Sometimes we luck out and the things we love that go away come back to us. You know what they say, great board games never stay out of print for very long. Today we are going to look at a game that once graced every table and is now back in a 2nd edition.
Scoville is designed by Ed Marriott with art by Vincent Dutrait. It is designed for 1-6 players and plays in approx 60-90 mins. It is the second edition, published by Trick or Treat Studios.
Overview:
In Scoville, players will compete in the Scoville Chili Cookoff and enjoy the Festival for the day where they can participate in the auctions, marker and try to take home top prizes in the cookoff. The player with the most “heat” will be the winner and take home the trophy!
Gameplay:
Scoville starts with a giant gameboard that will hold the pepper field in the middle along with other areas like the Auction house, Marker and Scoville Hall. The board is set up with Morning cards and each area is filled for the proper cards.
Each player take a screen, farmer, bonus action tiles, coins and one each of the peppers red/yellow/blue. Turn order is placed randomly to begin the game. Each player will also want to keep one of the breeding charts handy so you can tell how peppers will breed and what they will make.
Scoville has a series of rounds, each with five phases. Let’s take a look at how they work and how the game flows:
1. Auction:
In Auction, players will bid coins to pick where along the order track they will begin the round, thus determining where you go in order for the subsequent phases. There is an advantage to being in the beginning or end of the line each phase.
2. Planting:
All players will plant one pepper from their supply horizontally or vertically in the garden plot from their supply. If you use a pepper that is on one of the award plaques in City Hall gain it and that will count towards bonus points at the end of the game.
3. Harvesting:
Now in reverse turn order players will move their farmer up to three steps along a path earning a pepper for each step between two planted pots. Once you move in a direction you must continue in that direction, and you must move at least one space. The two peppers on either side of the farmer makes a new one according to the crossbreeding chart. Some will even give you double peppers!
4. Fulfillment:
All players in turn order may now visit the famer’s market, compete and finish a chill cookoff recipe or sell a batch of peppers. This is how you will make money and you can do each one once on their turn. The peppers you have gained are how you will fulfill these orders.
5. Time Check:
The game is divided into morning and afternoon, and you switch to the afternoon if there are fewer cards in the Farmer’s market than their are players. The game ends once there are fewer cards in the Marker or Recipes left than players after another round and if both are empty the game immediately ends.
Players add all of their points on Market cards, Recipe cards, Awards and unplayed bonus tiles. Coins are 3/1 in points as well. The player with the most points wins!
Impressions:
I loved this game the first time I played it years ago and it has always had a place at my table. First off, let me tell you why this game is so good then we can talk about what’s different with the new edition.
The action selection and jockeying for position in Scoville is a game within the game and I love the small parts being so important here. Where you choose to go in turn order can be a huge move for players, and a coin or two difference can really swing it a different direction for you. Do you need to harvest sooner or fulfill recipes sooner? Is there a certain pepper you really want or a combo you want before another player? All of these are important to note where and when you go in turn order and it is a great piece of the bigger game.
Let’s talk peppers. The game is about acquiring and planting the right peppers so you can end up with the best yields to produce amazing peppers of your own. But you need to make sure you are investing what you produce to make even better and more valuable crops for those big rewards. Or, perhaps you stick with the smaller pepper values and just hammer away at high returns for larger crops. This is such a fun back and forth and way to really dig into different ways to play the game.
The included expansion Scoville Labs is crucial to really expand the game and give you a different feel with growing as you can be in control of your own crop field and make sure you get exactly what you want. The additional market cards add some great variety as well.
So what’s different? Here’s the best part: nothing important! All the things that makes this a great game is still here and it’s just as good as it has always been. I love this game and I love the rhythm and style of play-it has aged beautifully. If you have always wanted to play this one now is your chance to experience it thanks to Trick or Treat Studios.
Honestly the only thing that is different is an upgrade in my opinion, and that’s the art. Dutrait is a great artist and one of my favorites so his style and addition to this game is definitely a welcome change.
Overall this is the game that a lot of boardgamers have been waiting on and it is now here for you to grab. You get the great base game, the fun expansion and a brand new facelift thanks to Dutrait that makes this a winner all around. So make sure to take a trip to your local market and grab this “hot” title for your next game night!
Be the first to comment