Publisher CYMK Games has been making a name for itself recently with its unique lineup of games. Their Magenta line brought us the excellent Fruit Fight, with its bright pink art and colorful fruits. Then came Hot Streak, one of my favorite games of the year so far, that is as stupid as it is fun (in the most complimentary way). What’s not to love about betting on racing mascots?
Today, we are going to look at Magical Athlete. Their latest offering in their “wacky, but fun” lineup of games. Note that’s my categorization, not their official one.
Gameplay Overview:
Playing Magical Athlete is about as simple as can be. The game is played over 4 races, with your goal being to earn the most points. You earn points by finishing first or second in a race. But first, you’ll need to draft some racers.
Racer cards are dealt up on the table. and, in snake draft style, each player will select two racers. Then you deal out some more and do it again, giving each player 4 racers to use.
Each player then selects a racer to use for the first race and places it on the starting space. On a player’s turn, they roll their six-sided die and move their racer that many spaces. Easy right? Yes, and no. That’s because every racer has a unique power that can trigger at any time. For example, the Big Baby blocks up a whole space, and no one can share with him; the centaur’s hoof kicks anyone he passes by and knocks them back two spaces; the banana trips anyone moving past him. And legs? He can skip rolling and just move 5 spaces each turn. All in all, there are 36 racers, each with their own unique power.
After someone crosses the finish line, they earn the top medal. Once the second player finishes and earns the second medal, the race ends. A new race is then set up, the race board is flipped to it’s second side, and players select one of their remaining racers to run. Repeat two more times and then check to see who earned the most points.
Game Experience:
Magical Athlete apparently came out waaaaay back in 2003, but this is the first I’ve heard of this game. The original was designed by Takashi Ishida, but this new version had its design updated by none other than Richard Garfield (of Magic: The Gathering fame). The art has also been leveled up by Angela Kirkwood, and has a fantastic schoolhouse rock style. All in all, the production values in this edition are top-notch.
But diving into the gameplay, Magical Athlete is a silly game that’s going to be full of plenty of lighthearted and comical moments. With simple rules that basically amount to roll, move, and check for powers, you can play this game with just about anyone. But it’s also going to be super swingy. In one game, I rolled about 4 1s in a row and didn’t go very far. The powers are also quite random, with some feeling uber powerful and others pretty situational.
That being said, this isn’t going to be a game for the min/max Eurogamer who likes to be in control of their destiny. Magical Athlete thrives when you embrace the chaos. Fellow BGQ reviewer Andrew (and unofficial Mayor of Gen Con) suggested drafting your racers on feel/vibe instead of reading their powers. And I have to agree. Saying “I want the big fat baby, or the mouth, or the character riffing off the ‘actually’ meme” really sets the tone of the game better than reading out a pile of powers and having players think hard on who they want.
This is also true because you are going to have rule questions come up. With 36 unique racers, there are going to be interaction questions that they weren’t able to deal with during play testing. In almost every game we’ve had something come up where we were scratching our heads on how the timing between two characters’ powers works, or how another is applied. The rulebook does its best to answer the most common ones, but for the rest, I’d suggest just rolling off or making a quick choice and moving on with the game. Magical Athlete isn’t a game to get stuck in the weeds on.
Final Thoughts:
If you are ready to “embrace the chaos”, then you will really enjoy Magical Athlete. It’s wacky, easy to get to the tables, and offers a plethora of characters to draft for your race. And since each character may interact differently with the others, no two races are ever going to be the same.
That being said, the game is swingy, silly, and best for those who can revel in the chaos when something silly happens. So crack a beverage of choice, draft the racer that you think looks the coolest, and have a bit of fun.
Final Score: 4 Stars – A wacky good time that has plenty of unique racers to help keep things fresh.
Hits:
• Great production values and fun art
• Easy to learn rules
• Silly fun
Misses:
• Game can be swingy
• Some power interactions are unclear
