BauSquitMiao (Post Scriptum, 2005 - Matteo Panara and Mario Sacchi) is a name that is derived from the noises that a dog, mouse, and cat make, respectively. The idea of dogs and cats and mice morphing into one another, coupled with the great artwork of Angelo Porazzi (of Warangel fame), caused me to have great interest in this game. There are actually two different games in the box, BauSquitMiao - in which players play a sort of abstract game as they morph and move around the board; and BauSquitMiao Race - in which the morphing animals race around the kitchen.
I have very different feelings about the games. While BauSquitMiao felt dry and lifeless to me, as players' options seems forced and thrust upon them, the race game was actually pretty much fun. So I haven't gotten rid of the game yet, because I think playing the race game is worth keeping. However, as funny as the theme is, and even though the race game is fairly enjoyable, I still can't recommend the game, because there are many better racing games out there. Humor and theme weren't enough to draw me into this game.
A large grid of 187 squares is placed on the table, representing the kitchen of a mad scientist. Two potion discs are placed on the board in designated locations, and then players, in turn, place food tokens (bones, fish, and cheese) around the board. Each player takes a die of their color, which has sides that correspond to the three different types of animals. Players randomly draw a "position" card (from one to six) and roll their die, placing it on the numbered space matching the card on the board. A pile of turn cards is shuffled, and the game is ready to begin.
For each turn, the top turn card is flipped over, and its effects are applied. First, all players who match the animal pictured on the card must roll their dice to "transform" their creature. The background color of the card indicates which player moves first during the round, and arrows on the card show whether turn order is clockwise or counterclockwise. When moving, players must follow these restrictions:
- Dogs: Must move five spaces, can jump over dogs, cats, or mice, and can eat bones.
- Cats: Must move six spaces, can jump over cats or mice, and can eat fish.
- Mice: Must move seven spaces, can jump over other mice, and can eat cheese.
- All movement must be made in straight lines orthogonally. Players may turn and move but cannot enter the same space twice. They must use their total movement.
- If a player jumps over another animal (which can only be done in a straight line, over one animal, with a clear space after it), they may steal one item from that player.
- If a player jumps over another animal that is smaller than them, they may "bite" it and score one point on the scoring track.
- If a player jumps over one or more items of food that they can eat, or one of the potions, they may place them in front of themselves.
Some turn cards cause special effects. If the card shows the "Oddball scientist", then all animals must draw a position card and immediately move there. If the card shows, for lack of better terms, "crap", then each player must take one food token that they've collected; and place it face down, so that the excrement side of it is showing. From now on, if a player lands on the excrement, they will slide until they hit an obstacle in their path, which does not count as part of their move. If the "Wererat" card is drawn, then for the next turn, mice can bite all other animals and can only be jumped over by other mice.
A player who has gotten a potion can use it when they must transform their animal and may turn it to the side they wish, instead of it being random. The game continues until the turn card deck has been gone through twice. Each time the deck is depleted, points are scored. Each player gets one point for each food token they have, and two points for each food token that matches the animal form they are currently in. The player who has the lowest score gets a potion card, which they can use in the next round. After scoring has occurred twice, the game ends, and the player with the most points is the winner!
In the race game, the other side of the board is used, which is a race track made up of squares. Each player places their pieces behind the starting place, with food and potions placed on the track like in the original game. Everything plays the same as in BauSquitMiao, with the following changes:
- Players no longer get points from food or "biting" other animals, but instead can move an extra space for each ''bite" or food item they get.
- The "oddball scientist", when drawn, prevents the leading animal from moving.
- When an animal finishes a lap, they score points according to their position (six points for first place, five for second, etc.) The player with the most food tokens gets another point. Players then run the race in the opposite direction, once again scoring points. The player with the most points after two laps is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The components aren't as high quality as I'd like, but I understand the constraints of a new publishing company. The dice are colored cubes, and the food tokens are small plastic tokens - all with stickers placed on them. I haven't heard other complaints, but in my game, the stickers were just a smidgen larger than the tokens and sides of the dice, making them a bit difficult to work with. The scoring tokens are plastic tokens, and everything does fit well on the double sided board, which is simply a heavily laminated folded piece of cardstock. The cards are of okay quality, needing to be punched out before the game plays. I will give high props to the artwork of the game; it's very cartooney and humorous, and one can sense the fun loving nature of Mr. Porazzi from the insane looking mice and other animals. Everything is stored in a very sturdy, thin, pink box.
2.) Rules: The rules are on two sides of a piece of paper and are fairly understandable, although occasionally one can tell they were translated from Italian. There are some pictures, but no examples - which would have been nice. Still, the game isn't that difficult to understand, and it was remarkably simple for me to explain to others.
3.) Problems: One of the biggest problems I had with the game was simply the fact that horrible positioning can really destroy a player. There's really not much room for clever moves. If you are a dog, and you have the chance to grab a potion quickly, there's nothing anyone else can do. And while the dogs are much stronger than the cats and mice, it's really not that difficult for the smaller creatures to stay away from them. Also, it's tremendously annoying when you are a dog sitting next to a couple of cats, and then transform into a mouse. The player who happens to get lucky enough to grab the most food tokens is going to win the game, and there's not much else that the other players can do about it. Everything, from the starting positions, to the cards that are flipped over, to the rolling of the dice to see what creature you become is random. There's not a lot of maneuvering a player can do, and all the food tokens vanish quickly. I don't mind randomness in games, but there's simply too much of it in BauSquitMiao.
4.) Good things: there are some clever ideas in the game, however. The turn cards are rather interesting, as they determine who goes first and what direction gameplay goes. The idea of dogs, cats, and mice balancing out is also a great thought - it just isn't implemented very well. Near the end of the game, the mice can simply scamper into a far corner, and the cats and dogs simply can't catch up.
5.) Crap: There aren't too many games that feature excrement as a main feature of a game - only Ursuppe comes to mind. It's really a little disgusting in BauSquitMiao - in Ursuppe, it was all abstracted to a degree; in BauSquitMiao, it's explained in detail, shown pictorially, and actually affects the game, making the board more slippery. I'll admit, I smiled when I first read about it in the rules, but it got old quickly and will probably appeal to the same people who think gastric jokes in movies are just the funniest thing EVAR.
6.) Race: The race is a much more interesting game, because of the curves and clogging that can occur. Yes, one player may transform into a mouse for the whole race and stay in the lead, ignoring everyone behind him; but usually it's a tight, close race. Again, though, the race may come down to the person who gets the most lucky; and while it was more fun, it still was too random for my tastes.
7.) Fun Factor: I don't really care for games that "pretend" to give you options, while at the same time determining who wins via a random method. In every game I've played, all the players felt that the winner was simply the one who was able to maneuver quickest (and luckiest) to the food items the most. Scores were usually fairly low - (there aren't that many food tokens), and the whole experience just left me unsatisfied. I won't even play the basic game again, although I could be talked into playing the race every once in a while, if only to see the funny artwork.
Sadly, however, great artwork does not a good game make. There may be some who like the theme, artwork, and poop; and at the same time don't mind the massive random elements. But many people will be annoyed by the fact that this game seems to be an abstract strategy game, but yet in reality simply a luck fest. The race is okay, when played every once in a while. I regret to say that's probably not enough to warrant purchase of the game.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
