Adding More Chaos (and Fun) to Journey Adventure Quest

Jul 1, 2023 | Sessions | 0 comments

Collect equipment on an exciting and quick adventure to defeat ever-challenging monsters in Journey Adventure Quest.

Back to the adventure! And the journey… And quests. Ha! That’s right: Journey Adventure Quest stayed on my solo table after my initial session. This is an interesting and quick experience about battling monsters with equipment that stacks to become more powerful. With some variants to try out, I looked forward to seeing even more content and chaos!

Game Overview

Game Name: Journey Adventure Quest
Publication Year:
 2023
Designers:
 Brandon Beam, Tommy Noel, and Jesse Stacy
Artists:
 Cole Munro-Chitty and Emilyn Noel
Publisher: Triceratops Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

Cards are drafted to expand equipment and items, along with spells that offer temporary benefits. Monsters act as the main challenge along the way, getting more powerful from beginning to end. Yet it all flies by with interesting choices and just the right amount of flavor text humor!

Completing Adventures and Planning How to Draft in Journey Adventure Quest
R

First Play

June 28, 2023

Complexity

2

Latest Play

July 25, 2024

Expansions

0

Setup Time

5 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

6

Play Time

25 Minutes

:

High Score

91

1

Game Area

42" x 24"

;

Low Score

45

Chaos… A Variant

I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to use the rest of the journey cards with the solo mode, as these are marked for anywhere from 3 to 6 players. A-ha! Easy fix in the rules.

A variant, literally labeled chaos, allows for all of the cards to be mixed together, regardless of player count. Nice!

This probably isn’t the best way to learn, as the smaller deck is more balanced and allows for better planning. But for this sort of adventure, I enjoy more unpredictability.

Seen here are the 1-2 player cards on the left, and all the rest on the right. Together, they made a giant card stack!

Adding in Higher Player Count Cards in Journey Adventure Quest

All New Cards to See

The 3-6 player cards aren’t merely duplicates, either, but include all kinds of new equipment in matching sets.

Rainbow items didn’t just look awesome, but acted as wilds during final scoring. Lots of new strategies!

I also added in belts, a new equipment slot. At first, I thought this might be unbalanced against the solo opponent… But I ended up with less belts. Ha ha!

The possibilities definitely open up with all of the cards, although I will note that some adventures become more difficult to complete, which can change setup choices.

Enjoying Finding New Cards and Wilds in Journey Adventure Quest

The Crimson Knight

Playing the solo mode requires managing the solo opponent, yet this is a very quick process. Player order matters with the token, but again, it’s all simple!

During the card draft, the Crimson Knight flips a card. The top indicates an immediate bonus, and then the rest simply defines the priority and direction for the draft.

Temporary tokens usually favor the solo opponent, yet these go away after each monster battle. Still interesting!

Just need to find a way to bump up the difficulty level just a bit for myself… I fared much better overall.

Simple and Fun Priorities to Manage the Solo Opponent in Journey Adventure Quest

Quest Card Options

Something that works nicely with this game is how customizable it can be. It’s even possible to swap out card sets, rather than mixing them altogether for solo.

The quest cards, as well as a handful of others, are classified as competitive or non-competitive. This choice is made at the start, but guess what? They can be mixed!

Non-competitive quests simply offer victory points for reaching certain thresholds, and no one is locked out.

Competitive quests award the most victory points for first place, so there is a little more of a race to collect.

Working on Public Quests in the Non-Competitive Mode of Journey Adventure Quest

How Can a Game Work with Different Modes?

I was actually surprised to see the option to play non-competitively or competitively, although this makes sense now that I’ve played the game a bit. This is a far cry from games that claim to work cooperatively and competitively… Very rarely does this ring true for both of these different play styles! Here, it’s more about the level of tension.

Non-competitive is what I’ve stuck with, which merely rewards more victory points for reaching higher tiers within that range. In the above example, 6, 9, and 12 coins represent the thresholds for earning more. No one locks anyone else out: Everyone can score the most victory points if they all reach that tier. Easy, relaxed, but still a challenge.

The competitive mode simply awards the most victory points for having the most of a certain icon or resource. Part of me thinks I may want to switch over to that with the solo mode so I pay more attention to blocking the Crimson Knight from picking up certain cards. That may be just what I need to increase the difficulty level enough for more fun!

More Dual Cards

Mixed in with the rest of the other journey cards were the special cards created in honor of the publisher. Look at this mighty triceratops-themed equipment!

While the rainbow options act as wilds for the guild, this small set of cards comes with a choice as to the type of equipment. Quite a valuable new option to think of.

I also ran across more decisions with negative attributes that made some cards a little less appealing.

The chaotic mix didn’t spoil anything, though! It was more a matter of adjusting some top-level strategies.

Wielding a Phantom, Radiant, Triceratops Oath of Victory in Journey Adventure Quest

Yeti… We Meet Again

Let the record show that the level 3 monster cards are shuffled and randomized. For some reason, the shrouded yeti will just not leave me alone. Ha ha! So familiar.

But even with this identical, albeit improbably identical, final battle, the progression felt different. Card drafting only used a small portion of the journey deck, after all.

I still think the stacking of cards is a pretty neat mechanic, and this is one instance where it continues to be thematic.

My only issue might be with the difficulty level, which might need some small tweaks so I don’t win all the time.

Being Hunted by the Shrouded Yeti in Journey Adventure Quest

Stacked and Bloodied

One of the best parts of the game is the fact that death is impossible. Reaching the final monster battle always happens, and blood tokens are negative victory points.

This is what my final play area looked like. Keep in mind that the most journey cards chosen will be 18, so the stacks won’t get much larger than this overall layout.

Despite having so many blood tokens, the Crimson Knight also suffered, and I pulled off another clear victory!

However, earning the 3 loot cards continues to be a challenge that eludes me. Still more to try out!

Filling in Equipment Slots and Collecting Blood Tokens in Journey Adventure Quest

A New Final Battle

A-ha! Finally, I escaped the clutches of the yeti and drew a different level 3 monster. Ha! These are only revealed at the start of the correct day, so the surprise is often fun.

Note, too, how different stacks of icons can change the decisions. I didn’t always mind the blood tokens with cards that could remove them, but look at that knowledge!

I had another really great time playing back-to-back. Maybe I won by a lot, but I was still completely engaged.

Play time has also slightly shifted down, so to spend about 30 minutes for this amount of fun definitely feels worth it!

Proving There is More Than Just a Shrouded Yeti in Journey Adventure Quest

Session Overview

Play Number: 3 and 4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Non-Competitive with Chaos and Loot Cards
Outcome: 70-50, 79-66 (2 Wins)

Flavor text mostly appears on the adventure and quest cards, where this is a welcome bit of humor! I have some ideas I want to try out to make the scoring a little more challenging, yet I thoroughly enjoyed this session. Adding in all of the other cards made a difference and helped me see even more combinations. We’ll just see how long I can stay away from the yeti… Can’t escape it forever. Ha ha!

Flavor Text with a Good Amount of Humor in Journey Adventure Quest

%

1 Play

Affordability

Price & Value

7

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

8

Originality

Design & Theme

5

Quality

Components & Rules

10

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

4

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

4

+ Pros (Positives)

  • There are many ways to customize the experience to adjust the competitive aspects, randomness, and difficulty.
  • Colors are very bright throughout most of the artwork, making the equipment more interesting to look at.
  • With the chaos variant, the solo mode utilizes all of the journey cards so no content is limited to multiplayer.
  • Play time moves quickly and is easy to track with little effort so the focus is on strategy, not timing management.
  • Equipment can take some interesting turns with the choices between permanent and temporary effects.
  • Stacking cards is surprisingly interesting, and there are times when it’s better not to add to an equipment slot.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • The challenge to beat the solo opponent can be a little too easy with the standard rules and lots of random choices.
  • Estimating the required play space can take a little practice with understanding how different cards stack.
  • With the chaos variant, there is even more randomness to the card draft that can limit the useful options.
  • Most of the insert is excellent for storage, yet the card wells are just barely large enough to fit all unsleeved cards.

More Journey Adventure Quest

Explore related posts about Journey Adventure Quest!

Victory Conditions

Score the Most Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 60% 60%

Goals and Milestones

R

Complete all 3 adventure cards in at least 1 game.

R

Defeat all 3 monsters in at least 1 game.

R

Win at least 1 game with the non-competitive mode.

Q

Score the highest for all 3 quest cards in at least 1 game.

Q

Win all 3 monster loot cards in at least 1 game.

Continue the Conversation

What do you like about Journey Adventure Quest? Does it have any mechanics that remind you of other solo games? I’m glad I gave it a chance and look forward to playing again! The customization is very simple, yet doesn’t require much time to transform it into the desired experience. For a quick adventure with fun equipment, this is a great choice!

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