This game review was originally published in Tumbleweird , November 2019.
Ever wanted to take part in an area control game managed by cartoon animals who trade apples for friendship and settle scores with pie fights? Then My Little Scythe is totally a game you’ll want on your shelves. 1-6 players take control over two miniatures as they adventure through the Kingdom of Pomme in an effort to be the first to achieve 4 of 8 possible trophies. During the game, players will work to increase their friendship score, settle territory disputes using pies and magic spells, complete quests and deliver apples and gems to Castle Everfree.
Game set-up is partially randomized: apple, gem and quest tokens are distributed evenly across the game’s hexagonal regions. Players all start from a campsite around the board’s perimeter and then progress their figures inward as they work to complete their objectives. Turns are made up of taking one of three possible actions. A Move action allows a player’s miniatures to traverse the board, or choose to carry tokens along with them in exchange for a shorter move distance. Seek actions let a player roll dice to add tokens to the board. Make actions allow players to convert gem or apple resources into spells or action upgrades which modify Move or Make actions into something more significant.
As anyone who’s owned a Stonemeier game can attest to, the quality of the game’s components is second-to-none. The miniatures are beautiful and would make even the most novice of painters want to grab their acrylics to do them justice. The board, player tableaus and tokens are of high-quality chip-board. Cards are of decent stock and illustrated beautifully. But, what might stand out as most significant is the remarkable level of care involved in creating the vacu-formed insert. Every bauble has its perfect place in the box, and it makes set up and tear down a breeze.
It has to be noted that My Little Scythe is based on another Stonemeier game; Scythe. This version of the game was developed by Hoby Chou and his daughter Vienna when Vienna wanted to play games Scythe with her dad, but it proved to be too complex. My Little Scythe was developed as a print and play and released on Board Game Geek in 2017. Stonemeier caught wind of the story and worked directly with the Chous to see the game become a fully-produced reality. The game, and story behind it are equally lovely, and this is definitely worth checking out.
Designed by: Hoby Chou, Vienna Chou (Stonemeier Games)
Player Count 1-6
Playtime: 45-60 Minutes
Time to Learn: 15 minutes
Complexity 2.5/5
Replayability: 4/5
MSRP: $50
Am I happy I bought it?: I am. My Little Scythe is a great game for getting younger folks into more strategic aspects of modern board games with a deceptively delightful theme.
Written by Brendan Quinn; President of Tri-City Area Gaming. Learn more about the 200+ annual gaming events we host by visiting http://www.tricityareagaming.com.