Widgets n' Digit$ a prototype first impressions review

Introduction

Unleash your inner entrepreneur in Widgets n' Digit$ currently in Kickstarter. The game is published by Friendly Bee Game Company, and it is their debut game. This game is designed by Joseph Bugbee and Alex Cheng. This 2-4 player board game is designed for new gamers seeking a step beyond Monopoly and Uno. This Kickstarter project promises stunning art, clever strategy, and a minimal learning curve.

The game takes about ten minutes per player and as an engineer at heart, the theme of this game resonates with my early career days working in a manufacturing facility. If you've ever watched Shark Tank and enjoy the process of transforming an idea into a finished product, this game might be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the mechanics of acquiring raw materials, processing them through an assembly line, and selling products while managing bottlenecks. The game plays relatively quickly and offers adjustable complexity, appealing to both new and experienced players.

Components

Please note that this review is based on a prototype, so components and rules may change.

A well written rulebook with a QR code for a video that explains the game in about 20 minutes
4 Player Mats
Resource Tokens: Representing raw materials, finished goods, and potentially other resources your widget company produces.
50 Worker Cubes used with the worker wars expansion
25 raw material resources
25 parts market resources
25 finished good market resources
48 classic upgrade cards used to boost your player mat
48 upgrade cards: These colorful cards enhance your production capabilities, offering increased capacity, efficiency, and special abilities and are used with the boardroom battle expansion
Market Board: This central hub displays resource prices, allows for buying and selling, raw materials market, parts market, and finished market with a tracker for the fiscal year which is divided into four quarters and the labor market for the worker wars expansion

Gameplay

This game is played over four rounds, called fiscal quarters. In Widgets & Digits, you'll build and manage your widget company. Register your company idea with the Department of Widget Entrepreneurship, Elephants, and Branding (D.W.E.E.B. card). While there are no elephant figurines (except the first player token), an elephant meeple would be a fun stretch goal addition. This part of the game is purely for fun and doesn't affect gameplay.

On this sheet, you'll write your invention idea, its purpose, and a slogan. This sheet is also used at the end to calculate the final score. The last person to finish writing shares their idea first, and the best idea determines the starting player. During the game, you can flip this D.W.E.E.B. card for a detailed summary of each game step.

Each quarter involves three key phases:

Investing Phase: Bid for workers in a dynamic auction (if using the "Worker Wars" expansion), purchase or sell upgrade cards to optimize your production line, and buy/sell resources at fluctuating market prices. This phase sets the stage for your production potential and resource acquisition. Choose wisely, as the game only lasts four rounds!
Production Phase: Put your factory into action! Run your supply chain from sourcing raw materials to selling finished widgets. Each stage has a capacity and labor requirement, demanding strategic worker placement and resource management. This is where your engine building and efficiency optimization skills come into play. Sell surplus resources to minimize your upkeep costs.
Upkeep Phase: Pay your workers, warehousing fees, store excess resources for future quarters, and face any financial shortcomings. This phase forces you to balance long-term growth with immediate resource management.

At the end of each quarter:

Pass the first player token to the left
Advance the fiscal year tracker
Refresh the available upgrade cards
(In "Worker Wars" only) You may fire workers

Game Modes:

Classic Mode: a good way to start and introduce the game
Worker Wars expansion: Focuses on worker bidding and management
Boardroom Battle expansion: Introduces an alternative market manipulation mechanic and asymmetric powers for more strategic depth. I would not recommend this with first timers or non experience gamers
The Executive Experience: combine both expansions included with the game. I have not tried this experience yet but I am curious on how the competition to attract and maintain talent would do with the asymmetric cards in the boardroom battle expansion

By starting with Classic Mode and gradually progressing through the other options, players can smoothly increase the depth and complexity of the game as they become more familiar with the core mechanics of the game

Overall

With its accessible rules, engaging theme, and multiple game modes, Widgets & Digits holds promise for both new and experienced board gamers. If you're intrigued by the concept and enjoy light-to-medium economic strategy games, it's worth keeping an eye on Widgets & Digits as the Kickstarter campaign progresses. I really liked the party vibe at the start of the game. I think starting with an idea and slogan really helps break the ice and conceptualize what your end product is going to be. The art is beautiful and the iconography is color blind friendly and straightforward.

Pros

Accessible for new board gamers: The rules are straightforward, and the theme of building a widget company is lighthearted and engaging
Multiple difficulty levels: The different game modes cater to various experience levels, making the game adaptable
Relatively fast play time

Cons

Prototype stage: As a Kickstarter project, the final components and rules may change
Direct player interaction: While the market offers indirect interaction, the focus seems more on individual engine building

The prototype I received contained a concerning amount of soot residue. This residue persists even after multiple plays, resulting in black hands and table markings. While I remain optimistic that the final product will be free of this issue, it's worth mentioning. Additionally, both the player and market boards exhibit warping. While I managed to partially flatten the market board with clips, the lighter-stock player boards stubbornly retain their folded shape even after storage. Addressing this would greatly enhance the overall playing experience.

Note: This review is based on the prototype sent to me by Friendly Bee Company. The information provided in the rulebook and components do not reflect the final product, which may change during and after the Kickstarter campaign.