Juicy Fruits:

Designer: Christian Stohr
Artist: Annika Heller
Published: 2021
Players: 1-4
Playing Time: 20-50 Mins
BGG Rating: 7.1
BGG Ranking: 1714
Publisher: Deep Print Games
Mechanics: Area Movement, Contracts, Tile Placement, Grid Movement

Game Description:

Each player has their own small island paradise where they grow delicious fruit. To win, you must gain the most points by cleverly supplying ships and by adding the best businesses to your island.

Quick play overview:

Players are taking turns doing up to 2 actions until enough business tokens are bought and/or ice creams are produced.

STEP 1:

Player moves one of his »collector tokens« (or the upgraded »mobile business token«) in a straight line as much as he wants/can and collects a number of that type of fruit equal to the number of spaces the token was moved.

STEP 2:

A player can decide to not do anything in this step.. but usually the player will

• »supply 1 of his ships« by spending the appropriate number of fruits. This will give the players points but also remove the ship from the beach and thus make it easier for his tokens to move furhter and give more fruits in the future rounds.

• Or »claim 1 business token« by bribing the goverment clerks with fruits and placing the newly aquired business onto an empty space on his island.

STEP 3 (only when playing advanced version):

you can spend fruits to move your 2 tokens through the factory and get extra points.

Final thoughts:

A very simple game that lacks strategy but gives you a lot of tactical decisions. The decision when to buy a business tile vs. remove more of the ships that block your island is always looming over you. Then there are players that might take away that exact tile that you are going for… and the beautiful presentation makes this a great family game.

SCORE:

Gameplay: 8/10

The decisions are simple but there is always plenty of options for you to choose from. You can move the orange token only one space? But you need just one Orange to buy that perfect business? Should you do it or wait for next turn when you will get 3 oranges with one move? Will the business tile wait for you?

Art & Graphic Design: 10/10

This game is beautiful! No questions here…

Graphic design is clear and popping. No questions here either…

Rules & Complexity: 8/10

Rulebook is short and simple.

Game is not complex because of the rules… the actions that you can take are easy to remember… but which action you will take is an interesting decision.

The advanced version with the juice factory adds just a tiny bit more complexity to the game.

Theme: 8/10

Collecting fruits to finish contracts and bribing clerks is a fun theme. The visual presentation makes the game pop on the table and the theme comes through.

Fun & Replayability: 5/10

As a family game the fun is there.. collecting fruits and spending them to make ice cream? What can be more fun that that? 😊

The game gets same-y after a few plays. There is no »discovery factor« here. If you like the game the first time, you can play it again to get more of the same.

FINAL SCORE: 7.8/10