Potions of Azerland – A Masterclass in Magical Mixology

Welcome to the enchanting world of Azerland, a realm brimming with mysterious potions and magical wonders. Nestled deep within a lush forest, the town of Azerland is renowned for its exceptional brews. Once a year, during the Summer Solstice Festival, the town comes alive with visitors seeking the powerful effects of these magical concoctions. As a potion master, your mission is to brew potions for visitors, earn their prestige, and become the most respected potion master of all.

👥 1-4 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 45-90 minutes
📝 Designer: Grayden Baker
🎨 Artwork: Andrew Bosley

🏢 Publisher: Warped Reality Games (prototype copy provided)
https://www.warpedrealitygames.com/

Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/potionsofazerland/potions-of-azerland

Players compete over six rounds, each divided into four phases: Refresh, Order Priority Tiles, Drink Potions, and Execute Actions. Throughout the game, players gain prestige by fulfilling orders for visiting customers. At the end of the sixth round, the final scoring occurs, and the player with the highest prestige is declared the winner.

🔄 The Refresh phase starts each round by refreshing the market, moving visitors to town, refreshing used once-per-round visitors, and revealing the round’s objective or bonus. As you replenish the market and welcome visitors, you’ll also uncover new goals for bonus points.

🔢 Next, in the Order Priority Tiles phase, players simultaneously select their five Priority Tiles and arrange them in their Priority Holders. These tiles, numbered 1-5, indicate which actions you prioritize for that round. The lower the number, the more benefits you may receive from that action. You can also choose to skip an action and gain gold instead. This phase is crucial because it determines how you will execute your actions for the round.

🍹 During the Drink Potions phase, players can choose to drink their potions for various effects. Remember that you can only use effects at or below your current study level and can only select one of the available effects.

🎬 Finally, the Execute Actions phase allows players to carry out their chosen actions based on their Priority Tiles. Players can forage for raw resources, study to improve potion-making skills, buy market cards, brew potions using gathered resources, or fulfill visitor orders. Your actions are executed from left to right, and the order you place your Priority Tiles will determine your benefits and priority in taking each action. As you complete actions, you might receive Apprentice Tokens, which you can use to enhance your actions.

🌟 As the game progresses, players gain prestige by fulfilling visitor orders. You return the required potions to the general supply and receive prestige based on your visitor’s order and study level. The more you improve your potion-making skills, the more bonuses you can receive.

🏆 As the rounds advance, remember to keep an eye on the round bonuses and capitalize on them. After the sixth round, the game concludes with an end-game scoring. Players receive additional prestige for their end-game visitor cards, gold, Apprentice tokens, and potions. The player with the highest score is crowned the most prestigious potion master of Azerland.

Potions of Azerland is a game for 1-4 players designed by Grayden Baker and published by Warped Reality Games. Right from the start, players are drawn into the vibrant world of Azerland, where they must carefully plan their moves and craft potions.

🎨 The artwork, created by the talented Andrew Bosley, is captivating. If you’ve seen his work before, the style will strike a familiar chord. Do keep in mind, as shown in the pictures accompanying this review, that we based our impressions on a prototype copy; some aspects might see tweaks in the final version.

📖 The game’s rulebook is well-organized, and a handy reference guide on the back aids in easy teaching. With a recommended age of 14+, Potions of Azerland feels very much like a family+ game. Its weight can be compared to popular games like Wingspan or Everdell – another Bosley-illustrated classic. Expect swift and smooth gameplay, with an average playtime hovering around an hour, aligning with the box’s estimate of 45–90 minutes. Though it scales well across different player counts, the sweet spot for us was with 3-4 players.

⚖️ The integration of Priority Tiles and Holders presents a refreshing twist. These elements introduce a unique blind bidding system to determine benefits and order for the five actions players carry out each round. Whether you’re foraging for resources or buying from the market, the priority you place on each action directly influences your game strategy. However, the game isn’t without its challenges. Particularly in the Execute Actions phase, there can be periods of downtime if players mull over their choices too long. Some players might find the six-round structure repetitive, though the ever-changing round objectives and bonuses help vary the gameplay.

🔮 The decision-making in Potions of Azerland is all about balance. Do you bid low to secure an advantage, or risk a less powerful action for strategic reasons? Part of this bidding process involves predicting what other players are likely to prioritize. Choices abound, from deciding to drink a potion for its effect or using it to fulfill an order, to managing the three potion types (speed, love, and intelligence) with their varying effects that get stronger as players advance from novices to experts. Your study level even impacts the points you earn from fulfilling visitor orders.

🌟 Potions of Azerland delivers a challenging yet approachable gaming experience. For those drawn to thoughtful planning, clever strategies, and the ability to adapt to evolving game scenarios, this title promises to strike a chord. Balancing depth and accessibility, it stands as a testament to well-crafted game design, ensuring players will be eager to return to Azerland time and again.

📅 Mark your calendars: The crowdfunding campaign for Potions of Azerland launches on Kickstarter on August 29th.

📝 Disclaimer: We received a prototype version of the game for this review. A big thank you to Warped Reality Games and Grayden Baker for providing us with the chance to experience Potions of Azerland.