Ever had a board game night where you end up cursing your own dice and the wildlife in front of you? Same here. This is my review of Brew, a game that invites you to mess with potions, wrangle forest creatures, and argue with your friends about who gets the last energy berry. I’ve played this one with my usual gang—one rules lawyer, one chaos gremlin, and a guy who thinks he’s a woodland druid now. So, let’s see if Brew deserves a place on your shelf or if it should stay in the wilderness!
How It Plays
Setting up
First, pick your cute woodland animal. Give everyone their dice, some starting resources, and a player board. Shuffle the forest tiles and potion cards, then lay out the board. Place all the tiny ingredient tokens in reach. Try not to spill everything before you even start.
Gameplay
On your turn, roll your dice and use them wisely. Send them to forage for ingredients or claim magical forests. Brew powerful potions to bend the rules and annoy your friends. You’ll be fighting over forests, stealing ingredients, and, if you’re me, wondering how you got stuck with a handful of useless berries.
Winning the game
The game ends when the forest deck runs out. Add up your points from controlled forests, brewed potions, leftover ingredients, and pets. Whoever has the most points wins! If it’s not you, accuse your friends of potion doping or just challenge them to a rematch.
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Brew.
How Brew Mixes Up Strategy and Chance
Alright, let me tell you about the main reason my friend group now says “Don’t you dare Brew me!” at game night. Brew, at its core, is a worker placement and dice manipulation game. You send out your little foragers (meeples that look like they belong in a woodland rave), and you roll dice to decide what you can do. So far, so good.
Now, here’s where Brew gets spicy. Everyone gets their own set of dice, but you also roll these crazy elemental dice that anyone can use. Sometimes, the dice gods smile upon you. Sometimes, they just fling your plans into the compost bin. There’s a nice puzzle here, but luck plays a bigger role than I like. One bad roll can mess up a whole round. I’ve been there, watching my perfectly laid plans go up in smoke while someone else just grins and wins a forest with a lucky roll.
Still, Brew tries to balance things out. You can use potions, reroll dice, or mess with other players’ turns. But sometimes it just isn’t enough. If you get unlucky early on, you might spend the rest of the game catching up. I don’t mind a bit of chaos—I play with people who eat chaos for breakfast—but I wish Brew rewarded planning a bit more and rewarded dumb luck less. My advice? Play it with friends who can laugh off a bad dice night.
Next up, let’s see if Brew’s artwork and pieces look as magical as its forests—unless I spill my tea all over the board, again.
Stunning Artwork and Crunchy Components in Brew
Let me tell you, Brew is the kind of game that makes you want to lick the board. Not because I think cardboard is tasty (spoiler: it’s not), but because the art is so darn pretty. The forest scenes are bursting with color, like a Pixar movie but with more mushrooms and less existential dread. The animals look both cute and slightly suspicious, as if they’re plotting to drink your potions when you’re not looking. My friend Kevin spent the first five minutes of our game just admiring the dice before we could even start — to be fair, those elemental dice really pop with their frosted and speckled designs.
The components in Brew feel solid. You get chunky wooden tokens and custom dice that make a satisfying clack when you roll a handful (which I did way too often, just for the noise). The cards have a smooth finish that’s nice to handle and seem like they’ll survive your average board game snack accident. The player boards are thick enough to deflect a minor spill or the tears of whoever forgot to collect enough berries. Even the little potion bottles look great, and they make the table look like a wizard’s garden party.
If you care about looks, Brew is one of the best you can put on your shelf. It’s a show-off game for sure, and it’s clear a lot of love went into the production. Next up, we’ll see if player interaction in Brew is as punchy as its palette — sharpen your meeples and get ready for some wild strategies!
Player Interaction and Strategy Depth in Brew: Brewing Up Some Mischief
Let me tell you, Brew is one of those games where you can’t just sip your tea and plan quietly in the corner. Player interaction in Brew is as lively as a group of squirrels fighting over the last acorn. Every move you make spills over into what the others can do, so you can’t blink or you’ll miss someone nab the forest you wanted. My good friend Tom spent one game glaring at me after I charmed away a woodland creature he desperately needed. Sorry Tom, but all’s fair in love and magic mushrooms.
The strategy in Brew runs deeper than a wizard’s cauldron. You have worker placement, area control, dice rolling, and resource management all crammed into this whimsical box. Each action is a feisty puzzle. Once, I thought I had a perfect round lined up – and then Sandra, with a roll of the dice, sent my plans up in smoke. The game gives you lots of choices, but you have to watch the table like a hawk. If you zone out, someone else will snatch what you need right from under your nose. Planning ahead helps, but you also need to adapt faster than you can say “brew another potion!”
Brew rewards clever moves and punishes tunnel vision, offering plenty of chances to outwit your friends (and annoy them just a little). If you love games where you get in each other’s business and every round feels fresh, Brew won’t disappoint on the interaction front. Now, if you’re wondering how many times you can play it before it gets stale, saddle your dragon and join me for the next part: Replay value and game length!
How Many Times Can You Boil the Cauldron? Replay Value & Game Length in Brew
I’ve played a lot of games that are good for one night and then collect dust, but Brew isn’t one of them. This is the sort of game that keeps dragging me back like a friendly raccoon to my trash cans. Every session feels different thanks to the wild potion combo possibilities and ever-changing forest critters. I once tried to hoard all the healing potions just to annoy my friend Greg, and he never forgave me.
The cool part is the modular forest tiles. They mix up the board each time, so you’re not stuck with the same boring map. Even my cousin Suzie, who usually gets bored halfway through a Monopoly game, wanted a rematch. If you like trying new strategies and tripping up your pals (in the game, not in real life), Brew’s got you covered for at least a dozen plays before you start seeing the same patterns.
Game length is a sweet spot, too. We usually wrap up in about 60-75 minutes. It goes fast enough to keep everyone awake, but not so fast you can’t plot your mischief. I wouldn’t call it a quick filler, but it’s not a never-ending saga either. Perfect for a weeknight or a lazy Saturday.
If you want endless variety and a game that won’t overstay its welcome, Brew’s a solid pick. I’d recommend it for anyone who loves replayable games and doesn’t mind a little magical mischief. Just leave your healing potions unattended and see what happens…
Conclusion
Brew looks stunning on the table and always gets a wow out of first-timers. I had a blast wrangling cute animal companions and outwitting my friends (well, mostly; sometimes the dice sent my plans to the compost heap). The game strikes a nice balance with its chunky components, replay value, and how much you mess with each other. Sure, there’s a bit more luck than I usually like, and it can get swingy, but if you don’t mind a little chaos with your strategy, you’ll have a great time. Overall, Brew is a magical treat for groups who love a bit of competition and don’t take losing personally. Thanks for joining me! That’s the end of this review—now someone pass me the berries, my potion is almost done!
