CGE are working their Magic

This week’s guest post comes from UK Gaming Media Network member and all round nice guy, Paul Grogan from Gaming Rules.

Paul has been demoing titles by Czech Games Edition for years and now he actually works for the company. (That’s the dream right!) So here is Paul with a quick synopsis of what to expect when the game hits later this year.

Alchemists

This years big game from CGE is something very different.  It is a medium to heavy euro game with a heavy deduction element that uses a smartphone app.   Interested?  Then read on.

In 'Alchemists' (working title), each player is a young Alchemist working at a University, trying to deduce the match between the 8 ingredients and the 8 alchemicals.  They do this by mixing two ingredients together and evaluating the result.  They more potions they mix together, the more information they get.
Potions are mixed together using a smartphone app, which is pretty cool.   It tells all players the result of the mixing, although only the player who created the potions knows which ingredients he used.

Prototype Artwork

Now, the University library is a bit empty and needs more books, so the alchemists are tasked with writing journals, to publish their theories.  Players earn reputation (Victory points) by writing journals, and the University might also fund their research.   However, it is not always necessary to be correct when writing a journal (just like real life), and you can enjoy the limelight while it lasts.  But if you are wrong, a fellow alchemist may debunk your theory, which loses you reputation.

Prototype Artwork

Adventurers also turn up wanting to buy potions, earning you valuable gold, which is used to buy powerful artefacts, and also to pay for your journals.

Alchemists will be released in 2014, in time for Essen.  It plays 2-4 players and takes 90-120 min to play.

Liz Mackie from Nearly Enough Dice was able to catch up with Paul at the UK Games Expo for a quick video overview too!

You can find more videos from the UKGMN on a our youtube channel.