Little Alchemist Board Game Review

When companies take popular franchises they own and release a younger, kid friendly version of said game, I’m almost always going to be intrigued. With two younger kids – ages 10 and 6 – playing games in our house, introducing them to more complex ideas and concepts with kid friendly games is something I really enjoy. The trick is creating a game that is great for kids, but fun for adults as well. Little Alchemist does just that, and it’s one of my favorite experiences to play with my kids at this moment.

We have had the pleasure of reviewing a TON of kid-centric versions of adult games. My Little Scythe, My Lil Everdell, Catan Jr, etc. These games have been fantastic ways to teach our kids about worker placement, tableau building, pick up and deliver, and more, all the while entertaining my wife and I as well. With Little Alchemist, kids will learn deductive skills, as they work to combine ingredients to create potions.

What I like even more about Little Alchemist is that it’s meant to be played as sort of a campaign. In truth, you could open everything up and just begin to play, but the various scenarios and boxes of unlockables slowly teach more complex ideas and concepts. For adults, this will definitely feel like being drip-fed new concepts as none of them are overly complex. But when presenting these ideas to kids, I think the rate at which things sare unlocked is exceptional.

Whether you love or hate it, this game does use an app. Fair warning, before we dive deeper into this game. Back out now, if that isn’t your thing!

So what will we be doing? During the game, customers will show up and be looking for specific potions. If you have the potion, you can sell it to the customer, and whoever has the most money will win the game. That;s a very simplistic overview of what you will be doing as there is so much more – getting ingredients, attempting to brew potions, finding the right combinations, etc. But it is still a game aimed at kids and families, so it’s not as difficult as you might think from the variety of components.

I’m walking a fine line between what to write and talk about, because ultimately I don’t want to spoil all the great things you will unlock. This is a deduction game, throughout all the different boxes. While the big brother game to this one, Alchemist, includes a variety of other concepts and ideas (like worker placement, for example), Little Alchemists never reaches that point, even when all the boxes have been unlocked. But it does introduce new concepts and ideas that keeps each game feeling just a bit different than the last.

Tracking potions on the little triangle grid that each player hides behind their screen is a bit tough for younger players. It took my kids a bit of time to finally understand how to find the correct location to place their potion token once they had imputed the ingredients into the application. But aside from that, there isn’t much to complain about here. This is a solid game with a great production, and who doesn’t love unlocking stuff!

As you play through the various scenarios you will unlock keys, and once enough keys have been collected you can open up the next box in sequence. New stuff will pour out of those boxes, and to keep it light on the spoilers that might be different tokens, new ideas, and more! As you move through the various games, the application will as well, giving you new options to click on and new ways to score points!

Overall, Little Alchemist has impressed immensely, and I cannot recommend it enough. There are a few hiccups with the application, but nothing game breaking in my opinion. If you have young kids and you want to teach them the ins and outs of deductive thinking, then this is the perfect game to pick up!