Bargain Quest

It's not the most in-depth game. There are more complex drafting games, but for the great characters and items, this one easily gets a recommend. If you only play games for chunky mechanics, steer clear.

This game is a casual drafting game with a fair bit of strategy and some luck which is thematic but could either delight or annoy.

First off, each player gets to pick their own shop to run which has zero effect on the game but is still a fun visual addition to the experience. The game then swaps between a draft ala Sushi Go! to accumulate wares to sell adventurers and then a selling phase whereby you outfit the heroes with the products you’ve drafted (so long as they can pay for them).

The heroes then go out to try to fight a monster and depending on how well they were prepared can earn the players victory points, but at the end of the game the money they gave you also becomes victory points so although you want the extra points from their success, their money is truly what you covet.

The deck of heroes need to be lured into a player’s shop via an item which they would like to purchase but cannot as it is window dressing only - this rule seemed to confuse half the players the first time they drafted products to add to their shop as they mostly seemed to not consider having to make an item ineligible for sale when selecting what to bring into their shop.

There are upgrades and workers to purchase which allows each shop owner to go in different paths and it is a well built game with a small touch of humour sprinkled throughout (for example you can sell a hero googles, however the goggles do nothing. Sweet Simpsons reference there).

The randomness mentioned above comes into play when the heroes go to fight the monster. It’s clear math as to whether they will succeed or not, until a card is flipped to reveal how the hero is feeling at that moment. It can make a hopeless scenario succeed or a certainty fail and this can upset players as it truly is random, but the theme is that you’re outfitting these heroes, you do not control them so it is on point.

Overall I loved the game as did the players I played with but we do tend to love more casual games so take that as you will. The entire affair lasts under an hour with 3 rounds of monsters to defeat. Highly recommended for players looking to add more game to a drafting experience.