Hickory Dickory Review

What do you get when you add mice, spiders, and a needy bird? You get Hickory Dickory. In the game, players will control their fleet of mice as they move across the face of the clock. Each hour on the clock signifies an action space and your mice can either activate the spaces they're in or jump on the minute hand to move around to a new space. When you want to jump off, either by choice or by force, you can do the action and collect the tile on the outside ring if there is one. Each mouse also has their own special abilities and hold a certain amount of items. When you do an action that allows you to deliver your items, you'll score for the amount of items, color, and types of each item. You'll also check for any completed quest that will score additional points. Then if they can, they'll be added to your player board and if you can fill up rows and columns you'll score more at the end of the game. There's also the option to drop off relics to Lord Cuckoo for 5 points and a favor card. When players are taking up space on the minute hand and if you want to jump on as well, you will push off the mouse in the closest space to the clock and they'll be able to do an action but it's probably not going to be one they wanted to do. This can allow you to stop other players from delivering items or gaining ones they may want. Any time the minute hand passes 12, a new hour/round starts and once the clock strikes 12 the game will end. Players will score their boards and any tiles they have on their mice and whoever has the most will win.

The Good: This game has some serious table presence. With the hands of the clock being a key component to the game to track the rounds but also the actions. It's a really great concept. The actions themself are well thought out and when you randomize them at the start of each game you'll probably never have two of the same game. The general management of your mice is one of the most interesting parts of the game. You want to be able to flip your goods but you may not have what you need. Luckily, whenever you have two at the same space, they can trade with each other, even if one is on the hand and the other isn't. This can allow you to get what you need. There's also the benefit of visiting the store for wild tokens.

The Okay: There were turns that ultimately felt like a waste more than I cared for. When you've got essentially 3 potential moves in a 12 phase round you really can't do much. In my first game, I didn't score anything until the 3rd round. While I got better as I learned, the game just feels much slower than I liked. I wish there were ways to get your mice back into the game once they've done something but unfortunately there wasn't. At least none that I came across in my plays.

The Not So Good: When playing at two players, there isn't necessarily as much excitement as you'd like to have in a game. When there's only a couple people fighting for tokens then it's easier to stay out of each others way. The game does a nice job of giving priority each round but it's still not used as much as I'd like to.

Final Thoughts: Hickory Dickory is a pick up and deliver game in a gorgeous package. Unfortunately, it felt like just that. It's always been a genre I've struggled to get into and this fell flatter than I'd hoped. The game itself is gorgeous and tactile and it's not one that will likely leave my collection because my wife shows interest. There are some really cool concepts at play but it's restrictive nature just didn't work for me.

Thanks to Plaid Hat for providing a review copy.