Little Alchemists is a charming app-assisted board game that brings big potion-brewing fun to younger players—with mystery boxes, colourful ingredients, and just enough challenge to keep the whole family hooked
Written by Chris Marling with help from the Fentons
The app-driven Alchemists board game proved a big hit for publisher Czech Games Edition back in 2014, and it still sits comfortably inside the Board Game Geek Top 200 games of all time. Despite its cartoony artwork and light theme, its gameplay was surprisingly complex. Making it all the more surprising that, a decade later, a child-friendly follow up has found its way onto the shelves.
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Little Alchemists shares the same fantasy theme, art style and general feel of its older brother. Once you’ve downloaded the (compulsory but free) app for Apple or Android, players take turns choosing two ingredients (tiles), scan them with the app to see what colour potion they make, and record the result on their tracker. Later, customers appear, allowing players to make the potions they desire to score points.
The first game of Little Alchemists is super basic, with the six basic ingredients making three potion types. But once you can prove to the app that you’ve mastered the basics, you can open the first of six mystery boxes. Each adds new elements (and complexity) to the game, allowing you to step up the challenge once you’re all comfortable with your current level. I won’t spoil the mystery, but suffice it to say the kids we’ve played with (aged 10 and 12) loved this legacy aspect to the game.
The app works incredibly well once you’ve got its measure, which should only take a few turns of game one. You’ll need reasonable lighting, but the photo capture works quickly and effectively. Better still, the app doubles as a spoken rulebook, introducing all the original and later elements of the game as you open them. Plus, each play mixes up the potion combo results so you can’t just remember the patterns from last time. You’ll need to pass a little in-app test to open new box too, which gets trickier as you go, meaning you’ll start to get more plays out of each mystery box before opening the next.
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For parents, each play of Little Alchemists comes in around the 20-minute mark – ideal for keeping little concentration spans in check. The app plus the slow introduction of new bits help the kids stay engaged, and the game is light enough that we saw a good spread of winners across the ages. On the downside, this means more competitive players will likely find less to enjoy, especially long-term. On the other hand, the fantasy theme, mystery boxes, and wonderful production values give the game a mystical Harry Potter factor that’s hard to resist.
There are some more gamery elements in Little Alchemists for those who want to find them. Hate drafting ingredients is sometimes possible if you can remember what players have taken previously, while later levels add ‘theory guessing’ – allowing players to guess what others are doing for bonus points. This may be tougher for the younger kids, potentially unbalancing things; but despite the game’s simplicity, there are different ways to score points which should allow everyone to stay competitive.
Having to use an app won’t work for all families – especially as many parents love the idea of tabletop games precisely because it gets everyone away from a screen for half an hour. All I can say in its defence is you can use a single device, pass and play, making it feel more like a game component than a phone. Beyond this, I can’t find anything bad to say about Little Alchemists, except to reiterate that it is definitely a kids game. It’s slick, pretty, and engaging, with both competitive and cooperative elements, and the light legacy element keeps everyone coming back for more.
Yes!
While even the fully expanded game isn’t for adults, Little Alchemists is a great family game due to its evolution process, team/competitive elements, and fast play time.
You should try this if you liked Outfoxed!. Little Alchemists is a fun step-up in every way from Outfoxed! if your kids enjoy a competitive game with strong deduction elements.
Designer: Matúš Kotry
Publisher: Czech Games Edition
Time: 20-40 minutes
Players: 2-4
Ages: 7+
Price: £50