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Apotheca
Players craft potions in a secret marketplace. Hide ingredients to deceive opponents, and use magical powers to mix concoctions. But beware – your opponents are brewing schemes of their own!
Apotheca is played on a 4×4 grid. Players gain points by making matches of three potions of the same color in a row. The first player to make three matches wins. It’s easily learned, but the combination of asymmetric powers and secret facedown potions make the game a delicious challenge.
On each turn, players take 2 of 4 possible actions:
Reveal: Reveal a secret potion and gain a gem of that color
Restock: Draw, look at, and place secret potions on the board until there are exactly 3
Power: Use one of your active apothecary powers
Hire: Spend gems to hire new apothecaries
Whenever a player makes a match, they must place it on one of their apothecaries. This removes that apothecary’s power for the rest of the game, so it’s important for players to keep revealing potions, collecting gems and hiring new apothecaries… all while keeping their opponents at bay!
Deduction is key to Apotheca. Players trap each other with clever spatial moves, bluffing and misdirection. The action economy is very well balanced, so every turn offers an opportunity for strategy and tough decisions.
The feeling of the game differs with every number of players:
2 player is the most cerebral and controlled
3 player is the most chaotic, yet still within your grasp
4 player is played in teams, offering neat collaborative gameplay
| Ages | 13+ |
|---|---|
| Players | Solo, 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players |
| Play Time | 30m |
| Designer | Andrew Federspiel |
| Mechanics | Action Points, Team-Based Game, Grid Movement, Variable Player Powers |
| Theme | Abstract Strategy, Bluffing, Deduction, Puzzle |
| Publisher | Knapsack Games, Renegade Game Studios |
darbjustic
Got this on Kickstarter, just broke it out last night. The art makes it look like it's going to be way heavier that in is. The apothecary is the backdrop, but It's a light-to-medium strategy game for 2 to 4. Placing large colored potions and trying to get a 3-in-a-row. When you earn three 3-in-a-rows you win. Lots of other competing pieces, you don't want to set up other players, extra powers on apothecaries, etc. We played the standard 4 person version. I am very interested in the 1 versus 3 variant.
Cinoklu
A game that hits the table very often since it is quite short. Very easy to teach but has a fair share of strategy in it. Artwork is beautiful, one of the best looking games I have.
bhudson1972
I really like the artwork. A very abstract game that would appeal to those that like chess, Onitama, The Duke, etc. I think it works best with four players. I normally wouldn't like this at all but something about the player moves and trying to get into your opponent's mind is very fun. You are making moves on incomplete information of the board with some bluffing added in. There are some interesting player powers that are added to the mix as well.