Designer: Joshua J Mills
Artist: Adam P. McIver
How it's Played
Rocky Road a la Mode is an engine building game for 2-4 players. In this game each player is an ice cream truck driver competing for dominance of the neighborhood trying be the most successful in their craft. On each players turn they have three actions to choose from. You can Attract customers, Restock ice cream, and Fulfill an order.
Every action you perform takes time. This is tracked on the board where each of the players has their ice cream truck marker. As you perform actions you move your ice cream truck further along the board. Turn order is determined by which truck is furthest back on the board. The board also has pot hole spaces where wild rocket pop tokens are placed. If you finish an action on one of these spaces you can take the rocket pop and use it as a wild card to take the place of any type of ice cream that is needed to fulfill an order.
The cards of Rocky Road serve multiple purposes. In the top left of the card it shows what type of ice cream this card could be used for. In the top right it indicates how much time it takes to attract the customers on the card. In the middle of the card it shows the customer's orders you'd need to fulfill in order to complete the card, and at the bottom of the card it indicates what the reward for completing it is.
As players complete orders they turn the card sideways and get rewards, this could be victory points needed to win the game but also they get permanent stock of different types of ice cream so that they no longer have to discard cards in order to fulfill an order. Bonus victory cards can also be achieved if certain combinations of ice cream are accumulated in this way.
Once a player reaches nine victory points the final stages of play are triggered. Any players behind them on the time track will have a chance to catch up then play ends, points are totaled and the winner is the ice cream king of the neighborhood!
Final Thoughts:
Rocky Road a la Mode is an excellent example of the perfect filler game. There's plenty of strategy, the theme is fun and draws you in, the artwork is cool and it plays in 15 to 20 minutes.
The mechanics of the game are very reminiscent of Splendor but this comes in a smaller package with a more lighthearted and fun theme. The time track and turn order mechanics set it apart, and everything gels together into a great experience. This is a must have for every collection.
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