My Little Scythe
$39.99
My Little Scythe at a Glance
| Game Type Economic Fantasy/Adventure Math Area Control | Play Time 45 - 60 mins + | Skill/Complexity (2.5 - 5) More Complex Than Most Kids Games Strategy |
| Age 8+ | Publisher(s) Stonemaier Games | Published 2017 |
| Categories Kids Game Family Strategy | Players 1 - 6 | Rules Manual Official Rules PDF |
| Our Rating 9/10 | Cost $39.99 approx | Related Scythe Board Game |
About – Description
As mentioned, My Little Scythe is inspired by its bestselling predecessor “Scythe” released in 2017, and its mechanisms are very similar. Although Scythe is aimed at teenagers and adults there is some overlap.
In My Little Scythe, players need to earn 4 trophies from 8 possible categories, taking it in turns to “Move”, “Seek”, or “Make”. These actions mean players can power up their actions using upgrade tiles, increase their friendship and pies, learn magic spells, complete quests and discover precious resources by using an innovative dice mechanism. You can even take part in a pie fight!
Who’s it best suited for?
My Little Scythe can actually be played solo as well as in a group of up to 6 players. It’s aimed at junior school aged children of 8 years plus.
Skill – Complexity
This game is aimed at slightly older children as it is a little more complex than many children’s games. However, the rules are fairly easy to learn despite there being quite a lot to keep track of during gameplay.
Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions
Setting up
Inside the box you’ll find:
- Rulebooks for both multiplayer and solo play
- 14 miniatures ranging in size from 48 to 70mm
- 1 painting guide and 1 achievement sheet
- 5 custom dice
- 24 custom apples and 24 gems
- 70+ mats, tokens, tiles, and boards
- 71 cards
- 3-piece Game Trayz custom insert
To begin, each player takes a player mat, as well as a set of player components (4 trophies, 2 figurines, pawn, pie token, friendship token, and base camp). The pie and friendship tokens are placed on the tracks on the game board at level 3 each. Trophies are then put on the player mat on the indicated spaces. Players also receive 1 personality card and 1 magic spell card dealt from the deck – keep these a secret.
Players will set up base camps around the board, configured in a way that’s based on the number of players. The board is then seeded with resources using the setup hex tile, which is turned in a random direction and then placed on Castle Everfree. Quest tokens and resources are added to the board only in front of occupied base camps, and then the setup tile is returned to the box. Both of the seekers go on base camp. Magic spell cards, quest cards and power up tiles are placed in their spaces on the board; the dice should be kept nearby. Apples, gems and quest tokens are also placed near the board so everyone can access them.
Object of the game
The winner of the game is the first player to earn 4 trophies.
Playing Instructions
Each player should take it in turns to proceed around the table from the start with players taking a single action. Players cannot repeat the exact same action that they took on their last turn. The game is quick to turn fast-paced as players utilize very compartmentalized moves, builds and attacks.
Each player will be using their two “Seeker” miniatures to navigate the hex map in search of quests, resources, pies and gaining friendship.
The aim is to get trophies from eight different possibilities:
- Collect 8 Friendship (moving up the Friendship track)
- Collecting 3 Magic Spells
- Delivering 4 Gems to the Castle
- Gaining 8 Pies (moving up the Pie track)
- Delivering 4 Apples to the Castle
- Winning in a Pie Fight
- Completing 2 Quests
- Upgrading 2 Player Board Action spaces
When a player takes their turn they can choose to either Move, Make or Seek. A Move action is fairly straightforward, where a player can carry resources along with them or to move and abandon them. By Seeking, the player will roll the dice in order to uncover new resources on the map. Resources of Apples, Gems and Quests will appear in a player’s colored regions and placing resources in an opponent’s space gains Friendship. Finally, a “Make” action allows a player to convert resources in their spaces into other things such as pie, upgraded actions or magic spells.
When a player completes 4 of the trophies, each of the other players get one more turn to collect trophies before the end of the game.
This video explains My Little Scythe very well…
Versions – Editions
There are seven other versions of this game in other languages: French, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Italian, Hungarian and German.
Likes & Dislikes
Fast and fun to play, My Little Scythe is far more deep and tactical than it first appears. This makes it great for playing over and over again without the risk of play becoming boring or predictable. Ideal for both families and groups, it’s quite an involved game that requires some strategy and planning. However there is a large element of luck involved which some more advanced game players may find frustrating.
Final Thoughts
My Little Scythe is a highly engaging game that’s great for anyone looking for a challenge but isn’t too difficult for younger family members.
It does feel rather like a scaled down version of the original Scythe but the two games are independent from one another so you don’t have to be familiar with Scythe to enjoy this.
My Little Scythe is far from being simply a children’s game as it works well with adults who would class themselves as slightly above novice gamers too.
Awards and Honors
My Little Scythe was the Golden Geek Best Print & Play Board Game Winner of 2017.
