Power Vacuum
A lot of our favorite games around here are a mashup of two things we already love. One of our families absolute all-time games is Werewolf (aka Mafia), a hidden identity game that hilariously pits family against family during a monstrous murder spree. In what would normally be totally unrelated news, one of our favorite comedies of the last decade is The Death of Stalin, a movie showing the craziness, in-fighting, and wagon-circling that takes place after a big political "opening." And that's not to even mention Succession! Power Vacuum is a hidden-identity, trick-taking game where you battle for (what else) absolute power.
How it works: The Great Vacuum has died, and it's time for a successor to seize power and take control. It starts with a basic trick-taking game, where you win hands by suit to collect power, which is used to manipulate the control board, a central area to swing power and yield your secret agendas. Look out, because other agendas might get in the way. Collect points to build your statue, a monument to your glorious appliance leader.
Why it's clever: The game comes with a mix-and-match set of wooden miniatures for building the appliance monuments. It's a tiny tactile improvement that really adds to the dynamic gameplay, especially if you're into minifigs. All of this is laden with goofy, original art, reminiscent of a classic cartoon. Add the central control board (and the hidden chaos it brings), and you've got an entirely new trick-taking game, a sum worth more than its (familiar) parts.
Price: $35
Bonus: check out these little mix-and-match statues! This was another game we backed on Kickstarter, where we even earned a special gold statue!
