Details: Written by: Brian Moats; Category: Board Game Reviews; Published: 01 November 2022

I put a spell on yeow, and neow your meow-ine!

Wiccats (2022)
Designer(s)	Gray Phoenix Games	Artist(s)	Gray Phoenix Games	Publisher	Gray Phoenix Games
	2-4		12+		15-30m

Since high school, I have been very interested in wicca and many other non-traditional religions; I have plenty of friends who are wiccans. It is a very interested religion and too often confused with Satanism (definitely not even slightly the same thing)...An' ye harm none, do what ye will. However, this isn't a religious review...this is about cute cats and other animals collecting magical components to win a game.

Wiccats is a locally created card game by a person in north central West Virginia. I met up with the designer at the Four Horsemen in Clarksburg, WV and was super excited to see this game. I had heard about it from a friend and looked into it on Gamecrafter. So, when I was asked to review it, I was happy to do so.

So, let's jump into the game that the cute kitty is holding within its box.

Box and Components

There are versions of the game you can get. One that has a box just big enough for the base game cards (tuck box) and another version that is a dual card box that can hold the base game as well as the expansions (Pro Box). The game is manufactured with the Gamecrafter so the quality is overall pretty good; it is not your mass manufacturer quality.

The base game includes:

72 Cards: 6 Character Cards, 6 Blue Spell Cards, 5 Red Oops Cards, and 55 Purple Component Cards.
1 Rule Sheet

The cards have a nice glossy feel and are pretty standard quality cards; they should have no issues holding up after a lot of play but won't hold up too much bending. The box also cannot fit sleeves along with the cards; if you got the cheap penny sleeves, you may be able to make them fit but would struggle to get them all back out easily. So, sleeves will likely not be an option with the provided box. This is not an issue for me though.

One minor issue I noticed is with terms "Item" and "Component." In the rules, they call the things you are trying to collect, Components; however, the website and other cards call them Items. I feel everything should be updated to be Component because it seems more thematic and would be an easy fix. Again, a very minor thing. I will refer to these cards as component cards throughout my review.

Mechanics

The game is very straightforward and easy to play. The style of the game is "Draw One, Play One." The goal is to be the first player to collect all of the necessary components as shown on your character card.

Setup

Each player will take one of the six character cards; the remaining character cards will not be used during this game.
Each player is dealt three cards; if anyone receives an Oops cards in their initial hand, discard it and draw a replacement card. All discarded cards are shuffled back into the deck.
Place the remaining deck of cards in reach of all players.

Player Turn

The active player will draw one card from the deck. If the card drawn is an Oops, perform the text listed. This typically involves losing one of your previously played component cards.

The player will either:

Play one of the needed components in front of them; they may only the number of each component needed for their character card.
Play a spell card; read the text on the card and perform the action. The card is then discarded.
If they do not have a card to play, they must discard a card.

After drawing and playing a card, the next player begins their turn. The process continues until someone has collected all of the component types shown on their character card.

End Game

Once a player has played and collected all of the component cards for their character card, they win the game!

Expansions

Each of the expansion add additional cards for more variety. They add a new type of card call Auras; Auras are played like Component cards and placed in front of you. They essentially negate the effects of a future Oops card or Spell cast on you. They are definitely a nice addition to the game. Though, I almost wish they were played from the hand at the time the Oops drawn or Spell is received; that way you should have a reflect ability to redirect the effect to another player.

One thing I would like to seen in future printings of the game (specifically the expansions); replace the crescent moon icon in the corners and give each expansion their own unique symbol. If they wanted to keep with moon, you could probably do a half moon, full moon, and circle for a new moon. That would make sorting out the cards (if desired) easier.

The Good Witch

This expansion adds 18 additional cards:

3 Characters
4 Aura
9 Components
2 Spells

The new types of components are a nice addition to offer a little more variety to the game. I really like that this expansion adds more of the aura cards.

The Bad Witch

This expansion adds 18 additional cards:

3 Characters
1 Aura
9 Components
2 Spells
3 Oops

I really like the 3 characters added via this expansion, which include Lily the frog.

The Happy Witch

I do not have this expansion, but I believe it also includes 18 additional cards. One of the cards is a "Wild Card" based on the description on their website; the Wild Card is essentially used as any component you choose at the time of playing it. The one concern I have is keeping track of which component you played it as. Assuming you play the cards in the same layout as shown on the character card, this should not be an issue.

If I were to guess based on the other expansions, you likely get 3 more characters, 9~12 components cards (including the "Wild Card"), and some combinations of Auras, Spells, and Oops cards.

Final Thoughts

The game is a cute witchcraft game. I love the characters and their artwork. The game is pretty simple, but not in a bad way by any means. It reminded me a lot of the games, Just Desserts or Frenemy Pastry Party. Essentially draw and play cards to try to fulfill some sort of order requiring specific items. I also really like that nearly all of the component cards are unique; there are multiple bottles, but most have a different shaped or at least orientation. Each of the tomes are of a different element, and the gems stones are all different...I am a Rose Quartz and Amethyst fan personally...though I think mine are pretty worn out from years of stress, migraines, and insomnia.

The game isn't without a few flaws. I would like to see the expansion auras have a few different effects such as reflecting/redirecting or even capturing spell cards into your hand. I think the Oops cards could have a little more variety and add a little more chaos (effect everyone, swap hands, swap a single played component card to neighboring players, etc.). A couple of the expansion cards do this, but it would be nice to have in the base game as well. Unique icons on the expansion cards could be a really quick fix as well.

Overall, I found the game to be very enjoyable. It will be too simple for some people, but I do feel this would be a great one to play with children or just a good filler. The age on the game is very likely only because of the theme (which I think could easily be 7+), but mechanically, the game is very easy to learn and teach. I love seeing a local WV game designer releasing a cute game that really would fit well into many families' game shelves.