Ars Alchimia Board Game

I don't play that many worker placement games, but the ones I've played in the past require that you pay some sort of penalty in currency when your opponent has already placed someone in an area you're trying to work in. This is the first one I've purchased where you instead muscle out your opponents' workers by allocating even more workers of your own, which is an interesting mechanic to me. Do you sacrifice a meaningful chunk of your workforce that turn so you can get to a precious gathering point your opponent's using? Or do you simply take the opportunity to pick up more recipes or recruit assistants that provide you with special powers?Probably not the best game in this genre, but it's fun, it's fast, the theme is cute, and it is surprisingly portable. It's not "Tiny Epic series" small, but it's about the size of a hardback novel and something I can very easily throw into my bag and bring with me.

Very good worker placement game in a compact size.The best part of this game is the depth of game play in relation to size and set-up time.

I bought this of the shelf because of the box art and it has become on of our house favorites. It is an easy to learn worker placement game with enough RNG to keep everyone in the fun.