Broom Service (board game)

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Broom Service
Purple potion in Broom Service.jpg
A purple potion
Designers Andreas Pelikan and Alexander Pfister
Illustrators Vincent Dutrait [1]
Publishers Ravensburger
Publication2015;7 years ago (2015)
Players2–5
Playing time30–75 minutes [1]
Age range10+

Broom Service is a role selection board game [2] designed by Andreas Pelikan and Alexander Pfister, and published by Ravensburger. [3] It won the 2015 Kennerspiel, the Spiel des Jahres connoisseurs game of the year award. [4]

Contents

It is an adaptation of Pelikan's 2008 card game Witches' Brew. [2] In 2016, a card game version was published as Broom Service: The Card Game. [2]

Gameplay

Players assume the role of druids, witches and potion gatherers. [2] Each player receives an identical deck of 10 cards, [2] each representing a role. [5] A potion gatherer card allows the player to collect green, orange, or purple potions along the game board path. [5] A witch card allows the player to move the player's pawn, and a druid card allows the player to deliver potions to a nearby tower of the same colour as the potion. [2] Each card has a 'brave' and 'cowardly' option, which is chosen by the player when it is played. [2]

There are seven rounds in a game, each of which has four turns and an event card that alters game play. [1] Each round, players select four of their ten cards as their hand, and play occurs clockwise. [2] The lead player of the round plays one of their cards and declares the option they have chosen. [2] If the cowardly option is chosen, the player immediately takes the associated action, but if the brave option is chosen they must wait for other players to play their cards. [2] Subsequent players may only play a card if it has the same name as the one played by the round's lead player, also declaring the option they have chosen; otherwise they pass their turn. [2] The last player to play a card that turn and to declare the 'brave' option can perform the action associated with that option; all other players that chose 'brave' forfeit their action for that turn. [2] This is repeated for each of the four cards in the hand for that round. [1]

Players earn victory points by delivering potions to the towers, [1] or by collecting clouds. [5]

Reception

In a review for Meeple Mountain, Kurt Refling states that the game is a "comfortable hour of scheming" and gave it his "highest recommendation". [2]

In a review for Paste, Keith Law stated that the game was "visually appealing". [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Matthews, Andy (30 October 2018). "Broom Service". Meeple Mountain. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Refling, Kurt (30 October 2018). "Broom Service Game Review: A Pfistful of Potions". Meeple Mountain. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Broom Service". Dice Tower. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Zimmerman, Aaron (18 July 2016). "The "Board Game of the Year" winners have been announced". Ars Technica . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Law, Keith (4 August 2015). "Broom Service Boardgame Review". Paste . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
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