Being behind a plan is... actually a good things means I have so much more to play. If only there was that much time...
Plucky Penguins
Components
Review is based on a Kickstarter edition so some components could be different. However the box comes with its own plastic insert which surprisingly is too big for everything inside even with the special minis. Couldn’t notice anything bad about the components overall, cards are of standard good thickness, fish tokens or the penguins minis are fine printed too. Cards can be sleeved since you will be using them a lot to stay alive, however once sleeved they wont fit in the standard plastic insert unfortunately. It isn’t better when it comes to other components place, they will fly around the box if left unattended.
Set-up
After getting all of the elements from the box, setting up the game takes at most 5 minutes, just draw the penguins any way you want, choose map side and pass the cards so you can start. It’s not a big game so if you play at max (it can support up to 8 players) the problem will be how to reach the board more than were to put the game.
Rules
I found the rulebook a bit hectic, so it took us first game to understand few of the them concerning the movements and events. However after that the game is really easy, with not many hidden rules and whole randomness of it comes from the cards that you draw to hand or events. There is only viable win condition and that’s it to be the last man standing.
Gameplay
There is a 30 minute mark on the box, however I would say that is the maximum you will be spending. Depending on your luck in card draw and events some players may drop out even in the second round (no events in the first). Fortunately the game doesn’t have much downtime so rounds go quickly, so those who are unlucky can try again quite quickly again.
The cards themselves help you move your penguins, trigger the Walrous or Orca events, or simply move other minis. You can also do the fishing in the ice holes, which are used to bargain for your life.
You will start with some cards and draw more as the game progress, while your penguins can do various actions and move a bit quicker in water than on land, which you have to take into consideration. There is also a Walrus on the map that moves towards the nearest penguin after each round trying to eat it, so you might try to lure it towards your enemies if you like to live on a edge.
Each of the penguins has it own unique skill, be it fishing in other spots, or moving penguin on the board, cheaper bribes etc. This means that you have to adapt your style of playing to the penguin you pick/drawn. Since the skills can affect not only your own penguin you need to keep track of every potential penguin.
Game is designed from 2 to 8 people. I tried it in various configurations (never reaching more than 6) and while it doesn’t really scale well in terms of gameplay the fun factor if you like randomness is making up for it. You never know what kind of event will be drawn next, if you have a card to survive it or fishes to bribe or are half of the players simply dead. That’s just how the life goes in the Antarctica. Also because the events are for all mostly, there is no downtime for each player while playing.
Score
- Overall 6/10 – It was fun especially in bigger group making the mayhem on the board much more interesting. However more strategic approach in smaller parties also has it charm, but whatever you do don’t stop in the water unless you have to.
- Coming back 6/10 – Quick to set-up, rules easy to explain, however it wont be a regular on my table, but will gladly play it from time to time.
- Fun factor 8/10 – With the mayhem happening on the board this game has a lot of potential to be fun in bigger groups, where the alliances don’t last too long and water is cold.
Will it stay or go? – For now it’s a stay, however I might stick to playing it in smaller groups (duo even) since the randomness fun factor might wear off quite quickly.
