Review | Big Top board game review

Big top Means a large circus tent in English, but before the show starts, the ring is free or empty! Three to four circus directors compete for the best performances in order to ultimately give the best performance.

Come and enjoy Big top!

Bjorn Schwarzmüller

Game description Big top

Big top It is an auction game in which players take turns becoming auctioneers and providing various attractions for a circus show. Bidding continues until all players have passed, then the attraction goes to the person with the highest bid. If the auctioneer makes the highest bid, he pays the bank, otherwise the auctioneer gets the money from the highest bidder. However, the purchased attraction and its Victory Points are not part of the offer yet or Victory Points have not yet been earned. Each attraction has a number of numbers on it. Each time a player bids on that number in an auction, he may cover the number with a coin from his possession. If all the attraction numbers are covered, the card goes to the show or to the victory point pile and the money on the card goes back to the ringmaster.

Money is a rare commodity in table games. At the beginning there is only $22 per player and in the bank. There will be nothing else in the game, so with each auction you have to hope that a lot of money will be deposited in your own coffers.

By the way – there should be at least one star in each display or in each set of victory points. Anyone who does not have a star on their display at the end of the game is eliminated from the final standings. Everyone counts their victory points over the attractions including the stars, then there are some special points and at the end it is clear who has put on the most amazing circus show.

Author: Taiki Shinzawa ■ Illustrations: Mihailo Dimitrievski “The Miko”
Publisher: Allplay ■ Release year: 2023

3-4 players

From 11 years

About 40 minutes

Game rules (external link to Allplay)

Gaming feeling

Game board Big top It comes in a very small box, with great card graphics from “The Mico” and a very nice auction mechanic and trick to win (stars in the show and bid on the cards).

I would classify the game as being in the family+ to slightly advanced range. The auction mechanism is very easy, keeping track of money, stars and other attractions in order to grab cards if necessary is sometimes more difficult for beginners.

The game conveys the theme well, with great graphics and names, if anything, if everyone at the table engages in a relaxing and emotional round. Unfortunately, the game can be easily broken due to mechanics and scarcity of financial resources. Which can then extend play time beyond 40 minutes.

This is possible Big top With a little praise, auctions can quickly become interactive when the Ring of Fire is suddenly offered with enthusiasm because money is simply required and at the same time 20 victory points is attractive.

The board game is currently only available in English, but the cards are language neutral and the rules can be easily understood with a little knowledge of English, as it is short and very manageable.

summary

An auction game that is graphically well designed and can offer a lot of fun in a very small box if played with an internal and emotional feel.

• Great graphics (if I haven't mentioned it already)
• Rules learned quickly
• Entertaining auction mechanism with a very nice touch

• Long playing time if you play with a lot of brains
• Jester cards are very powerful with their own functions
• I don't like clowns and here they are important

From my point of view as a player: I have Big top I played for the first time at SPIEL '23 and I was so excited because the other players announced their cards at the auctions with flying colors and we pushed each other and played a lot with gut feeling. It was a very enjoyable 30 minutes.

In subsequent games up to this review, there were also games with expert players – it was really terrible, no atmosphere, endless deliberation about whether you should bid and how much. Calculates who still has how much money and what is already in the point pile. I much preferred the entertaining rounds with people playing belly games – 30 minutes of cheek-to-cheek fun to lose and 60 minutes of calculations and boredom to win. Hence my rating always because it simply has to be the right tour for it and in that sense – “Do you want a balloon?”