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Healthy Heart Hospital (Third Edition) (2023) Board Game

ByMichail

Healthy Heart Hospital (Third Edition) is a board game that simulates the experience of running a hospital. Designed by Chelsea Autio and Sara Meseguer, this cooperative game challenges players to work together to manage patients, resources, and emergencies while maintaining the hospital’s reputation. The third edition of the game was released in 2023, featuring updated gameplay mechanics and components.

Game Components of Healthy Heart Hospital

  • Game Board: Divided into wards, administrative area, and a cemetery.
  • Doctor Cards: 14 different cards, each with two special powers.
  • Administrator Cards: 7 different cards with unique abilities.
  • Patient Tokens: Represented by small discs in wards and cubes in the waiting room.
  • Action Tokens: For tracking player actions.
  • Room Tiles: Various rooms that confer benefits to the hospital.
  • Staff and Research Tokens: For hiring staff and conducting research.
  • Money and Score Trackers**.

    How To Setup Healthy Heart Hospital

    Setting up the game involves placing the game board, separating the doctor and administrator cards, and distributing action tokens based on the player count. The board is divided into key areas: the wards, administrative area, and the cemetery. Each player selects a doctor card and receives a set number of action tokens. The administrator card is controlled by a different player each turn. The game starts with patients in the waiting room, and new patients are added each turn.

    Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

  • Cooperative Gameplay: Players work together to manage the hospital.
  • Turn Structure: Each turn involves doctor actions, administrator actions, and a patient phase.
  • Doctor Actions: Heal or transfer patients using two actions per turn.
  • Administrator Actions: Hire staff, conduct research, or use special abilities.
  • Patient Phase: Patients in critical care and ER die; new patients are added to the waiting room.
  • Objective: Keep the hospital financially stable and manage patient care over six turns without running out of money or space for dead bodies.
  • Random Elements: Drawing cubes to heal patients, which can lead to unexpected patient deaths.
  • Variants: Includes 7 variants to vary gameplay.

    Player Experience

    Playing Healthy Heart Hospital is a dynamic and sometimes chaotic experience. The game’s humor and nods to hospital dramas and sitcoms add a light-hearted touch. Players must balance healing patients, managing hospital finances, and dealing with the inevitable patient deaths. The game is relatively easy to win but includes enough randomness to keep it engaging. Each game typically lasts about 45 minutes.

    Pros

  • Engaging Theme: A humorous take on hospital management.
  • Variety in Gameplay: 14 doctor cards and 7 administrator cards provide replayability.
  • Simple to Learn: Easy-to-read rules and quick setup.
  • Cooperative Fun: Works well for 1-5 players.

    Cons

  • Randomness: Can be overly dependent on cube draws, leading to unpredictable outcomes.
  • Limited Strategic Depth: Approaching the game as a pure strategy is challenging due to random elements.
  • Room for Improvement: Some players find the room cards and doctor abilities lack variety.

    Personal Thoughts on Healthy Heart Hospital

    Healthy Heart Hospital is ideal for those who enjoy cooperative games with a dash of humor and randomness. It’s perfect for fans of hospital dramas and sitcoms, offering a fun and lighthearted gaming experience. While it may not be the best fit for players seeking deep strategic games, it provides an entertaining and engaging experience that can be enjoyed in under an hour. The game’s ease of learning and variety in gameplay make it accessible to a wide range of players, particularly those aged 14 and above.

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    • Michail, a seasoned tabletop enthusiast, dives headfirst into worlds of fantasy and strategy. Whether commanding a party of adventurers through perilous dungeons or engaging in tactical showdowns on the board, Michail is the maestro of the tabletop realm. Michail's gaming table is a realm where the clatter of dice and the shuffle of cards create a symphony of strategic chaos.

    Hobby: Miniature painting guru, turning pewter into masterpieces
    Preferred Game: Dungeons & Dragons, but always up for a board game brawl

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