Game Review: BaristaCat

Decaflatteevanillahazelfrappucanocino. Collect the right ingredients to serve the right customers. The most prolific barista may or may not be the winner. With take-that and tips it's any servers opportunity to bring home the most bucks.

Cat: This was a fun, little adventure. So much fun. We lined up the lobby, placed the ingredients and then it was on. Dog (6), Owl(8), Spider and I served customers till the bitter end. We made it round after round until one of us made 10 tasty, usually caffeinated treats.

I loved the different combinations of ingredients and I loved the artwork. Since this was a #kickstarter game, I imagine in future versions there will be individual artwork for each customer. I liked looking at each of the different drinks for each of the customers. The artwork was adorable and kept me curious.

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I'm not usually a fan of take-that and playing with young kids makes it sting for them a little bit harder. So, I only went after Owl when he would go after Dog. Once they figured out not to catch each other it made them target us, the parents. Although it meant losing more often, I had more fun because they got such a kick out of it. I could see how the take-that mechanism was cat-like, but since the characters seemed like moms and necks beards it was unexpected.

Spider: I loved the art and the vibe. They nailed all the different types of coffee shop people, but as cats. I'm guessing the people that made it were baristas or knew baristas.

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I really liked the idea that there were a bunch of cats that had different values and you usually had a chance to get at least one of each type. The ingredients were slanted towards coffee beans, obviously. Thematically, that made sense. There's not a whole lot to say about the game.

I felt that the nuance to the game was negative. What I thought the game would be mechanically was about 90% right. The only part I didn't like was the take-that. It's possible in a multiplayer game that one person could get hammered and that was a bummer. I typically don't like that mechanic in any game. If you loved coffee, cats, card games, and take-that mechanic this is your game.

There's certainly luck involved. Best case scenario you get a variety of ingredients and don't get attacked with negative cards. However, what if two of your friends hit you with skip-a-turn and then you get hit with a discard the customer card, you would be infuriated and hate the game.

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Overall Rating:

Pros:

• Cute Cats

• Funny drinks

Cons:

• Targeting potential

• Lurking undertone of super-negativity

Cats: Two Cats

Spiders: Two Spiders