Door 1

Behind door 1 of our MechanXmas calendar is Trick-taking. Now this is a genre we don’t normally play, as most trick taking games aren’t ideal with 2 players. We always felt a bit left out because of this. Well imagine our surprise when we first read about 🌙 Violet and the Grumpy Nisse before SPIEL22; a trick taking game made specifically for 2p. To be fair, the strange naming of the game caught our attention at first. 😅

Back at SPIEL we listened to the rules but unfortunately didn’t have time to play. It sounded interesting though so we couldn't resist pre-ordering the game. 😁 It really seems to be a hidden gem as of now, but we implore you to check it out!

In the game one of you will play as Violet, who is sneaking out at night trying to meet his troll friend in the forest, while Torech, the Grumpy Nisse, is trying to stop her. The journey of Violet is tracked on a board, together with the oil-level of her lantern. Another track shows the fear that is catching up to her. If the fear marker reaches Violet or the lantern runs out, Violet has lost the game. If she manages to reach her friend though, she is victorious. 🏆

🧐 Each turn you play a trick and depending on who won Violet will move and lose oil. Losing with Violet is extra dangerous though, as the difference of the two card values in the trick will move the fear marker. The deck is made up of 4 colors, each ranging in value from 1 to 9. There are a lot of clever twists and ideas though - the trump color changes as the journey of Violet progresses, and cards also have abilities you can use, so they are not just values. Upon winning a trick Violet can choose to stand still and refill the oil in her lantern, but that makes it easier for the fear to catch up with her - so it’s also a balancing act. You are also drawing back cards from an open display so you will know some cards your opponent has which adds to the strategy.

🤩 We are really blown away by this game as it is always tense and has a tight ending, even though it plays fast. The whole theme and artwork of the game is also quite endearing.