But for me the combination of the cover and the designers Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva and it being a Horrible Guild game put it over the top. In particular, I’ve found that I enjoy most Hjalmar Hach designs. So pair that with an amazing looking cover and a company that I like, I needed to check it out.

How To Play – The Great Split

The Great Split is not that difficult a game to play, though learning it on the fly there are a number of things to think about. It has a particular cadence to the game that you need to teach. But the main premise of the game is that you have a number of tracks that you want to go up on. Depending on the track(s) they score in different ways or give you different bonuses.

So, how do you go up on the tracks, it’s a simple I split, you choose mechanic. By that I mean that I have a had of cards, between five to seven in the game, and I am creating two groups of cards. Then I pass my wallet to you and you pick one of those groups. I get the other one back. At the same time everyone around the table is doing this, so I get a wallet of cards to pick from and pick one of the two groups.

You do that several turns and then at the end of the game you tally up your points. Whomever has the most points is the winner. And I can go into scoring more, but there is some to learn with that, but not too much.

What Am I Worried About?

So a bit of twist on how I normally do it, closer to the review. But I don’t want to fully dive into it, this is more of a first impressions. There are two things that stand out to me that I am curious about with the Great Split though.

Firstly, I wonder about the viability of this game at lower player counts. I enjoyed what the game does a lot, but I played it at 3. I wonder if 4-7 would be better. The game doesn’t really add much time to it the more people you play with. But at 2-3, you won’t see many cards. It adds a different element of strategy to it with how you can play your opponent, but you are going to get more unbalanced scoring.

I also want to know what it’s like to teach the game. I played at the time we were learning the game as well. And looking back on it, I think that I could make it faster and simpler for teaching. But there are a number of things to teach. There are six different sections you need to teach scoring on. At the same time, I think most of the things are pretty simple once you know them. And I don’t think I need to teach some elements of the game as the game suggests that you have someone “run” the game and turns.

What Have I Enjoyed?

I really enjoy the “I split, you choose” mechanic of the game. The game is really just that mechanic which doesn’t worry me too much because you’ll get variety each time you play in the cards you take. But it’s interesting to look at the board of the player you are passing to, the direction doesn’t change, see what they are picking, and try and create a combination where they pick something that gives you what you want plus just a little bit more.

Or it could be that you create a split where either one will work for you, but you’ve split up what they want in order to slow them down. The game seems simple, but you can really give someone what they don’t want to keep some scoring tracks in check if you split stuff up well.

I also enjoy how the scoring works. Now, I won’t go into everything, but some of them are just how far you are up on the track, another has a sliding market, and another is the lowest of two tracks. But I’m more talking about how the game scores each section twice, minus contracts. So the three main tracks twice, once each mid game and once at the end of the game. But mid game you might score books and gems first and then art and nothing, or it might be books and nothing first and then art and gems. So when you score the first time might determine what you push for.

Final Thoughts – The Great Split

This is a very fun experience and I really enjoyed playing it once so far. I wonder how often I will get it played, though, because it is a game that seems to work better with more. And while I do have game nights, I feel like it isn’t one we’ll play all the time. But it fits into the same category, in my opinion as a game like Sushi Go Party or Seven Wonders.

With that, I mean that I can see playing it at higher player counts. And with more players, it is not a game that takes longer to play. I play it with three players, it goes as fast as the slowest player. I play it with 7 players and it still plays as fast as the slowest player. Now, the slowest player might be slower, but that is the restriction. So I really like that about the game. And I like it when I find a big group game that isn’t a party game.

Do you like The Great Split? Is it a game that you want to try? Let me know in the comments below.

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Publisher Portrait: Horrible Guild

Horrible Guild was founded in 2014 by Lorenzo Silva. Back when it was founded it was known as Horrible Games, but in 2019 they changed their name to Horrible Guild. This Italian board game company is known for making innovative and different games, which I’ll be talking about shortly. Horrible Guild is another company that does a lot of their initial funding for games on Kickstarter, but they have more of a retail presence than a Kickstarter only game company. You can find more about them on their website, here.

What Are Their Games Like?

So, I mentioned this above, but Horrible Guild really tries to create unique games. Now, not all of these games are small, but a lot of them fall onto the lighter side of board gaming. But because they are lighter, that gives them a really good chance to be creative in what they are doing.

Horrible Guild is probably best known for the game Railroad Ink. This was a roll and write that hit the markets towards the front end of the roll and write craze that we are still actively in. Now, a roll and write doesn’t sound that unique and it isn’t, but it is a good demonstration of the quality that Horrible Guild puts into their games. It came with dry erase boards and markers instead of sheets. And the dice are nice and chunky that you are using not just your standard dice. This is something that is consistently throughout all their games. They really give a ton of toy factor to what they create.

Board Game Spotlight

Railroad Ink/Railroad Ink Challenge

I have been talking about this game a lot lately. That’s mainly because there was an app that came out for Railroad Ink Challenge, and it’s great. But also the game is a ton of fun. I played it recently over on Malts and Meeples. But this game is really worth talking about, especially because in the Challenge version, it gives you a lot of think about. And because it is the game that put Horrible Guild on the map for them. Railroad Ink is all about connecting routes, making long roads and train tracks, and nothing that revolutionary. However, it takes what we already know and leverages that.

Then Challenge adds in a whole lot more, well, challenges. Basically timed requirements where if you get them done in time you get more points. Plus a few more places to score points. In some ways Challenges is less punishing because you can score points with towns and double up the use of dice. But it’s more punishing because you now have those goals or challenges you’re going for. And those sometimes don’t match well with the dice, or what how you started. Do you want to score well there or go more for routes. Both version, though, a ton of fun.

Potion Explosion

When I think Horrible Guild, though, this is the game I think of. And that is because this game has so much toy factor. It is like playing an app game, but as a board game. In Potion Explosion you pull out marbles and they drop down , if you hit two of the same color together you get those two as well. It can create a great chain reaction that is so satisfying. But beyond that, it also has fun combo game play. You use the marbles to make potions. You use the options to get more marbles. It’s not complex, but out on the table it looks like so much fun, and its good for a wide variety of gamers.

Similo

This game is arriving in the mail today. I have yet to play it, but it is a big one for them in that Horrible Guild has a ton of expansions for it. What is drawing me to the game is that it’s a cooperative party game. Now, cooperative party games are becoming more common, but this one seems like a lot of fun. It has almost a bit of a Codenames element to it. One player is it and they have a secret card, out of 10 on the table, they want you to guess. And then a handful of cards to give you clues. They can’t say anything but with the cards they play, they tell you if it’s similar or different. Then the other players need to eliminate cards. Super simple, but super fun looking.

Tiny Turbo Cars

Finally I have one that I backed on Kickstarter. This one hasn’t shipped yet, still in production and development. But this one again has that amazing toy factor. You race cars across the living room floor. Well, the board game version of a living room floor. But the toy factor element, a little controller, that you program how your turn is going to go is just amazing. It’s a sliding puzzle and it looks like an RC controller. So you slide it to create that program in real time. I am so excited to get this one in.

Final Thoughts on Horrible Guild

As I talked about at the end of the video on Malts and Meeples on Wednesday, Horrible Guild is a company that I really pay attention to now. I just like their stuff. They make really fun games, generally really accessible games, and sometimes that’s what I want. I clearly love massive board games like those that Mythic Games and Awaken Realms put out, but I can’t only have that in my collection. So Horrible Guild gives me so many unique and fun twists on games that I’d have never thought of.

What is your favorite Horrible Guild Game?

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.
Support us on Patreon here.