One of our most anticipated title of the 2023 game in Essen was Rats of Witsar from the Italian publisher Cranio Creations. Our editor Jonas and I were very interested in the game and could hardly wait to test it. Now, thanks to PD-Verlag, the game by Danilo Sabia and Simone Luciani has also been released in Germany under the name The Rats of Wistar. You can find out how the game performs in the following review.
One fine morning, Curie, Hippocrates, Humboldt and Einstein emerged from their hiding place into the open air. The day began with the same jokes as always, but it had not always been like this. Some time ago, their lives took place only between four sterile walls made of Plexiglas, which they could only leave if the humans allowed them to. They also gave them their names and were responsible for the abilities that the four rats possessed. After their great escape from captivity, the rats built a shelter that offered them more amenities than any human accommodation above ground. The colony of rats grew and grew. The four rats and their families were doing quite well. But their luck was running out, and it became clear that a leader was needed to coordinate all the chaos. So the four rats came up with the idea of a competition. Whoever could achieve more for the good of the colony within five days would take over the leadership.
To power!
In "The Rats of Wistar" we take on the role of one of the four rats and try to prove ourselves worthy of taking over the leadership of the rat colony. To do this, we try to build as many beds as possible over five rounds, dig out rooms, complete missions, accommodate guest mice, build inventions and achieve goals. The rat that has collected the most victory points at the end and thus done the most for the common good wins.
The gameplay is pleasantly simple. In classic worker placement style, we place one of our three boss rats on an action field on the action wheel on the game board and carry out this action. Then it is the next person's turn until all players have placed their three boss rats. Each field has a secondary action that is linked to one of six main actions. If we place one of our boss rats on an action field, we can carry out the secondary and main actions in any order. While we can only carry out the secondary action once, the main actions are determined by the number of rats in the respective sectors.
Each sector has two main actions. In the forest we can collect wood and dig rooms. In the cave we can collect metal and build beds. On the farm we can take invention cards and explore the farm. For example, if we want to collect wood and there are three rats in the forest, we will also get three pieces of wood. If we want to dig rooms at some point, we could dig three rooms. If a sector does not have a rat, we cannot carry out the main action.
More Rats = Stronger Actions
At the beginning of a game, we only have two rats that we can place in any area. If we want to move one to another sector, we have to use the side action provided for it or spend collected movement markers. However, since it is usually more difficult to progress with only two rats, we need more rats. We get these by building beds and placing them in our den. However, this has limited space, so new rooms have to be dug out. In order to be able to dig out rooms and build beds, we need metal and wood. Through this loop, we improve our rat den step by step and can carry out increasingly powerful actions by the end of the game.
In the farm sector, we can take invention cards that can have instant, round, end-of-game, income, attack and permanent effects. End-of-game effects typically specify victory point conditions, while income effects give us resources and more at the start of a new round. Attack effects have take-that elements that can harm the other players. However, these can be left out if necessary. Invention cards can be played with side actions if you can pay the cost and, in addition to the effect, activate their invention type and symbols that we can use to complete missions on the farm.
We receive missions when we explore the farm in the farm sector. This makes up the rest of the game board and is divided into seven rooms filled with guest mouse tiles and mission cards. Through the exploration action, we can open locked doors (and receive their rewards), enter rooms, reveal missions or recruit guest mice. If we recruit a guest mouse, we place it in a free room in our den. It blocks a space for a bed, but also gives us valuable bonuses and victory points. If we uncover missions, we can then complete them - with the help of invention types, symbols or resources - to receive further bonuses. To do this, our rat or a tent of our color must be in the same room as the mission. If a rat reaches the last cellar room, cheese is waiting there, which gives the first player six victory points and the second player three.
alternatives and goals
If you cannot or do not want to carry out any of the actions on the action wheel, you can also carry out the so-called alchemist action. This determines the turn order in the next round, depending on who carried out this action first. You also receive a movement marker and can carry out one of four side actions: complete a mission, play an invention card, take 1 metal or take 1 wood.
The turn order can play an important role in the following turn, as the actions on the action wheel are quite limited. Some important secondary actions are quickly taken or become a main action. The earlier you go, the more influence you have on your turn.
There are also goals under the action wheel that can be completed at any time for free. You usually need a certain number of resources or symbols to complete the goal. While the first person to complete a goal has the lowest requirement to achieve it, this requirement increases with each player who completes the same goal. This makes it increasingly difficult to earn the valuable victory points.
Information about The Rats of Wistar
| Number of players: 1 – 4 Age: from 13 years Playing time: 90 minutes Difficulty: expert game Long-term motivation: medium Classification: Worker Placement Author: Simone Luciani, Danilo Sabia Illustrations: Candida Corsi, Sara Valentino Publisher: PD Verlag, Cranio Creations Official Website: Link Year of publication: 2024 Language: German Cost: 59,80 Euro |
Conclusion
Basically, "The Rats of Wistar" is a fairly catchy game. But that's also because the game doesn't do anything really new. You've seen everything before somewhere. But what "The Rats of Wistar" presents works brilliantly and is fun! The combination with the rat theme is also beautifully presented and feels incredibly immersive. Everything about the game is consistent.
Nevertheless, “The Rats of Wistar” is not really that easy to play. The game bombards you with a variety of symbols, especially on the invention cards, which are sometimes not really clear. Especially when constellations are added. In the appendix you can find many symbols and symbol constellations. You can also find explanations for some invention cards here, but we often had the problem that we were faced with the question of what the card really meant and whether we had played it correctly. That's a shame, because the game often comes to a standstill with discussions about the rules. One positive thing about the game, however, is the large number of cards. You can have many different invention cards to progress in the game.
The solo mode of "The Rats of Wistar" is also rock solid. Here we play against an automatic opponent called Rat-o-Bot. This determines its actions based on cards that determine the action it wants to perform. The Rat-o-Bot performs its actions slightly differently than the players. In the end, the Rat-o-Bot must be outscored in terms of points in order to defeat it. This is quite fun and also quite challenging.
Overall, “The Rats of Wistar” is a good game that is definitely fun and is particularly convincing due to its artwork. However, because you already know everything, you somehow think that you could have played other games that might have given you a certain kick. “The Rats of Wistar” trundles along happily and is a good time. You should definitely try it out, because it is by no means bad. But it is not breathtaking either.
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PD-Verlag The Rats of Wistar* |
45,32 EUR |
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