Mad Science Foundation was a huge
surprise...a very very pleasant surprise.
I didn’t set out to buy this game. In fact it was in a bargain bin or clearance pile. And it did not belong in that pile. Talk about striking it lucky!
Mad Science Foundation is a draft game of resource piles to build sinister inventions. Players are scientists...yes Mad Scientists. The goal is to gain the most infamy by building inventions, personal Quirk cards and the running the Sassy AI.
Game play is quick and runs in phases. Whichever player is the Director makes a pile of any resources and new prototype inventions. Then the Director divides that pile into the same number of piles as there are players. This can be a huge advantage for the Director to guess, bluff and finagle based upon what the other players might need and what the Director needs. Then a draft occurs to get the resources with the Director going last.
And then the players take turns building and activating inventions.
And if there are Mad Scientists there has to be some minions: Truckload O Cash, Sassy AI, Spy and Overworked Researcher. Each minion gives the Scientist that controls it an ability. And the Minions are subject to being drafted each turn.
The game ends when the Invention deck runs out. The player with the most infamy wins.
The Good: Quirky and fun draft system.
The Bad: Game play can sometimes bog down if a player starts thinking too much (never a god thing).
The Dastardly: Our grandkids call the Sassy AI...Sassy AL.
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