2016 Early Review Copy
Published by: Green Couch Games
# of players 2 to 4
Published by: Green Couch Games
# of players 2 to 4
Before the popularity of food trucks and fancy ice cream stores, there was the ice cream truck. This was the only time that it was okay to approach a vehicle and receive food from a stranger. On those hot, summer days we all enjoyed cooling off with a Popsicle. We now get to try our hand at being that Ice cream truck driver. Players will fight to bring cool, tasty treats to those who are want a snack. The player who has the most victory points will be the most famous ice cream truck vendor ever. Do you have the knowledge to bring what people want in the shortest amount of time, or will your inventory melt. I now ask you to ride along and enjoy my take on Rocky Road a la Mode.
Components
The copy I received an early review copy before the release of the Kickstarter campaign. Please note that the final components may be different based on the success of that campaign. The art on the cards is very colorful and easy to identify all the icons. There is no text in the game so you can play this game with kids or those who read a different language. I did not care for the four cards being the track and no extra scenery on the road cards. Every turn you are moving your truck (wooden disc currently) on the map and this can cause the cards to move around and stacked pieces to fall. The rules that were provided explained everything in a clear way. I was able to play and teach this game after reading the rules once.
The copy I received an early review copy before the release of the Kickstarter campaign. Please note that the final components may be different based on the success of that campaign. The art on the cards is very colorful and easy to identify all the icons. There is no text in the game so you can play this game with kids or those who read a different language. I did not care for the four cards being the track and no extra scenery on the road cards. Every turn you are moving your truck (wooden disc currently) on the map and this can cause the cards to move around and stacked pieces to fall. The rules that were provided explained everything in a clear way. I was able to play and teach this game after reading the rules once.
Gameplay
The goal in Rocky Road a la Mode is to have the most victory points at the end of the game. The game ends when someone has collected 9 victory points and everyone's truck is ahead of that person. Players all start on the same spot on the track to begin the game. Players do not alternate between turns but rather the person the furthest back is the current player. That means the same player could potentially end up with multiple turns in a row. During your turn you will have 3 options. You can Restock, which allows you to draw up to 5 cards. You must decide how many cards you are going to take before you start drawing cards. For each card that you draw, you will move 1 space on the track. The cards that you are able to draw from are 3 face up community cards. After you take a card from the 3, a new one will be drawn and placed face up in the row.
The goal in Rocky Road a la Mode is to have the most victory points at the end of the game. The game ends when someone has collected 9 victory points and everyone's truck is ahead of that person. Players all start on the same spot on the track to begin the game. Players do not alternate between turns but rather the person the furthest back is the current player. That means the same player could potentially end up with multiple turns in a row. During your turn you will have 3 options. You can Restock, which allows you to draw up to 5 cards. You must decide how many cards you are going to take before you start drawing cards. For each card that you draw, you will move 1 space on the track. The cards that you are able to draw from are 3 face up community cards. After you take a card from the 3, a new one will be drawn and placed face up in the row.
The second option you have for your turn is to attract customers. This is done by placing a card from your hand under your truck. You will move your truck by the card's time cost. This is displayed in the upper right corner of the cards. The card will be placed to show what the current customer wants. Each card has 2 customers that want different amounts and types of treats. The last option you have during your turn is to serve the customers. You will discard cards that have the right treat icons on the top left corner of the card based on what your current customer wants. If this is the first customer that was served, you will move the card up so that the completed customer is covered by the truck card. If this was the last customer served, then you will slide the card to the left showing only the rewards that you earned. This will include victory points and/or treat icons that can be used to complete future customer needs. When completing the serve customer action, you can only serve the top customer and you will have to move your truck one space after completing the action. There are 3 spaces on the road that may have a wild token on it. If you finish your turn on the spot with a token on it, you get to keep that token to use as a wild treat icon once. After it is used, you must place it back on the board on the next available marked spot ahead of the person the furthest on the track. There are also 8 location cards that you can receive if your bonus treat icons (from completed cards) meet the requirement. These provide a huge amount of victory points but can be hard to achieve. Once a person has received their ninth victory point, they will finish their turn. Any players that are behind that player on the track, will take actions till they are ahead of that player. Once everyone is ahead of the player who scored nine points or over, the game is over and the person with most victory points wins.
Final Thoughts
Rocky Road a la Mode is a fun game that works well with a wide age range and skill level. This is a great entry point into managing time and resources. More seasoned players will enjoy the engine building aspect of the game. The game is played in a half an hour which goes by real quick. I tried many different strategies and each had their chances of victory. The art is really fun and colorful. I wish they would have done more with the road cards to match the rest of the fun art. I found it very easy to teach and everyone seemed to understand it very quickly. I would recommend this game to families with kids. The play time and light strategy make it great for a family game night or a quick game while you are enjoying a tasty frozen treat. I look forward to seeing the final version after the Kickstarter and will pick it up as a gift for some of my friend's families. I will also be keeping my copy for when I have family over to play with.
Rocky Road a la Mode is a fun game that works well with a wide age range and skill level. This is a great entry point into managing time and resources. More seasoned players will enjoy the engine building aspect of the game. The game is played in a half an hour which goes by real quick. I tried many different strategies and each had their chances of victory. The art is really fun and colorful. I wish they would have done more with the road cards to match the rest of the fun art. I found it very easy to teach and everyone seemed to understand it very quickly. I would recommend this game to families with kids. The play time and light strategy make it great for a family game night or a quick game while you are enjoying a tasty frozen treat. I look forward to seeing the final version after the Kickstarter and will pick it up as a gift for some of my friend's families. I will also be keeping my copy for when I have family over to play with.
Taco gives Rocky Road a la Mode a rating of...
7.75 out of 10
Pros:
+ Very colorful art
+No reading comprehension needed
+ Great entry point for time management and engine building
+Quick play time
Cons:
- The road cards were bland and moved around a lot
NOTE: The Road cards have a stretch goal to be a board instead and graphics are not finalized.
- Only 3 different kinds of treats
Pros:
+ Very colorful art
+No reading comprehension needed
+ Great entry point for time management and engine building
+Quick play time
Cons:
- The road cards were bland and moved around a lot
NOTE: The Road cards have a stretch goal to be a board instead and graphics are not finalized.
- Only 3 different kinds of treats
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