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It is interesting to see the board game industry evolve. Things that once would have been considered gimmicky, or as luxury add-ons are actually being added into the game at the base level. Be that a simple thing like metal coins, or shaped wooden tokens, to the more interesting use of Game Trayz and alike.
These plastic vacuum former trays have been used as inserts in The Grimm Forest and Wasteland Express Delivery Service, which greatly decreases set-up time. Now that is being pushed further, with games like The Reckoners and Sweet Mess, utilising them as player boards. This helps order the player space and hopefully leads to a more intuitive experience as gameplay elements can be build straight into the tray.
It's too early to say if this will prove successful or even popular, but it sure does look cool.
Sweet Mess
Sweet Mess tasks players with a board game bake off. During the game you race to gain the correct ingredients to bake the best cakes and deserts which, as well as gaining you points, will unlock further powers and masteries.
Picking ingredients is a fairly simple affair but it will more often than not 'create a mess' spreading it's ingredient into the surrounding bowls. This means that players on future turns will have more choices when picking their ingredients. So you need to be careful what you leave for everyone else.
Your personal kitchen tray comes with various upgrades and tools that can be utilised once they are unlocked/paid for. These do pretty much what you would guess allowing you to bake more quickly, pick ingredients with out making a mess and so on.
Big Kid
The most pressing question hanging over Sweet Mess is whether the gameplay will hit that sweet spot of being accessible for younger players, while deep enough for seasoned bakers. There is an undeniable 'toy' element to Sweet Mess and the over all presentation is gloriously child friendly, yet the mechanics do seem to leave room for thought and strategy, while not eradicating the chaos that makes children friendly games so much fun.
Potion Explosion achieved success by making its gimmick essential to gameplay but also something gamers want to play with. It remains to be seen whether the Game Trayz are essential, but by using something gamers already consider cool and an upgrade, Big Kid Games could be on to something here.