Distilled: A Spirited Strategy Game, Highly-Thematic Euro Game, Strie for The Title of Master Distiller, 30 Minute Play Time, for 1 to 5 Players, Ages 14 and up

Product Information

Distilled has you doing this from round one, which in a seven round game is very much appreciated; but it throws you in and has you puzzling out how to make your first spirit straight from the off. Sometimes the public milestones are tied to accomplishing goals that can only be done with spirit labels; going first helps here too. There’s a barrel-shaped pyramid (yes, I know that makes no sense) of goal cards to achieve during the seven rounds the game lasts. This may well be the game that brings certain non-gamers into the hobby or at least allows them to enjoy a game night when they otherwise wouldn’t.

Beyond the minor issues I have already discussed, there’s one more caveat I need to mention: the playtime. Premium Ingredients which will go towards making your spirits and are the same types as the basic ingredients, except these are worth money and points if they’re used in your recipes.This may have been down to me not selecting a balanced choice of characters, but it seemed odd that they could be so mismatched. The head and tail are normally put back into the next batch you are distilling (don't worry its distilled again and no longer bad for you).

I find it makes the game so much more thematic and gets you so much more invested in the whole thing if you feel like you're actually going through those motions rather than just, say, cashing in a couple ingredient cards to take a Gin card. The choices, the tension, the asymmetry, the solo mode, the multiplayer mode, it all comes together a wonderful package. I’ve personally not used it but I love the fact that it’s there to ease people into the game, especially if you’ve got multiple new players at the table. The way the goals are displayed and figuring out your "path" through them is really fun and adds a nice twist to the gameplay.The trick here is to add enough into the washback to make the spirit you want knowing that two of the cards will be removed, but not to waste a bunch of resources. There are a few food/drink games out in the world in which it would be almost rude not to pair them with the subject in question. Ingredients placed in the washback are used in creating a spirit and at least one Yeast, Sugar and Water card must be used. It’s fair to say that humans enjoy alcohol—at least the majority who decide to take part in such beverages. This meant that when everything is placed back into the game box, everything rested perfectly flush with the rim.

This is where you place all the ingredients you want to brew into your washbag and add an alcohol card to match each sugar. Players can mitigate the effects of a bad draw off their deck by adding more essential ingredients and ensure they will make the correct spirit at the end of the distilling phase. Distilled is a well crafted and tasteful blend of mechanisms that when mixed together leaves a very appealing taste on the metaphorical gaming pallet.This is defiantly a game of resource management so be careful not to run out of what you need to make your fine spirits or moonshine if you prefer. Spending an entire round to pull together everything you need to make a big point scorer, only to see it turn to vodka all because of a bad draw can be really frustrating.