Encantados (Second/Third Edition)

In Encantados, you step into the shoes of a gardener tasked with populating their magical garden with charming creatures! Picture fairies, leprechauns, gnomes, goblins, and kobolds, each boasting a unique ability that can either give you a boost or cleverly hinder your friends (or rivals, depending on how you view the competition!). The game strikes a delightful balance between being easy to learn and offering surprising replayability, ensuring loads of fun. Everything about it is designed to be enjoyable, from its straightforward mechanics to the meticulous artwork that brings these creatures to life. Gameplay unfolds in a series of rounds, where players take turns buying a new card and then have the opportunity to play one 'Song' and one 'Set' of cards featuring the same magical creature. To play a set, you need three identical cards in your hand. Once played, these creatures begin to grant you passive bonuses. A round concludes when one or more players empty their hand, and then points are tallied. The first player to reach 100 points or more by the end of a round is declared the grand winner! The second edition introduced some neat changes: the packaging became more streamlined, focusing solely on the cards. Now, the game comes with a single deck for 2 to 4 players (though you can play with up to 6 by combining two copies, with rules detailed in the manual!). A new character, the Troll, joined the roster, while the Mandragora bid farewell but is still fondly remembered on the cards. The racial abilities were revised to make the game more accessible to non-gamers, and card scores were rebalanced. Furthermore, the graphic design received an update, and the manual underwent minor revisions for an even smoother experience.