Risky Mixes
- Designer: Jose Manuel Fernandez
- Publisher: Devir
- Players: 4-10
- Age: 8+
- Time: 15-20 minutes
- Amazon affiliate link:
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
“The witch needs “guinea pigs” to try her new potions, and you, her loyal goblin minions, have been designated as forced volunteers for this occasion. It’s not as terrible as it seems; okay, some of those potions may have a deadly effect… But the witch, always generous, has promised that one of you will leave unharmed, as a reward for her cunning, for her instinct and because someone will have to clean everything in the end…” In this “party-goblin” of 4 to 10 players from 8 years of age and with a duration of approximately 15-20 minutes we will have potions, spells, antidotes, goblins and above all MANY LAUGHS!
Separate the cards into four decks: deadly potions, safe potions, goblins, action cards. Each player is given a Goblin card, placed with the alive side up and an antidote token on it. Each player also gets 3 safe potions and 1 deadly potion – these are shuffled and then placed in a row in front of the player.
On a turn, the active player draws the top card from the action deck and then executes the instructions on that card. A few of the cards are spell cards, these are kept by the player next to their goblin card. Many of the cards will instruct one or more players to drink.
To drink, the player chooses a facedown potion in front of themselves, reveals it and then drinks it. If it is a safe potion, nothing happens and it is discarded. If it is a deadly potion, it can be countered by discarding an antidote token. Otherwise, that goblin will die from the deadly potion, and they will flip their goblin card over to the ghost side. If multiple players are instructed to drink, they should do so in turn order, starting with the current active player and going clockwise.
Ghosts discard all their potions and continue playing in ghost mode. Ghosts still take their turn, but they cannot drink anything as they have no potions. If they turn another goblin into a ghost (due to the action card that they drew), they come back alive. Anytime a goblin is resurrected (or runs out of potion cards), they get one deadly potion and one safe potion to resume life with.
The game ends when only one player is left alive. That player wins. There cannot be ties because everyone else is dead..
My thoughts on the game
Risky Mixes is one of those experience games best suited (IMO) for a late night at a convention or a party with a bunch of people (and beer) around. It’s not the sort of game that you care about whether you win or lose – but rather about having fun and laughing at all the different ways that you and your friends can screw up the rules.
Many of the cards are straightforward – just making certain goblins drink. Those are easy. Still fun, with lots of take-that and targeting. But this is the sort of game for those shenanigans.
The spell cards are something else entirely – these generate a rule that must be followed by all players. Every word must start with a Z sound. No one can touch a card with their thumb. No one can Laugh. The first player to break the rule must drink! Admittedly, these rules sound innocuous, and sometimes kinda dumb. But, yet, when there is a table of friends around and these rules become not so easy to remember – hilarity ensues!
I do like the way that the game has no elimination – that is often the downfall of games like this. It sucks to be eliminated in the first round and then have nothing to do until the next game (Bang! I’m looking right at you). Here, you shift into ghost mode. You don’t have to drink any more, but you still get to play cards and participate in the game… and if you manage to off one of your opponents, then you come back to life!
This is certainly not the sort of game that my regular group is going to want to play. But I can certainly see that there is the right time and right crowd for Risky Mixes. The game should shine in those situations.
Until your next appointment,
The Gaming Doctor
