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Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Gemstone Mining Game from USAopoly melds solid gameplay with a rich theme for tabletop players and Disney enthusiasts alike. Based on the classic Quartz game from Passport, it raises the stakes in the fairytale world of Snow White, the Disney full-length animated film that started it all.
The mining sequence from Snow White remains one of the most iconic moments in animation to this day, with its stirring music, beautiful art, ample sight-gags, and rich characters. This fun comes to the tabletop in A Gemstone Mining Game as players picks their favorite dwarf to collect gems and win delicious pie.
In true fairytale-dwarf style, the biggest-bearded or the shortest player goes first. Players receive a Mine Car board with their character, a Chest card to hold extra gems for future trading, and a hand of Action cards to give bonus plays. They take turns pulling gems from the Mine bag, looking to get valuable diamonds, sapphires, and rubies while avoiding the unlucky obsidian stones. More points come from collecting combinations of gems as well as being the first to return with Snow White’s special requested gems. Drawing two obsidian stones means a player must leave the mine and lose all the gems collected. Players will have to gauge how lucky they feel on each draw before deciding to cash out for the day.
From its solid press-your-luck base mechanic, A Gemstone Mining Game builds opportunities for wilder play with the Action card deck. Many cards allow players to draw bonus gems with immunity to obsidian stones, or discard an obsidian stone. Others serve as attack cards, allowing players to swipe gems from opponents or sneak an obsidian stone into another player’s cart. Fortunately, there are plenty of blocking cards for protection. Savvy players will study their cards carefully, plotting when to best use one to get a needed gem or protect themselves from sneaks.
Once all players have left the mine, the gems are organized into the most effective combinations to win points. These combinations will form the major points for players, but good strategists will be mindful of the many possibilities for bonuses. Some players will want to be out of the mine as quickly as possible to get Snow White’s reward. Risk-takers will want to stay in the mine longer and brave potential disaster to get major bonuses. After five trips into the mine, the player with the most points for pie wins.
Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Gemstone Mining Game is a board game for three to seven players aged eight and up. It is a moderately long game, lasting a little less than an hour depending on how many players are at work in the mines. Its strong mix of luck and strategy makes it a perfect family game. Younger players will not be left out, with their chances to get great cards and lucky pulls from the mining bag, while older players will thrive on maximizing their points.
