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Madcala is a one versus one battle that uses the Wonderland's War setting and characters in a asymmetric duel that tests your wits and luck...with the amount of luck you will need depending largely on what character you are playing. The goal is simple: reduce your opponent to zero health.
I recall the original Mancala game in a weird, cultural memory type of way. I can't recall a specific time I ever actually played the game but I was dimly aware of how the “Pick up all the stones” mechanic worked. Luckily, this is exactly the amount of familiarity with the original Mancala you need when playing Madcala. On your turn, you will select a plate of shards on your side of the player mat, pick them all up, and leave one behind on each plate you pass, with whatever plate you end on will give you an action to perform. As you would expect with a game that is about directly battling opponents, some spaces deal damage and others allow you to heal. But the real crux of the game is the Doubler Shard. This larger shard allows you to take the action you end on twice. So, manipulating when and where you can place the doubler is a priority and leaving that doubler on your opponent's side of the board is travesty (Because it allows them to pick it up and use the doubling power for themselves).
Madcala does a little doubling of it's own in regards to Asymmetrical powers. They simply weren't satisfied just giving you a character with a unique power, they also give you “Plus Ones.” I love the whole “Who is your plus one for this event?” twist. Who knew you had to RSVP for a tea party? What they provide is essentially three more game breaking powers that range from one-time powers to ones that are refreshable and, thus, repeatable. These powerful abilities of the Plus One's give each character a even more varied approach and additional strategy.
Adding to the insanity are commoner cards. You can purchase one of these on your turn by pulling 3 of your shards off of the board and putting them into your reserve (or, alternately, you can stop on a board space that allows you to draw a card). Commoners will usually have a couple of powers that go off when you play them that deal damage, heal or allow you to add or move more shards to the playing area. Of course, they all vary and sometimes you will hit the jackpot by drawing a Unicorn which gives you another entire turn.
“I don't think they play at all fairly” Alice began in rather a complaining tone – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
It wouldn't be a proper tea party without a host of Wonderland's Weirdest. Mad Hatter, Alice, Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts, Jabberwock, and White Rabbit are all playable characters in the base game.
Playing as Cheshire Cat is fully mad. Instead of a doubler shard, you replace the doubler with a die. When you move it to a location on the board, instead of taking the listed action, you roll the die and do what is indicated. This is where you are going to hear cries of “Overpowered!” One side of the die is draw three commoner cards. And since you can play commoners as a free action any time on your turn, you can draw three...and play all three. One of the other faces is “X3” which allows you take the action you landed on Three Times. As you can imagine, being on the receiving end of this can be devastating. But, having been on the offensive side of the die, the loss of being able to know what action you are going to take (and not being able to double it, since the die replaces the doubler) and less than optimal die rolls brings the Cheshire Cat into line with the rest of the characters. Yea, when he works, he WORKS...but when he doesn't? *shrug*
In a game that is tit for tat, the Jabberwock is all tits. That is because he is focused purely on damage and can not heal. It's a challenging character to play as but it scratches that itch of going all-in and choosing violence. The White Rabbit is all about time manipulation (I'm late, I'm late!) and earning extra turns. Alice focuses on blocking the other player's access to their plus one's and pulling hard from the commoner deck. I could spend a thousand words on covering the plus/minus of each character (and, honestly, I might do that at some point) but the take away should be that each has their own play style, challenges and benefits.
One cute addition that Druid City included with the review copy is the metal coin that you flip to determine the first player (a cardboard token is included in the base game for this purpose). In typical Wonderland's War fashion, it doesn't have a head/tails, it has the Cheshire Cat on one side and the Mad Hatter on the other. I'm sure Lewis Carroll is giggling at modern gamers calling out “Hat or Cat?” at the beginning of each game.
Madcala is stellar head-to-head game whose piping hot tea is the thinky manipulation of shards and whose sugar and honey is the asymmetrical player powers, plus-ones, and commoners. This mad tea party doesn't need a “Drink Me” tag for me to keep returning to it.
A review copy of this release was provided by the publisher. Therewillbe.games would like to thank them for their support.
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