Abandon All Artichokes

Abandon All Artichokes seems like a reasonable mantra for the vegetable shy, but in the case of the game it’s not a flavour preference, but a pruning necessity, as a crop of artichokes has taken over your beloved vegetable patch. Housed in an aesthetically pleasing artichoke shaped tin, this card game will see you abandoning vegetables more enthusiastically than a child with brussel sprouts at Christmas.

This is no garden variety game however, as you’re going to be trying to draw a hand without any artichokes in it at all in order to win. To do that, you’ll use the special powers of other vegetables to try to abandon those pesky artichokes at every opportunity. For example, playing a carrot means you can compost two artichokes, a potato means you can see the top card of your deck and remove an artichoke from it, a leek lets you place the top card from your opponent’s deck in either their discard pile or their hand, and so on. It’s a deck wrecking game that feels like a race to the finish line, and a perfectly timed additional artichoke in your opponent’s hand can wring the sound of frustration at being thwarted if you play your cards right. 

It’s actually surprising how much fun can be brought from the tiny tin, as it’s easy enough to get competitive, as you begin to use your cards to sabotage your opponents as much as managing your own hand. Add in the fact that the game is both engaging and super simple to pick up, making it accessible to all kinds of gamers with all kinds of experience, it’s a great light game to add to your collection for any game night (or the odd anti-artichoke lunch break at work).  

Charlie Pettit

Play it? Yes

Designer: Emma Larkins

Publisher: Coiledspring Games 

Time: 20 minutes

Players: 2-4

Ages: 10+

Price: £13

This review originally appeared in Issue 51 of Tabletop Gaming. Pick up the latest issue of the UK's fastest-growing gaming magazine in print or digital here or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.

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