of you during play and the other is shuffled back into the deck. Also, take the magic mushroom leader of the opposite faction that wasn't chosen and place them aside for later.

Depending on the amount of players, a number of cards will need to be removed from the merchandize deck. The table below shows the amount of certain cards that will stay in the merchandize deck:

	Amount in Deck:
Number of Players:	1 Player	2 Players	3 Players	4 Players
Magical Shrooms: (with a currency of 3)	1	2	4	5
Magical Shrooms: (with a currency of 2)	2	3	5	6
Topsy Turvy:	0	1	1	1
Tripping Buddy:	0	2	3	4

Depending on your choice of playing with Sativaz or Indicaz, certain piles need to be shuffled together to create different decks you will be using during the game. See the table below for what piles are combined to make what decks and for what to remove from the game.

Now your game decks are ready it's time to set up the different Shroomland dimensions. There are 6 in total, the most important one being the Ominous Dark Forest. This one will be placed last next to the sober pile (built during game play by sobered [defeated] enemies). The ominous dark forest is important to place last as this is where the magic mushroom leader will land and remain in order to continuously deal ouches to players at the end of their turns. Every dimension card has 2 sides and each side will have images of different trippers. If your tripper is on any of these dimensions then you will place one of your two meeples on the tripper image, this can give you additional money during the game.


Next to the line up of dimension cards will be the dimension deck. Take the opposing faction leader that you placed aside earlier and put him face-up on the dimension deck, he is no coward... He intends to lead his army to victory! But no matter, at least one player is willing to fight against him for the side of good! Take 10 cards from the market deck and place them face-up to create a market. This Shroom Shop will aide you in your fight against the dimensional darkness.

How to play:

On your turn, you will draw 6 cards from your tripper kit (shuffling the discard pile when the deck runs out of cards). At any point if you draw 3 ouch cards in a turn you will become 'Sober'. This is when your glorious Shroomland trip dissipates into average dismal life and you no longer participate in play. Don't worry though, you can return to your trip via 2 pathways:
1 - If you have a 'Meaning of Life' card in your hand this will negate the effects of sobering up
2 - Another player can use their meaning of life card to revive you, they can do this on any of their turns as long as they don't become sober.

Card Currency 

If there is a blue mushroom on the top right corner of a card (see image below), this is how much currency the card gives you dependant on what number is stated. Add up the total amount of mushrooms in your hand, remembering that your meeple on a dimension card will give you one additional mushroom if there is a face-up enemy on the space at the beginning of your turn. This may sound obvious but just in case there is any confusion, you can use the mushrooms on a card as well as playing out the action on the card. It is not a 'pick one or the other' choice.

You can use your currency for any amount of these options:
1 - Pay 2 mushrooms to turn an enemy card face-up (nothing happens when the card is flipped, the text on the card will only occur if they are in your deck)

2 - Buy cards from the Shroom Shop. In typical deck building fashion, any card you buy will be put into your discard pile unless otherwise stated. For example the pure white rabbit card allows you to place 1 purchased card on top of your kit instead of straight into the discard pile.

3 - Defeat a face-up enemy/curse card from a dimension. You do this by spending mushrooms equal to the cost of the card (seen in yellow on the top left corner of the card). The defeated enemy/curse is then moved to the sober pile.
In the competitive mode each time you defeat an enemy this way, you will place an ouch card in a discard pile. If you defeat a curse card it is placed in a discard pile instead of an ouch.

The Enemy Attacks 

Now it is the enemies turn to begin their onslaught. First off, we have to deal with the ominous dark forest dimension. There are 3 situations that may occur:
1 - The Magic Mushroom leader will throw an ouch card in your discard pile and will remain in the ominous dark forest.
2 - Any Hybrids, Indicaz, or Sativaz will place an ouch card in your discard pile as they move into the sober pile having exhausted themselves on the battlefield.
3 - If the card is a curse, it will move straight into your discard pile. You DO NOT want these in your deck! Avoid by defeating them early.

Next, each card on a dimensions will move up one, marching ever forward to the ominous dark forest and their fearless leader. Answering the call, the top card of the dimension deck will be placed face-down on the first dimension, for in battle you never know who your enemy is.

The last part of the round is the clean up phase. This stage consists of refilling the Shroom Shop up to 10 cards and swapping your tripper with any Hybrids, Indicaz, or Sativaz in your discard pile (optional). Keep in mind that if you change your tripper then you will have to move your dimensional meeple as well.

The game will end when the Magic Mushroom Leader is defeated once and for all (co-operative mode), or until there is only one side left standing in the fight for good vs evil (versus mode).

Thoughts:

Alice in wonderland is a beloved story from most, if not all, of our childhoods but let's be honest... Alice had to have been higher than a blazing kite to go through all of that! Alice in Shroomland: Spore Cultivation says what we have all been thinking and now you can go on that very trip too. The White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, March Hare, multiple Queens and the glorious Cheshire Cat are all present and accounted for but with the addition of good vs evil battles, cripplingly sudden time constraints, friendly betrayal and more!

Here is my list of pros and cons that the game has to offer:

 Pros
- It is quick to play and easy to understand

- The rule book is very comprehensive and user friendly
- The art is great
- There are unique deck building mechanics i.e. the meeples allowing for additional currency
- The ouch cards adds a continuously building time constraint which adds another layer to the game

- Playing in co-op mode is not just a one-time choice, teamwork is necessary for success
- The box is compact and perfect for portability

- The developers did so well on the story loop found on the side of the box that it absolutely needs to be noted here; well done guys

Cons

- The drug theme may not appeal to everyone
- Time is required for setup and packing away
- Some cards are vague and can be left to interpretation of the players

So remember, Alice in Shroomland: Spore Cultivation will easily whisk you away on a wondrous drug addled trip full of whimsical creatures and vibrant art, but don't get too absorbed in the scenery; lose track of how much time is passing and those blasted ouches will be your downfall.
Overall, this game is DOPE yo!

Oh wow is that a pink elephant in the corner!?..... oh wait... It's just a scandalous oyster.

Click...feed the addiction:

Buy Alice in Shroomland Spore Cultivation on Kickstarter

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