Alpaca (2023) Board Game – Board Game Guys

Alpaca is a card game designed by Christian Giove and illustrated by Stefano Tartarotti. It was published by GateOnGames in in 2023. The game revolves around the theme of cute and fluffy alpacas, making it a visually appealing choice for animal lovers.

Game Components of Alpaca

Player markers: First player marker

Cards: Alpaca cards with special abilities, puppy cards, fence cards, and comic cards

Fences: Used to enclose alpacas on the farm

Game Flow card: Guides players through the game’s steps

Noble alpacas: Alpa Prince, Alpa Princess, Alpa Queen, Alpa King, and the Snob

Brown and white alpacas: Different types with various abilities.

How To Setup Alpaca

To set up the game, each player starts by grabbing a starting deck consisting of six puppy cards and four fence cards. These cards are shuffled, and each player draws five cards from their deck. The game includes setting up the alpaca stacks, with specific numbers of brown and white alpacas, and always including the noble alpacas. Fences are placed in the supply, recommended to be in ascending order of cost. In a two-player game, an optional rule allows for removing one alpaca from each stack for a quicker game. The last player to place an alpaca gets the first player marker.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Deck-building: Players build their decks by playing alpaca cards for their abilities or coins.

Card drafting: Players choose alpacas to add to their farm.

Fence management: Players use fences to enclose alpacas, with certain alpacas having special abilities when behind fences.

Game Objective: The goal is to accumulate the most points by filling up your fences with alpacas. The game ends when all players have filled their fourth fence, and the player with the highest points, calculated from the abilities and values of their alpacas, wins. Tie breakers are also included.

Player Experience

**Alpaca** offers a fun and strategic experience where players must carefully manage their deck and farm to maximize points. The game is easy to learn but requires planning to optimize alpaca placement and ability usage. Players must balance playing alpacas for their abilities, using fences effectively, and managing their deck to ensure they have the right cards at the right time.

Pros

Easy to learn: Simple rules make it accessible to new players.

Strategic depth: Requires planning and optimization for winning.

Family-friendly: Suitable for players of various ages and skill levels.

Engaging gameplay: Varieties of alpacas and abilities keep the game interesting.

Cons

Component and rule clarity: Some confusion in the rules and component matching, such as scoring systems.

Personal Thoughts on Alpaca

**Alpaca** is perfect for players who enjoy light to medium-weight strategy games with a delightful theme. It is an excellent choice for families or casual game groups looking for a fun and engaging experience. The game’s simplicity in setup and rules makes it easy to introduce to new players, while its strategic elements offer enough depth for experienced gamers to enjoy. However, players who prefer complex, heavy strategy games might find it too light. Overall, **Alpaca** is a charming addition to any game collection, ideal for those who appreciate deck-building and card management mechanics.

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