Life of the collector
The board game The Whatnot Cabinet is very simple in its assumptions. In our turn, we choose one of the five available actions on the board. Thus, we block it for other people. Importantly, the choice of field indicates the order of players in the next round. The selected action defines how we will acquire two tiles representing various trinkets. We can, for example, take them from the bag or take them directly from the playing field (at the beginning there are four tiles). Then our achievements are placed on shelves.
And here the fun begins, mainly with luck, because we will only score points if we create a system. In the columns we look at color – our treasures must be of the same color or different. A similar rule applies horizontally, but then only the type of item matters. Later in the game, it’s hard to find the one and only trifle of a particular type and color to create the perfect trinket display. To spice up the fun, cards with a special task have been added (only the first player scores points with it). Each game also awards a specific type of trinkets. Finally, I would like to add that among the tiles there are also those with a crown, and this always gives one point at the end. And this is roughly how it looks.
Crystals, leaves, bottles and other wonders
On the one hand, The Whatnot Cabinet are very simple, hence I was surprised by the age on the box, which is fourteen. In my opinion, theoretically even an eight-year-old should deal with this position. You can also simplify the game by giving up, for example, task cards. It is true that at the beginning the available actions are not very intuitive, but the next time you play, everything runs smoothly and smoothly. It is impossible to play only one game and it does not matter whether in a larger group or solo!
In the end, fate is of great importance, but it also depends on us whether we try to create better scored systems (for example, one type horizontally) or choose an easier, but more modest goal. Frankly speaking, I have nothing to fault with this item. It’s a great, light family title that has some unique charm to it. It’s very nice and fun to play, because it doesn’t require a lot of effort from the players. Unfortunately, the question arises whether in the flood of hundreds of games it is worth betting onThe Whatnot Cabinet …
Lovely knick-knacks!
The Whatnot Cabinet are in a class of their own. Trinkets look wonderful. Although, to be precise, while collecting stones, bottles, shells or leaves on a walk makes sense, collecting animals, or rather animal figures, kills any semblance of climate. Theme is good, we have set collection mechanics, and we play the role of a collector who goes for a walk and collects nice things. Suddenly, in the grass, he comes across an elephant or a cat statue! In this case, you could come up with something else, or leave only different kinds of butterflies in the animal category. All in all, this is just an unnecessary remark, so we smoothly move on to further delight. The molding is perfectly designed, everything fits in it and nothing moves during transport, but the bag from which we draw the tiles could be larger.
The illustrations of the trinkets look beautiful. It is a pity that the item with the crown printed in a given color looks identical to the one without it. I also appreciate adding the four help cards to the box. Wooden pawns with unusual shapes make the best impression! The Whatnot Cabinet is a very beautiful game! Oh, a small minus for the insertion of the original publisher, i.e. with the English title of the game instead of Polish.
A lonely walk
Solo play is amazingly enjoyable. It is true that we compare our result only with the table, but there is an automa deck that blocks our action spaces, and also discards tiles of a specific type. In addition, we race against time a bit, because every round two task cards are covered, and achieving at least two goals is demanding. In addition, you earn extra points for positions on the order track, so in solo mode it’s worth using weaker actions (we rely more on randomly drawing tiles) to get extra points. I had a very nice time in solo mode. Thanks to your opponent’s deck, this is one of the best games for solo play based on comparing your score with the scoreboard!
Is it worth becoming a collector?
It is worth getting interested in The Whatnot Cabinet , because it is a solid, family game. It is worth bearing in mind that randomness provides the most emotions here, so people who would like to plan more should reach for, for example, the Cottage . I am glad that I took this board game for review, although I am aware that there are many titles of a similar level and I would have a problem to recommend only this particular item to a family in a flood of so many games. Nevertheless, when asked for a light, accessible and pleasant family game, I will answer in one breath: The Whatnot Cabinet , together with the aforementione Cottage , Splendor or the series Ticket To Ride…
