Set in the wondrous world of Wonderlands War, Madcala is an asymmetric mancala game that pits 2 characters against each other, head to head. Using Mancala as its main mechanism, Madcala has you trying to reduce your opponent's health to zero using guests at your party, commoner cards and using the right actions at the right time. Druid City Games sent me a copy of this quirky 2-player game, so lets mancala!
Preparing the Tea Party!
Both players must choose an Alice in Wonderland-based character. Madcala has all the characters you would expect from the source material, such as Alice and the Mad Hatter. Each character comes with their own guest cards and a little reference card explaining their abilities and whatnot. After that, shuffle the commoner cards, set each player's health to 25, whack some shards around the table and you are about ready to battle.
In Madcala, you will be shifting shards around the table, using your plus-one guest cards and gaining commoner cards to try and pummel your opponent into nothing. Each character has differing abilities and has strengths and weaknesses to boot; learning how to use each one effectively is half the fun, as is using their abilities wisely.
Shifting Shards and the Mancala Mechanism
For anyone who does not know or who has never played ‘Mancala’, it is widely thought of as one of the oldest games in existence. I am sure you have seen pictures of the wooden boards, with little recesses in and players move stones between them. You pick up all the stones in one recess, then move them along, dropping off one stone in each of the next recesses, until you have no stones left in hand.
Madcala has the same style of mechanism, hence its name, Madcala. Situated in the middle of the table, on a lovely play mat is a table with many plates. Each of these plates has an action associated with it and on your turn you pick up any shards located on any plate on your side of the table. Then, as in Mancala, you drop them off one at a time and the very last one you drop off selects the action you take. Easy-peasy!
These actions range from damaging your opponent and refreshing your plus-1 guest cards to healing and getting more shards on the board. One of your shards is also larger than the rest and if this is the last game to be placed during your action, you get to do the action twice, a ‘doubler’ if you will. Juicy indeed!
Other, Optional Actions
The only thing you are required to do on your turn is move some shards and take the required action. However, there are a few other things that you can do if you want to. You can play one of your plus 1 guest cards and get in your opponent's way somehow. Each one had a gem cost and you must remove the gems, of your colour, from the board. You can draw a commoner card for three shards and also play any number of them from your hand, of which you can hold 2 at any time.
These actions can be taken in any order, as many times as you wish, as long as you can pay for them and take your moving shards, mandatory action. Madcala is all about managing your shards, choosing the right actions and setting up your shards to take powerful actions when necessary. You can only move shards on your side of the table but if you manage to set up a massive turn and end up with your doubler back on your home plate, you can choose any action you wish and take a whole other turn straight after. Powerful indeed.
Plus Ones and Commoner Cards
These 2 little mechanisms can really help you achieve victory. Commoner cards give you nice little boosts here and there, you know the stuff, a little emergency heal, some free shards or even a sneaky attack. Your Plus One cards, however, are vital to the character you are portraying. Each character has a fixed set that gives them a personality of sorts, a little nudge in a certain strategic direction and gives you some asymmetry to boot.
There are powers that lock using certain action spaces. There was one Alice power I hated, where she offers you three discs, each of which has a varying level of nastiness on it. I loved trying to get into my opponent's head, trying to work out which of the discs was the best one and trying to double-guess them. All of the plus 1 cards were fitting for the character and fun to explore. Even now, there's a few characters I have not tried and would like to give them a whirl at some point.
Components
I found that everything in this unique box was of a very high quality. The discs for each character’s powers are chunky and feel nice to manipulate. The shards are nicely moulded and are coloured bright pink and black for each player. The mat that all the action takes place on is well-printed and well-made.
The art of the cards, as well as on the box is colourful and really fits the theme of the game. It's got a fairy-tale quality to it and has a slight Saturday morning cartoon look, which I really appreciated. I have no qualms with the components or presentation of this game whatsoever, the symbology is clear and concise, the art is attractive and everything is of a decent quality.
Final Thoughts
I like Mancala, so I thought I would enjoy this, however, I was not ready for all the bits and wrinkles surrounding the main mancala mechanism.
The head-to-head nature of the game, combined with character powers and card play is a very entertaining concoction. Working out how to use your powers to their fullest and how to manipulate your shards accordingly is both rewarding and fun. I was always trying to get those massive turns, while my opponent was always trying to stop me.
Madcala is a simple to learn game that can be played by most. It was a high amount of replayability due to the number of characters included in the box and most games felt different. This is a game like no other and I have to applaud it for that. I do feel, however, that the mancala mechanism and the head-to-head nature may not be to everyone's taste.
Right, I am off to drink tea with the Mad Hatter, see you next time gamers!
