Gem Hens: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Action Queue, Set Collection, Variable Player Powers
Player Count: 2 - 4 PlayersTime to Play: 30 - 45 Minutes Game Designer: Jim DiCamillo, Patrick Marino
Objective:
These chickens have been specifically bred to eat gems and produce jewelled eggs (similar to the exclusive faberge egg). The aim is to create the most valuable egg by the end of the game and score higher than your opponents.
Game Anatomy:
Yard Board:
The yard board has a six by six grid for the chickens to move on. This area is where the grain gems will be placed by the farmer.
Farmer and the Farmer Dice:
The farmer will place grain gems on the board every round based on where the dice dictate. The number of gems that the farmer plays will change based on player count and the round. This variation is depicted clearly as a table to the top right of the yard board.
Chicken Meeples:
Each player will have a wooden chicken meeple that will start each round in the coop and will be moved around the yard board to gain gems.
Player Action Board:
In the first phase of each round players will be, in real-time, rolling their dice continuously until they receive the desired value or until time runs out. Each value will correspond with an action on the board that they must make during the round. These die number actions are:
1: Move exactly one space.
2: Move exactly two spaces.
3: Move exactly three spaces.
4-5: scratch a roll or column, this will be explained in further detail but this is how gems will spawn on the yard board.
6: This will determine pecking order (The turn order for the round).
When the first phase is over all players will roll their dice with the face value six. Then players will be passed turn order tokens going from the highest value from the dice rolled to the lowest. These dice will now be placed in the area on the player action board that matches each value on the player's dice rolled. If any of these dice lands on a six, that dice becomes a wild for this round.
This board will also have a scoring table that will show players what sections on the egg board will score based on the gem type that completes the section.
Player Dice:
Each player will have eight dice that they will roll in the dice rolling phase and will use in the action phase.
Timer:
This will be used to apply pressure in the dice rolling phase.
Turn Order Tokens:
This will determine the turn order for each round.
Grain Gems:
The grain gems will be kept in the feed bag and there is a total of 100 gems. Of these, there are 8 different types of gems which range in abundance within the feed bag. The most common gem is Amber with 24 individual gems in the bag, and the least common is the Imperfection gem at 6 individuals. The least common true gems tend to score more points as shown on the action board. The Imperfection gems are like a wild gem that will help to complete a feature on your egg but will score negative points.
Egg Board:
This is where the valuable grain gems will be collected and placed onto. There are different shapes (features) to be completed by gems of the same type or with the addition of imperfections. True gems cannot be mixed together to complete a feature. If you want to complete a feature with a different gem type (such as one worth more points) then you must scrap the current occupiers. The unused gems next to your egg board will be worth negative points at the end of the game.
Setup:
- Each player takes a hen, action board, gem board and action dice of their chosen colour.
- Each player will keep and remove the rest of their dice based on the player count. 8 dice for 2 players, 7 dice for 3 players and 6 dice for 4 players.
- Set the yard board in the middle of the part area, place the hens of each player in the coop on the yard board and place the farmer on the top right grid on round 1 matching the correct player count.
- Place all gems in the feed bag.
- Place farmer dice, feed bag, timer and order tokens in reach of all players.
How to Play:
The game will last for at least three rounds, during which you will aim to collect rare gems and fill out sections on your egg board.
Grain Throwing Phase:
In this phase, the farmer will attract the chickens by placing grain gems. There will be a silo track on the top right off the yard board which will show the amount of farmer dice that needs to be rolled for each round. When these are rolled, place equal amount of dice on the left side of the board and on the bottom of the board. Now randomly place a grain gem from the bag on each space of the board that has a die-occupied column meeting a die-occupied row. If two dice were rolled on each side this would result in four spaces having gems allocated to them.
Chicken Dice Rolling Phase:
This is the real-time phase that was discussed above. One player will start the timer then everyone will keep rolling dice until they have allocated all their dice to a desired place on their action board, or the timer has run out. Once dice are allocated to an action they become locked and can not be re-rolled, so choose carefully when allocating a die.
Following this, the player turn order will be determined by rolling each player dice with a face value of six. The turn order tokens are delegated based on the result (highest = first player; lowest = last player).
Chicken Action Phase:
Movement:
Based on the actions outlined in the game anatomy, players will take turns to remove one die from their action board to perform the movement. This occurs until every player has used all actions. When using a 1, 2 or 3 die the player will move their chicken in a straight line matching that movement amount. They will stop if they hit another chicken and cannot push that chicken away, or if they reach the end of the yard. If a chicken is blocking your movement you can push them orthogonally by spending a different movement dice to move that chicken the exact amount of spaces. Your chicken will then be able to finish its movement. This can only be done once per turn.
Whenever a chicken ends its movement on a grain gem they will instantly pick up the gem(s) and place them on their gem board (whether or not you want to). Each section on the gem board can only hold one colour type. If you cannot or choose not to places new gem, you can place it into an unused pile and it will score negative points at the end of the game. The one other option a player has if they cannot place a gem is to remove all gems from a section and place them in the unused pile then place the gem they want in the newly vacated section. This will most likely score a lot of negative points so make sure it is a worthwhile move.
Scratch rows or columns:
This allows players to scratch areas in the yard to try and find hidden grain gems during the round. You can place one of these dice on any row or column and then place a randomly drawn grain gem at every dice that intersects with the newly placed dice. Each die spot in the rows and columns can only hold two dice in each round.
End of Round:
When all players have used all their action dice the round will end. The farmer will move to the next spot on the silo section, the hens will return to the coop, the dice will be removed from the yard board and any gems on the yard will remain there. If any of the below requirements have been met then the game will end, otherwise continue on to the next round:
- The third round has been played.
- One player's gem board is full.
- The gem bag is empty.
End of Game and Scoring:
Each completed section on each players gem board is scored matching the scoring table on the action board. Each player will lose points based on their unused gems and gain one point for every unused action point. Two points are deducted for every imperfect gem that was used on the gem board and the player with the most points is the winner.
Final Thoughts:
Pros:
- The majority of rules in the game are easy to learn and remember.
- Able to manipulate your opponent(s) into taking grain gems that do not benefit them.
- Spawning gems can be used to benefit yourself and hinder your opponent.
- A very unique theme.
- Advanced rules are available to give each player character-specific abilities.
Cons:
- The push rules can be hard to remember.
Gem Hens really seems like a great game for everyone to enjoy. It is an underrated game that warrants more attention. There are interesting choices in which coloured gems you seek, as well as the choice of focusing on movement, turn order or spawning gems in the dice rolling phase. There is an abundance of randomness involved with the dice rolling and the coloured gems but these are a fun aspect of the game, not a deterrent. The action phase leaves the players with interesting choices of pushing their luck and moving into areas with multiple gems, beating an opponent to a particular gem, or possibly pushing opponents into what seems a punishment but is actually their secret agenda. For all these reasons and more, Gem Hens has earned a go to golden game seal.
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