WBG Score: 7.5/10
Player Count: 2-6
You’ll like this if you like: Dixit, but you want a change.
Published by: Magellan
Designed by: Mihail Rozanov
This is a free review copy. See our review policy here.
Dream Catcher is an intriguing game. The concept is essentially Dixit, but with a touch element. As such, it is hard to review fairly. If Dixit did not exist, this could well be a 9 or 10 out of 10 game. But Dixit does exist. And this is just a variation of it, and we must take that into consideration. That said, the game itself still offers something quite unique. It is just based upon something that already exists. I will try to take all of this into account within this review. So, let's get it to the table and see how it plays.
How To Set Up Dream Catcher
Place the nine cloud tokens onto the table face down with the dark side facing up. Next to this, place the four circular choice tokens, and the large Dream Catcher token. Now, shuffle both decks and place the Dream cards face down next to the Touching cards in a separate deck. Deal four Dream cards to the first player (known as the Lead player) and five Touching cards. You are now ready to play.
The lead player will study their cards and choose one Dream card to pick. They are looking for a Dream card that somehow links to at least one, but preferably more, of their Touching cards. Now, the lead player will randomly place their four Dream cards face up on the table for all to see. They will take the four Choice tokens and place them under the cards, being sure to place them face down, and the token with the star on underneath the chosen card. They will now hand over their chosen Touch cards to the other players. They must choose at least two, but can use all five if they wish. The lead player decides which players get which Touch cards.
Each player who received a Touch card now studies their Touch card, without looking. Running their finger over the raised lines on the reverse of the card, to try and identify in their mind's eye what is on the Touch card. They all show simple objects or symbols. As hard as it feels to begin with, they are all achievable. Players can discuss out loud with their fellow teammates what they are feeling. They must be sure they do not look at the card themselves, or show it to any of the other players. The Lead player must remain silent at this point.
As players start to think they have deciphered what is on their Touch cards, they then need to try and link that image to one of the four Dream cards. Which Dream card was the Lead player trying to make them think of with the Touch cards they chose? The Dream cards show a complex image with mixture of people, objects, and places. Similar to cards as seen in Dixit. When the group has made a decision, they will place the Dream catcher token on the chosen card. The Lead player then flips the Card choice tokens over to reveal which card had the star underneath. If the players chose correctly, you can flip over one of the nine cloud tokens to reveal a star. One point for the end of the game. If they chose incorrectly, remove one of the nine cloud tokens.
The player sitting clockwise next to the Lead player now becomes the new Lead player, and they begin the next round. The game continues until all cloud tokens are either flipped or removed. The players then score as a team based on their stars on the cloud tokens. Seven or above is the top score. One to three is the lowest. Four to six is the middle ranking. The rulebook offers some flavour text for each grade.
Is It Fun? Dream Catcher Party Game Review
If you have not played Dixit or similar games, this will feel revolutionary. If you have played those games, then this will be a little gimmicky; clever - but potentially limited in terms of its replayability. This is down to the number of Touch cards. There are 83 in total. And after five games, we have started to see a fair few of these cards repeat themselves. Players are now able to guess what they are, based not just on what they touch, but what they remember from other games. Meta knowledge plays a huge part in how easy this game can become, which is a bad thing.
The satisfaction in those early games of deciphering an octopus shape and then seeing something similar in a card after five minutes of blind panic and confusion is wildly satisfying, though. I just worry that this revolutionary feeling is limited to the number of cards in the game. Like Dixit, which has benefited from numerous expansions, this game would be considerably improved by more Touch cards. Or, being able to create your own would be even better. Some mechanic where you can draw your own shape, not too complex that it cannot be worked out, but specific enough to find the correct card. Perhaps in a time limit. I am unsure how this would work. How could you create a component that lets you make your own 3D touch cards? I have no idea. But that would make this game a lot better. A unique and new Touch card each time would make this game amazing.
That said, as is, even with the limited Touch cards, and the strong leaning on the giant that is Dixit, this game is still a lot of fun. I own Dixit and will keep this game in my collection as it offers something different and unique, and I could see it coming out after games of Dixit to offer my friends that next surprise. If Dixit has landed, I can see myself saying as I place this down, "OK, now try it with just touch rather than words!" That appeals to me greatly.
There are also chunkier shapes such as the ones below. Unlike the more simple line drawings, which are all a lot easier to decipher, these thicker shapes, with chunkier parts, are more complex and take longer to work out. Although, sadly, they are also the easier ones to remember on repeat plays.
As such, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Dixit but wants something a little different. If you do not enjoy games like Dixit, this will probably just frustrate you even more. But fans of those games will find something that is trying to push the boundaries of this style of party game, and on this occasion, I think it has landed very much on the side of fun!
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