Something Wicked Review

September 15, 2020 at 4:21am
By Jason Stettner

This is a fairly straight forward and quick to play sort of game. It’s not too hard to grasp, but perhaps does take a little thought to master. The general goal of this one is to collect thirteen wands of the same color. This can be a quick process, but it’s not one that will easily go your way. That’s particularly true after a few rounds of play.

You have a cauldron in the center, and each player has a certain selection of wands. The pool of wands within the cauldron will of course vary based on the quantity of players present. Players will make their single move each turn, with three options to choose from.

This includes Bubble, Toil or Trouble. Bubble: playing clockwise trade one magic wand for two. Toil: trade one magic wand for another. Trouble: take one of each magic wand color. There are of course smaller variations on this within the rules that you’ll have to read as those numbers can be exponentially larger based on your wand input.

You have a token to mark your move, and then you perform that particular function. The other players do the same when they get to go. Once it’s your turn you’ll be able to perform the same move, or do a different one. With that, you cannot perform the same move three times in a row. You keep track of that by flipping the token. While this might seem fairly basic, it’s a neat mechanic since it can lock you in a position where you’ll be unable to prevent the other player from winning.

It’s very much a game of prediction, and attempting to move the wands in your favor. It’s a lot of taking and returning wands in order to build up enough of a color collection. That makes this quite fascinating as while it’s something simple initially, it can grow to be fairly complex if both players are familiar with the rule sets. It’s also really quick which is quite a bonus if you’re looking for something fast or to play a few rounds of it.

The Board/Pieces
I should quickly mention that this is for two to three players, so a small group. This game is provided within a square plastic container. It’s a flimsy plastic, and it shows clearly the cauldron you’re getting. It’s got some neat fun designs on the outside that seems to target some different types of audiences.

I would have liked the cauldron to perhaps provide better storage for all the items as that feels plausible. Since it’s not really used for that there are loose wands and boards. You’re getting a selection of colorful wands split into three choices. These are actually kind of pointy, so keep that in mind though they are cool.

The boards have great graphics on them, and are easy to understand. The same goes for the token you get. The entire package carries the same theme which helps set the mood for this experience. A final note is that an instructions packet is also present. It’s light on words, but explains the game fine. It’s even got a fun rhyming verse to give the just of the game too.

The Conclusion

Something Wicked is a simple to understand game, yet one with an edge of complexity that will take a number of rounds to master. It’s quite interesting as it seems simple enough, and after a few matches you’ll be really trying to think ahead.

The moves you make matter since it’s a fast paced game and you may very well lock yourself out of winning if you make the wrong choice on your turn. I personally got locked out a few times by doubling down and really needing that option in order to turn the tides of a match. I think that makes this one stand out a tad more.

The fact that I think anyone could understand it, but it’ll take some time to really understand the underlying mechanics to outperform your opponents. I will again note the rather sharp wands, be wary of that. I would have liked the cauldron to perhaps contain the other pieces.

It just would have been nice to not have so many loose things within this. It sits nicely in the box for display though, I’m sure some will appreciate the square plastic shape for storing. It’s an interesting experience and it was quite fun to play. It’s definitely a different sort of game as well. It’s easy to add and subtract the wands from your collection, but it’s the manipulation of growing those numbers that can swiftly change the tide of a match.

Something Wicked Review
Review Sample Provided by Breaking Games

Rating Overall: 7.4