Matthew BaileyToday we are going to be looking at a game that I have had a few request about over the last few weeks and that is “Quacks”.
“Quacks” is the brand-new edition of “The Quacks of Quedlinburg”, released by CMYK, with a new name and new artwork and currently exclusive to North America (although its easily importable from Amazon.com).
This new version, simply titled “Quacks”, features all-new artwork and a fresh more cartoony presentation that fits with CMYK’s common bright colourful aesthetic. The visual design is cleaner and brighter, but still captures the whimsical charm of the original. The original artwork is much loved and it this decision has received some negative press but It feels like a game that’s been lovingly refreshed for a new family audience rather than the older Eurogame feel of the original.
At its heart, “Quacks” remains one of the best push-your-luck games ever made. Players take on the roles of eccentric “quack doctors,” brewing strange potions in a chaotic contest of luck, nerve, and strategy. The game is played over nine rounds, and each player has their own pot filled with ingredients represented by small chips drawn from a bag.
The aim is simple: draw chips from your bag and place them in your pot to build the most impressive potion possible — but if you draw too many of the white “cherry bomb” chips (which really should be red, but whatever), your potion will explode!
Each chip has a numerical value that tells you how far along your spiral track you can place it. The further you advance, the better your potion’s rewards — but push your luck too far, and you’ll lose the benefits of that round. The tension this creates is incredible, especially as you glance over at your opponents and see how close they are to going boom.
Every colour of chip also has a unique ability that affects how you play. Some let you remove white chips, others grant you bonus points, extra money, or even let you look at a few chips and pick one before placing it. There are multiple sets of rules for what each colour does, meaning the game has excellent replayability. I’ve played loads of different combinations over the years, and they all work brilliantly — though I still have a soft spot for the original setup as the purest form of the game.
I absolutely love “Quacks” for a number of reasons. Firstly, the fact that all of your turns take place at the same time is key to ensuring there’s barely any downtime. Equally, once you get used to it, you can actually play in a relatively short period of time but still get the sense that you’ve played a decent medium-weight game.
The fact that at the beginning of the game everyone starts with exactly the same bags, and as the game progresses and you buy new chips, your bag evolves and changes, is brilliant from a bag-building point of view. Also, as the game goes on, you start to forget exactly what’s in your bag.
When you know you’ve got six chips left in your bag and two of them are whites that are going to tip you over the edge, yet you know there is a chip in there that’s almost certainly going to grant you victory for that round, it’s a nerve-wracking experience deciding what to do. It’s perfectly acceptable to look over at other players and see how far they’ve progressed. This encourages you to push yourself even further, creating a really compelling game of chicken as each of you slowly draws chips from your bag, desperate to see if anyone is going to explode, and feeling that sigh of relief as you draw a chip knowing there are ones in there that could end your round, but everything is okay.
I’ve played a lot of push-your-luck games over the years, but nothing comes close to the way “Quacks” works. All of the abilities are well-designed, everything is laid out clearly and easy to understand, and even though when you first sit down it looks like quite a complex game, once you get your head around it, it’s very accessible. I’ve played this game with my young children, but equally, I’ve taught it and played it with lots of non-gamers.
Now, if you’re wondering what’s changed between “The Quacks of Quedlinburg” and “Quacks,” the good news is that the gameplay is virtually identical. The tweaks are mostly visual and practical — cleaner player aids, simplified terminology, and a slightly more modern iconography that makes it easier for new players to learn. CMYK’s edition doesn’t add or remove any mechanics, the 6 value oranges from the expansion are here, so fans of the original will instantly feel at home.
The component quality is lovely, but if you’re going to buy “Quacks”, I 100% recommend going for the Deluxe Edition. The bakelite ingredient tiles are such a massive upgrade over the cardboard ones. They’re weighty, tactile, and incredibly satisfying to draw from the bag. They elevate the experience in a way that’s hard to overstate and make this new version the one to get.
“Quacks” is literally one of my favourite medium-weight games of all time, and I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who is looking for a slightly more complex push-your-luck game. It’s perfect for slightly older children and adults alike and this new version makes it visually more family friendly and the deluxe version massively ups the component quality.
It’s available on Amazon.com and ships worldwide, so if you’ve never owned the game before (or even if you already have the original), this is the version to get. “Quacks” remains one of my all-time favourite medium-weight family games — clever, tense, endlessly replayable, and a perfect introduction to the push-your-luck genre.
Disclaimer: A copy of Quacks was kindly gifted to me by CMYK. No money has changed hands and the opinion in this review is entirely that of my own.
