Tabletop Game Review: Arcane Alley

Arcane Alley

Strange Space Games

Playtime: 45 Minutes

2-6 Players

“Welcome to the black magic market.”

Arcane Alley is a neat little set collection game in which players will act as wizard merchants. Players will sell items in a secret, illegal market with the risk of being caught by city inspectors. Players will stock their storehouses, try to sell their artifacts, and attempt to win by being the wealthiest at the end of the game.

A round of Arcane Alley is divided into four phases: Stock, Sell, Inspect, and Bribe. During the Stock Phase, players are dealt a 3 X 3 grid of face down artifact cards. They are also given two additional artifacts that go into their stash (Their hands). The players can reveal two artifacts face up, then play moves onto the Sell Phase.

Throughout the Sell Phase, the turn player draws a card, removes an artifact from their storehouse, then puts one card from their stash into the now vacant space face-up. Then the next player will do the same. The Sell Phase will continue on until a player’s storehouse is full of face-up cards. If a player’s storehouse has a line of three identical cards, those items are instantly sold, adding to the player’s gold supply (Score). The grid gets smaller, but this is useful during the Inspect Phase.

During the Inspect Phase, players will reveal any facedown artifacts in the storehouse and sell any matching sets. The leftover cards will give infamy points depending on the artifact. If a player exceeds 24 infamy points, they must pay a fine of 25 coins. If they manage to do this twice during an inspection, they will lose 50 instead. After all of the fines are paid, play will move onto the Bribe Phase, in which players can exchange gold for a reduction of Infamy points.

The game ends when three rounds are played. Whoever has the most points wins.

Arcane Alley feels good to play, with a neat flow that allows for quick turns. There is little downtime between turns, making arcane Alley engaging for all players. It’s accessible to players of all types of skill levels, with easy to understand concepts and a decent amount of luck to help level the playing field. At a little less than an hour a game, it’s the perfect length for those who don’t want to get caught up in long playing sessions.

All of Arcane Alley‘s mechanics work well, making this an entertaining game all the way through. Each artifact comes with unique effects that keep the game from being too simple. The various artifacts interact with the discard pile, the storehouses, and even the stashes of other players. The artifacts add a welcome amount of strategy to Arcane Alley making the game enjoyable for even hardcore gamers.

Arcane Alley fully embraces its magical theme, with fun artifacts and gorgeous art. Everything from the box art to the cards themselves looks fantastic, with gorgeous art by Janette Ramos. Every card brings a clear amount of personality to the game, with some card art looking cute while others appear menacing. The cards themselves are of great quality, made with thick and durable paper.  The way the game plays fits the theme as well. The card effects match the artifacts themselves, making for quite a few cute moments.

Arcane Alley is a solid set collection game that shines due to how accessible it is. It’s cute, has great pacing, and utilizes a few neat ideas. Some players will be turned off by how much luck is involved, but this doesn’t stop Arcane Alley from being an enjoyable addition to your table.

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