Incredible Managers Wanted! Inquire Within.

3/1/2020

Image provided by Hub Games

Gather round, Adventurers! We've got gauntlets, and wands, and ghoul juice, and cauldrons, and so - much - more! Anything you want, at the best quality around! That's the Adventure Mart motto! And what's more, Adventure Mart will always be there for you! Seriously, we just pop up into existence wherever you need us! Plus, we've just hired new managers for our recent stores, and they're eager to please all you wonderful adventurers coming through!

... Okay Managers, we got their attention for you, now it's time for you to seal the deal. Competition in a brand is healthy. Work to outsell your fellow managers so you can collect the most gold from these travelers. After a week of selling, you'll have your corporate review which will decide your fate with ... or without ... Adventure Mart. So sell your hearts out and make Adventure Mart proud!

What Is It?

A unique deck builder where players act as managers who are stocking their storeroom with goodies, filling their stores with staff and fixtures, and, most importantly, selling their highest quality goods to adventurers who pass through. Since stores have a limited amount of space, they must choose their staff and fixtures wisely! Likewise, they must be selective when selling items, since they will will need to wait for them to be reordered before they can be sold again.

At the end of 5 days, managers will undergo their review with corporate. The manager with the highest net worth will be the winner and live to manager another store! And hey, maybe even get a promotion if they keep up the good work. The rest, on the other hand, will be sent to the Abyss for additional training ... good luck with that.

Who Is It For?

Fans of deck builders will definitely enjoy this because it uses that trusted mechanic well, but also adds in a great new, unique twist. Instead of cycling purchased cards through the discard pile before using them, players add new stock directly to their hands and can sell them that same round! Additionally, staff and fixture cards get played in front of players when bought, with a 4 card limit, to give them special effects. It has very smooth deck building gameplay as well, so fans of the genre will pick up on it easily.

The game itself recommends ages 10+, and I can agree with that. It's pretty easy to learn and play, plus it's super cute aesthetically, so it would be a great game for kids and families alike.

Components + Quality

Since this is a prototype, I won't comment on the overall quality of the components that I have, since what I have is not final. However, I need to comment on the art for this. I believe most, if not all, of what I have is final art, or at least very similar to what the game will show, and I am just in love with it. We're talking heart eyes emoji all over the place -- 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

The art is incredible; it's cute and colorful and cartoony! It really immerses me in the world of the game and makes it a really pleasant experience just to look through all the cards. I can't get enough of the art, and hope you feel the same!

PROS

Smooth gameplay
Gorgeous art (yeah, obviously had to mention it again)
Plays fairly quickly
Easy and quick set up
Unique mechanics to set it apart from other deck builders, which is always great since it is such a popular mechanic
Effective catch up mechanic for the quietest store (least sales in their Ledger) each round
A lot of variety in all the cards and you don't see them all every game, so there's a lot of replayability, as well as varying strategies game to game

CONS

With the full 4 players, I felt a lot less control turn to turn because cards in the queue disappear fast, as do adventurers. It's a bit jarring the first time, and can make the game feel more difficult
You can't really prepare for the adventurers for the most part since you don't know what goods they will accept. Everyone is on level playing field with that, but it can still make it for some players getting very lucky with what comes out while others are not so lucky

Image provided by Hub Games

Final Thoughts

My final thoughts consist exclusively of loving this game! I think it's a really solid deck builder that's adorable from every angle, and really offers players a lot of variety. There is a fair amount of randomness with selling since adventurers are not revealed until selling begins, but if players diversify their decks enough, they'll be able to sell to anyone who comes through their Adventure Mart! It plays so smoothly and never gets old play after play. I can't recommend this enough to deck building fans, so be on the lookout for it this May!

My Final Ratings:
Overall Game - 9/10
Aesthetics - 10/10
Replayability - 8/10
Difficulty - 3/10

Additional Information:
Designer - DigiSprite (Lead Designer: Sam Taylor)
Illustrations - Moniek Schilder, Stefanie Bollen
Graphic Design - Winnie (at Hub Games)
Publishers - DigiSprite, Hub Games
MSRP - $30.00 - Available May 2020!
BGG
BGA
Website
Preorder

*Some information retrieved via Hub's website, while some was retrieved via BGG
I was provided a prototype copy of this game to do this preview*

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