s3rvant's Review of Open Market
Components
Can’t say much on component quality as I’m working with a prototype, however cards were good size as were icons on boards for where chits are to be placed. I would like to see a single board (maybe folds in half) vs the 5 separate food boards. Individual player boards were a nice touch, though I would rather drop those in favor of just a reference card if that would have a significant effect on the MSRP. Each player could have their own basket card similar to the player boards minus the reference (since reference cards won’t be needed after a play or two) for those that want to track how much they’ve spent on food chits.
Art
The simple cartoon foods are cute and well suited to the feel of the game. I would personally prefer to not have the actual faces (eyes, mouth, etc.) though I can certainly see the appeal. Card frames for the orders were easy to understand, though they appear to try to use the same slot for each food type (meat 1st, grain 2nd, veggies 3rd, etc.) which looks a bit odd and doesn’t work when a food item is used more than once on an order. I suggest starting at the top of the ticket and presenting the foods alphabetically, which would also allow for more vertical space as the biggest orders only have 4 ingredients vs the 5 slots on the order. I personally had a hard time differentiating between the blue and purple food boards, though the tiny icons on the tablecloths did their job of helping me sort things out.
Rules
The rulebook was very well done: easy to read and understand as well as short and to the point. Some of the spacing (such as bullet points) looked a bit odd, though the rest (font type, pics, etc.) looked great.
Gameplay
Setting up the game is fast and easy. I’m a huge fan of drafting games so was glad to see it implemented here. The actions themselves were likewise simple and intuitive. Everyone I played with grasped the game quickly and felt they were able to be competitive their first play through. Only allowing action #1 on the first round was a smart choice that prevents quick abuse of the market and the constantly changing market prices are fun to manipulate. Probably my biggest complaint are the lack of variety in order pay outs: all orders with 1 ingredient pay the same, all with 2 pay the same, etc. Game length was perfect where 5 rounds made for a quick blitz of a game, 10 rounds allowed for some fine tuning and 15 rounds felt like a full, proper game. I also appreciate the end game bonuses for most orders completed as it serves as a bit of a catch-up mechanic for those that completed several small orders vs a few high scoring orders, and they go a long ways to leveling the playing field. My groups didn’t understand the need for trading rules as it was very rarely even considered as monopolies are generally inefficient, especially since it would require the denial of multiple ingredients to really hamper another player’s performance (which would be quite costly). I think perhaps each item could be forcefully traded from another player’s basket if you can offer them 2 items that are of higher value based on the current market, or something along those lines; this would also increase player interaction.
Conclusion
Overall this was a fun game with great art that was quick to teach and to play. I’ll be holding onto my prototype copy and breaking it out now and then with my gaming group as I wait for it to release at retail. Highly recommend this game especially to those who enjoy learning about and/or manipulating game economy. This game is plenty playable by those even younger than suggested in the rules (our youngest was 10 and played competitively).
Rating: 7 / 10 - Good game, usually willing to play
Reviewed by David Gregg aka S3rvant on February 2, 2016
