I’m not a fan of card games in which skill plays a very small role and decisions are obvious. Some people may enjoy shutting down their higher brain functions and coasting on autopilot, but I prefer to have my hands firmly on the wheel when I sit down to a game. By all rights I should loathe Elixir, a French game now published in English by Mayfair. It’s got all the wrong ingredients. And yet, with the deck stacked against it, I actually enjoy it. Not in a “I can’t wait to play again” kind of way, but in a “I’m in the mood for some silliness” vein. That seems to be just the note the game tries to hit, so I’d have to chalk it up as a success.

Website: http://www.gamereport.com/tgr24/elixir.shtml/