From artwork that’s more representative of the people at the tabletop to the refined mechanisms that improve gameplay, every genre of board game continues to get better during this current Golden Age of Gaming™.
For those looking for family-friendly titles, My Little Scythe is the pinnacle of family-friendly game design. Gamers of all generations and abilities will appreciate this mashup of My Little Pony and 2016 Geek & Sundry Best of the Year title Scythe, with its bold and bright game board, easy-to-handle components, and engaging gameplay.
You and your opponents are participating in the Harvest Tournament to become the new rulers of the Kingdom of Pomme. Each player has a pair of Seekers they’ll use to travel around the game board while attempting to gather resources, complete quests, and earn trophies. The first to collect four trophies wins the game.
On your turn, choose one of three actions: Move, Search, or Make. If you Move, then move each of your Seekers up to two spaces. Use the Search action to roll dice and place resources on the board. Finally, choose Make to exchange resources for pies, spells, or Power Ups that will get you closer to earning one of eight different trophies, from moving up on the friendship or pie tracks, to delivering pies or gems to Castle Everfree.
When one player earns four trophies, everybody else gets one final turn to earn trophies. Ties are not uncommon in My Little Scythe, so it pays to be friendly: ties are broken by the player highest on the friendship track.
Fans of Stonemaier Games’ mega-hit from 2016, Scythe, will nod approvingly as they play through My Little Scythe. From the streamlined mechanisms of the original to the familiar victory conditions, My Little Scythe takes its cues from its source material yet creates its own gaming experience.
The Kingdom of Pomme is bright and colorful and player turns are simple yet surprisingly meaningful. With eight different trophies to earn, there are multiple paths to victory, all neatly tied into the theme. Search for resources by rolling dice and adding them to the board. If you choose to add them to an opponent’s space, you’ll earn a friendship point. Nothing’s cooler than seeing young gamers going for the friendship trophy by placing resources on each other’s spaces.
Make pies to increase your power in any pie fight, but if you start a fight then you’ll lose a point on the friendship track, of course. Just like in Scythe, you’ll use a dial along with any spell cards to determine your strength. If you win, you stay and collect resources. If you lose, you go to your home base, but you get consolation resources.
It’s this unique world and style of play that makes My Little Scythe one of the best family games of the year, thanks to its ability to bring different gamers to the table. Family friendly games don’t always appeal to hobby gamers and hobby games aren’t usually family friendly. My Little Scythe is the exception to the rule. It’s quite a feat in the world of board game design and a testament to designer Hoby Chou and his daughter, co-designer Vienna. My Little Scythe is a wonderful choice for a family game night and it’s also a game that will exceed the expectations of many veteran gamers.
What are your favorite family games? Tell us in the comments!
WANT MORE BOARD GAME GOODNESS?
- My Little Scythe: How This Father and Daughter Melded Scythe and My Little Pony
- Board Game Buyer’s Guide: The Best Family Games Around
- Five Great Games to Play with the Older Gamers on International Tabletop Day
Image Credits: Ruel Gaviola
Ruel Gaviola loves board games, books, food, travel, Star Wars, and date nights with his wife. He writes about games for iSlaytheDragon and tabletop-test.com, podcasts about games for The Five By, and his name rhymes with Superman’s Kryptonian name. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog here.
