If you’re like me, you’ve seen and played a lot of different flip/roll/etc. and write games over the last few years. But I love them all and want to try every one I see. So today I want to look at one of the newest that has come across my table and see how it stacks up as we venture into the world of Alice in Wonderland!
Off With Their Heads! is a 2-4 player game that plays in 30 mins from Druid City Games. It is designed by JB Howell and Michael Mihealsick with illustration by Manny Trembley.
Overview:
In Off With Their Heads! players will play over three rounds trying to score points in three different areas of their game sheet and the do this through the play of cards from a shared deck showing them where they can play based on order and what number they played. The players with the most points wins!
Gameplay:
Players each take a pencil and a game sheet to start. Place the Wonderland board in the center and place the Queen of Hearts on the Hearts space to start. Shuffle the deck and deal each player 9 cards.
The game is played over 3 rounds with 7 bouts in each round. To resolve a bout, players will show a card simultaneously and compare the rank of their card to the position of the Queen. The suit she is standing on is the highest ranked and each suit going clockwise is the next highest.
As players play cards they will either have the highest or lowest single card or the other two will be mid cards. These will determine if you play in the top, middle or bottom location this turn. The number you play determines what number you use and the suit shows if you play in a black or red location.
The three different zones have unique scoring abilities. The top are scored based on filled mushrooms, the middle surrounded point tokens and the bottom is based on which filled spaces have a mark that score them.
Also while playing you can unlock bonuses that will give you an extra play in a different zone or let you mark a different region or color for the card you used. Bonus points can also be obtained if you meet the criteria of some of the different characters listed on the side of the player sheet.
Each round you will have 2 cards left, giving you 6 at the end that you will use to try and make a poker hand. The best hand scores bonus points and then each hand will score so many points based on difficulty. Players add all their points and the winner is the one with the most points!
Impressions:
In Off With Their Heads! we get a flip and write where you as the individual will have some say in what regions you play in based on the card played. The back and forth of this is great, and I love the top suit keeps changing making a card both really strong and really weak depending on when it is played.
I am a fan of flip and writes and this one does it just enough of a different way that it really appealed to me. We have played this a number of times at all player counts and really enjoy the card play to determine placement. I also like how well it pings which is one of my favorite things of games like this-you can take this action to unlock this and that and one more thing giving you some fun options.
I love the style and art of this game and it lines up well to another Druid City Games hit that we love, Wonderland’s War. The characters are vibrant and full of life and the art design is solid. I really like the deck of cards the game comes with and the style of each suit, especially the face cards. I would consider buying a deck of just these cards for normal card games!
Overall this is a wonderfully designed game with easy to understand aspects and fun ways that the game pings back and forth based on your numbers and areas of play. I love the deck of card play and trying to maneuver into the right spot for each bout and the surprise that some of the hands end up being once revealed! So make sure to check this one out and see if you can paint the town red and survive with your head!
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