I can’t say that I’ve ever played a game where I managed a group of street musicians…yet that’s what you’ll end up doing in “Big Easy Busking”. You’ll be assigning energy cubes from three different musicians from your team (trumpet, drums, sax) and play songs onto the available crowd cards / venues in order to hopefully earn both majority and threshold points.
Once again, due to medical issues and time constraints I’m forgoing the long article format in favor of a video that outlines the rules and even plays through an entire game. I’m finding that it’s more fun that way anyway and adding a visual component makes learning the game easier.
What did I think of “Big Easy Busking”? It’s easy to play but very think-y. Player turns are generally fast because they consist of three easy steps…that is until you are forced to calculate how you’ll spend cubes. You can get some back if you wish assuming your song’s mood matches the mood of the crowd card and then redistribute the unused cubes to your other musicians, allowing you to play cards you couldn’t before. It’s an area control game so it’s fairly cutthroat, which won’t be everybody’s cup of tea.
I rather enjoyed it. It wasn’t as good as some of the other games in my collection but it was above average overall. The art was very colorful and well done…a bit more loud and flashy than that of “Dreams of Tomorrow” by the same developer. Perhaps too loud for my liking, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. There are solo modes and variants available, adding to the replayability.
One comment that didn’t bother me but may bother others…the number of crowd cards you add to the pool increases every round. I would have added an optional rule to limit that increase in a two player game so the game feels a bit more closed. The more players you add the less of a problem this becomes. I personally like the extra space as I’m not a fan of cutthroat games, but some may not care for the extra space in the second/third rounds. Modify the game how you see fit…it’s your game after all.
All in all, “Big Easy Busking” is a fairly good forty-five minute experience. This game forces you to be efficient with your energy while you keep an eye on the competition. It’s a lot of math without the math, if that makes any sense.
Disclosure: I received a press copy, but any and all opinions are my own.
Final Verdict: 7/10 (Good)
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