Cozy Juicy Real
3-8 Players
Playtime: 30-60 Minutes
Most social and party games simply exist to entertain and nothing more. There is obviously nothing wrong with this, but there is room in the market for a game that intends to dig a little deeper. Cozy Juicy Real hopes to fill that niche with a game that serves a purpose outside of being a game.
A Brief How To Play
Unsurprisingly, a game of Cozy Juicy Real is simple and doesn’t require much setup. A game board with five decks of cards is placed in the middle of the table. Each player gets a mat for collecting cards and points throughout the game. Play then begins at the starting space of the board.
The five decks of cards are Cozy, Juicy, Real, Random, and Bonus Lightning. They are each filled with their corresponding cards. The Cozy deck has cozy cards that are pretty easy to answer and will award 30 points. Juicy and Real get more difficult to answer, but are worth more. The Random deck has group challenges, and the Bonus Lightning deck is for the bonus lightning round at the end of the game if players choose to play with this optional rule.
As players move around the board, their tokens will land on colored spaces. The colors indicate what card deck to pull from. Cozy cards are green, so players on green spaces will utilize those. The turn player will draw a card and read it out loud for other players to hear. Then that player will answer the question. If players read the question and answer it appropriately, they will score with the card and then move forward. The number of spaces is indicated on the card. Some spaces have multiple colors, allowing for players to choose how juicy or real they want their card to be.
Finally, each player has spark cards that encourage engagement for extra points. Spark cards are simple and can be used whenever. The high-five card lets players high-five the player of their choice. The What About You card allows players to ask another player the question that they just answered. By using a Spark card, the player is giving the other player points.
Players will move clockwise around the board until someone reaches the end. Points are tallied, from scorecards, and then are reduced for every unused Spark card. The player with the most points wins.
Pacing and Interactivity
As expected from most games in the genre, Cozy Juicy Real is highly interactive. Players are encouraged to constantly learn about each other and themselves. The nature of the game leads to more challenging games as players progress, allowing them to warm up around each other when it comes to comfort. Most of the direct interaction comes from the Spark cards when players High Five or even Hug. Well-meaning and feel-good party games are rare, but Cozy Juicy Real fits the bill.
A game of Cozy Juicy Real can take a little more than an hour, and some would think that this is a slog in the party genre. Fortunately, the game’s mechanics allow for the game to actually get deeper as it progresses, making it more enthralling towards the end. Sure, the early questions like “What’s been one of your favorite movies or TV series?” are fun and easy to answer, but they don’t carry the weight of the Real cards. “What’s an act of kindness you may never forget,” or “How might you live your life differently if you had no fear” can teach a lot about a person in a short amount of time.
Theme and Components
As a lighthearted game for learning about each other, Cozy Juicy Real has a lot of room for pleasing aesthetics. While it certainly has a bright and cheerful aesthetic, it mostly utilizes a sterile aesthetic that resembles something you would see on social media. It certainly isn’t a bad-looking game though. It’s simple and easy to understand and interpret. Anyone wanting a more thematic game might be disappointed, but this works.
Sequential Planet was sent a prototype copy of Cozy Juicy Real so we can’t comment on the quality of the board, cards, and overall final product.
Replay Value
Cozy Juicy Real has enough variety in cards for it to be good for a few sessions with the same group. Still, this was created by two life coaches and fits incredibly well as a team-building exercise. This is a game that’s excellent when brought to different events with different groups. Whether it’s family outings, sleepovers with friends, or corporate team-building, Cozy Juicy Real succeeds as an experience that feels like a game and results in meaningful interaction. It has as much replay value as the player is willing to share around.
Cozy Juicy Real Is Great For Fans Of…
This game is ideal for environments that promote positivity and a desire to be close. It’s unique in what it offers, and fans of feel-good outings should add Cozy Juicy Real to the shelf and then get it on the table.
