Hickory Dickory: Rapid Review
Information:
Mechanics: Worker Placement/ Worker Rotation, Pick up and Deliver, Set Collection, End Game Scoring
Player Age: 10+ Player Count: 1 - 4 PlayersTime to Play: 60 - 120 Minutes
Game Designer: Sawyer WestGame Artist: Sonja MüllerPublisher: Plaid Hat GamesYear Published: 2023BGG Weight: 2.71Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.
Player Age: 10+
Game Designer: Sawyer West
Rundown:
Hickory Dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck one, the mouse ran down, Hickory Dickory dock…
We all know the infamous mice who scaled the grandfather clock only to return to the ground every hour. Yet we don’t know why or the in-depth who of it all.
Hickory Dickory has a very unique pickup and deliver mechanism coined as a ‘worker rotation’ game. Players take their turns based on the rotation of the clock minute hand. Each 5-minute interval on the clock face will have an ability on the outer ring that can be activated. There is also a tile that the first mouse to activate that location can pick up. Each turn, the minute hand will move to the next number and each mouse riding on it (in front-to-back order) will choose to hop off and activate the ability of this number or stay on for later action. This part of the turn will defy the urgent turn order. After all those mice have made their choice, any mice in the inner ring (turn order changes each hour) can either hop on to the back of the minute hand or move to the outer ring to activate the ability of this number. This will continue for each stop of the minute hand then at every hour the tiles and quest cards will replenish.
Upon the hour a number of things will occur; the hour hand will move up, priority (turn order) will change, the mice will move back to the inner locations and the cat will block two new locations based on die rolls. Once the clock reaches midnight the game will end.
Appeal:
Even though the theme is very welcoming with the nursery rhyme aesthetics, Hickory Dickory remains challenging to plan and execute. It is somewhat similar to a programming game where you need to plan numerous turns ahead while maintaining some contingency plans for when, not if, opponents interfere. If this doesn’t occur, players are more prone to analysis paralysis when trying to plan in the moment rather than in advance. In saying that, however, this game moves at a much faster pace than originally anticipated.
Points:
The game’s plans and manoeuvres are all in pursuit of gaining points mainly through collecting and delivering tiles. When delivering tiles you gain points for three things; the amount of tiles, the largest group of the same symbol and the largest group of same colour. This scoring is aided by a website which players have access to via a QR code for fast and accurate calculations. When delivering players will also gain a large amount of points if they meet one of the visible quests. The other factor to be mindful of when delivering is that any tiles you deliver that meet one of the spots on your hunt board will be placed on that board. In a bingo-esc way, if a row or column is filled with the correct tiles you will gain 5 points at the end of the game.
Players can also gain points by climbing the chain for the hanging weights. Scattered throughout clock locations is the opportunity to climb the hanging weight chain which will gain small amounts of points as they past certain thresholds. If they reach the top, however, they will receive a large sum of points which will decrease in with every successful climb. Players can climb to the top of the chain multiple times in a game.
Interaction:
There is interaction between players in pushing each other off the minute hand, as there is only an allowed space on the hand based on player count and the race to shared tiles but the core interaction comes from within a player’s own team. A player will manage up to four mice that can interact with each other. This interaction is mainly through trading goods when at the same location and will be extremely useful for effective delivery. Trading is very open as long as both mice are on the same minute trading between the two can occur numerous times on a turn.
The team of four mice consists of the Scurrier who can jump off the minute hand up to two locations away; the Scavenger who is larger and has a bigger bag size; the Spotter who gets improved insight when searching for tiles; and the Scamp who is gained from a location or a card, and can teleport through the use of a certain location. Understanding how to benefit best from the differences that these mice offer is crucial.
Determination:
- Unique mechanic of the clock.
- Fun theme that matches with the mechanic perfectly.
- Good combination of worker placement and pickup and deliver.
- Very intiuitive to learn.
- Great production from plastic tiles to a QR code on a card for scoring.
- Prone to analysis paralysis.
When Hickory Dickory was first released I kept an eye on it, thinking it would be too complex and long of a game for my preference. However, due to the theme and unique mechanic, I knew I still wanted to try it. I'm glad to say the game doesn’t outstay it's welcome in complexity or time. It is a perfect weight and length to fit amongst my other worker placement games and the designers have managed to integrate the mechanic even better than expected. The unique workers and trading function really opens up the decision space in how it is most effecient to gain the tiles and deliver them. It's not necessarily easy to achieve a delivery in this game but a success that meets a quest and fills spots on your hunt board feels truly fulfilling. If you enjoy either of the core mechanisms, unique games or great themes then this is a game I highly recommend and it has earnt a Silver Seal of Approval.
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