Off With Their Heads Board Game Review
If there is one thing I can say about Druid City Games – and let’s be real, there are many positives to say – it is that they really know how to build a world. They have done a fabulous job of taking the world of Alice in Wonderland and making it pop in so many different ways, and my favourite of all of them has to be Off With Their Heads, a card playing, box checking experience that is easy to learn but is full of great decision making opportunities. Of the Druid City Games titles I’ve played so far, this is the least ambitious, but I think that makes it the most fun as it is wildly accessible for a wide audience.
In Off With Their Heads, players will be placing cards and ticking boxes on a sheet to earn points, all over the course of three rounds. On each turn of the round, players will select a card from their hand secretly and place it face down, which will be revealed once all players have selected a card. Then, the placement location where numbers can be written is determined for each player, either in the top, middle, or bottom zone. In a 2 or three player game, extra cards from the deck will be drawn to create a group of 4 cards. The cards are then ordered from highest to lowest, taking into account the trump suit and the subsequent values of other suits. Once the cards are ordered, players will check to see where their card is in the order, either 1 (top zone), 2 or 3(middle zone) or 4 (bottom zone) and mark that specific number in the specified zone. The colour of the suit dictates where in the zone a number can be placed: black on black, red on red, or black/red on a wild spot.
Each zone has placement rules that need to be followed, so this will dictate how you play. To provide some agency to players, tea cups can be collected and then used on subsequent turns to alter where a number can be placed. As you begin filling in specific boxes, you’ll want to satisfy the requirements of the Wonderland characters as well to maximize your end game points. You will play out a round until you have two cards remaining which you will set aside. At the end of the game, you’ll try to make the best poker hand possible with the six cards you have set aside during the game, to earn even more points. This is a very high level overview of how the game works, but we encourage you to watch the video from fellow Canadian creators Kovray for a full rules breakdown!
As I noted off the top, I find Off With Their Heads so appealing because of how accessible it is. There isn’t a lot of rules to teach, and the core gameplay loop is rather simplistic. Choose a card, play a card, mark a space. Of course the game would be boring if that was all there was to it, but from an accessibility point of view, it really is that simple. There is still deep strategy here to consider, though. Not only will you need to read other players – what does Billy want to do this turn, and what card might he play? – but you’ll also need to make sure you are using cards that will benefit you. For example, you might need to finish a Mushroom in the meadow, but you also need a number that isn’t a 10 (face card). You need to go first to place in the meadow, so can you get away with playing a 9 of the top suit in order to (hopefully) have the highest card? And if that doesn’t work, do you have a teacup to pivot?
For me, Off With Their Heads is all about adapting on the fly, making sure you set yourself up for success so that in the – guaranteed throughout the game – situation where you can’t do exactly what you want to do, you can pivot to something else that might be almost as good. This is a game of planning, keeping as many options open to yourself as possible and not limiting yourself to a specific card or turn order for the opportunity to score big points. Further, I enjoy the hand management aspect of the game. You get 9 cards each round, but only play 7. Do you focus on your sheet, or do you plan hand-to-hand on how you can come up with the best poker hand at the end of the game.
Off With Their Heads is really compelling, and is always enjoyed whenever I get the chance to teach it. Players are not only captivated by the beautiful artwork and overall aesthetic of the experience, but they find the puzzle engaging and entertaining as well. Flip-and-writes, which is about as close to a label I can place on this game, are generally lacking in theme and longevity. I have a ton of them, and they get played, but not often enough as they get stale. So far, Off With Their Heads has come back to the table again and again, even after my initial review window has passed. That’s pretty rare for games in our house.
If you are looking for an easy-to-teach, easy-to-learn game, Off With Their Heads is a fantastic option for your next game night.
Article By Adam
