Pozioni Esplosive is an all-Italian game that three years ago made the fortune of the young Horrible Games, winning not only the Italian Game of the Year award, but earning the beauty of 18 editions in 14 different languages ... a small record deserved thanks to the immediacy of the gameplay that winks at the classic genre puzzle computer game in its many meanings, from Puzzle Bobble to Candy Crush, and at the same time recalls the setting of the saga Harry Potter.
IN THE BOX
The package is a little smaller than the basic box and contains 7 professor cards (represented by a painting of the same... very Hogwarts), 32 new potion cards (4 new types), a dashboard "spectral cauldron", various tokens and 12 marbles representing the fifth ingredeiente of the title. Then we find of course a regulation that explains the various expansion modules clearly and in less than three pages.
To make happy the people fixed with the order (category to which I do not belong at all ... no, no ... cof cof) we also have a perfect plastic insert designed to fit all the game material and keep it tidy, as long as you have the foresight to place it under the punches "emptied", so as to bring it almost flush with the lid.
The illustrations are always taken care of by the talented Giulia Ghigini.
HOW TO PLAY
As is often the case in these cases, the box contains three modular expansions, which can be used individually or simultaneously. Then we find some elements common to more of these, namely the cauldron, the reward tokens (+1 victory point) and the scolded tokens (-1 victory point).
The Professors
Now you can face the class of potions with 7 different professors including Albedus Humblescore (the one on the base box), each characterized by a different attitude that turns into a variant of the basic rules.
An epansion very easy to explain and introduce, but that involves the greatest upheavals to the habits of the players: at the beginning of the game choose a professor for the class and apply the effect.
For example, Gideon Prissymann is very stiff and will scold you if you drop even a single drop on the counter (if one of the marbles touches the table for any reason you receive a token scolded by -1 PV), while Gravitha Tidygall is very faithful to the formulas and demands that the potions should always be filled from the bottom (scolded token if you put an ingredient in a potion leaving empty in the colors below), Overwhilma Explosiva rewards you for the chains of explosions (it brings into play the spectral cauldron, allowing you to trade an ingredient for a spectral ingredient, if you get 8 or more in a round), etc..
The fifth ingredient
This new ingredient is called spectral ectoplasm and has the characteristic of absorbing the essence of what it comes into contact with. In other words, it is a wild card element that applies to the colour you want, both when you use it for potions and when you evaluate possible "explosions" during the grip. This element facilitates chain explosions and makes both the grip and the composition of the potions a little easier.
The ectoplasm is also used for the spectral cauldron (if present in the game thanks to a professor or one of the new potions), which is initially filled with these marbles, which can then be taken thanks to the specific effects and once used will return to the dispenser.
New Potions
The four new potions are added to the eight of the base when it comes to selecting the six potions of the current game. I think it's obvious to say that going from 8 to 12 different potions to choose from exponentially increases the possible combinations that go to fivefold.
The new possible potions are:
- Feather Touch Infusion - allows you to take two adjacent ingredients horizontally, in two different columns (without triggering explosions);
- Chameleon Paint - choose a color... all the ingredients in your hand are now considered to be that color;
- Spiritist Blend - Swap an ingredient in your hand for the Spectral cauldron;
- Spectral Sweat Sip - steal 1 ingredient from the Escort of 1 opponent, then trade it for the Spectral cauldron.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The expansion maintains all the charm and style of the basic game, further expanding the game world both in terms of rules and setting. If you are now a veteran of the base this is definitely an opportunity to get back in the game with different challenges, combos and strategies.
From the point of view of graphics we have a title carefully kept, but on this Horrible Games has always accustomed us well and in this expansion Giulia Ghigini has the opportunity to express even more, thanks to the various professors and the cauldron.
The difficulty of the title thanks to the expansions increases slightly, but not so much to change the target of the game, although I would not introduce them with players in their first games.
The duration of the game does not change significantly: one of the elements (the fifth element) speeds it up, another (the professors) slows it down, but little, while the potions do not affect much.
If we analyze the modules we notice that they are all interesting: the fifth ingredient makes the games even richer in chain explosions, teachers change strategies and mechanics, while the potions greatly increase the possible combos. Perhaps the only sore point is precisely the potions, from which I would have expected more variety: the first two of my list above are very funny, but the second two are practically the variant of the same thing and are too similar to use together, not to mention that they introduce an element (the spectral cauldron) that is however already introduced by two different professors.