Into the Belly of the Beast with So, You’ve Been Eaten
Play as the miner or a great beast on a journey of digestion, bacteria, and crystals in So, You’ve Been Eaten.
The premise of So, You’ve Been Eaten intrigued me since it sounded like a perilous journey in uncharted territory! Namely… Inside a giant beast’s digestive system. I enjoyed the overall humor of it all, too, and wondered just what might be found inside the literal belly of the beast. Plus, I could play as the miner or beast! To the table… Not tummy!
Game Overview
Game Name: So, You’ve Been Eaten
Publication Year: 2022
Designer: Scott Almes
Artist: Kwanchai Moriya
Publisher: LudiCreations
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
As the miner, the goal is to use actions to control the bacteria and locate the crystals. Each bacteria type can slowly increase, but reaching the end of the track results in final digestion! The puzzle is to move the same bacteria away, use tools, and find all 8 crystals in time.
First Play
October 16, 2022
Complexity
2
Latest Play
October 16, 2022
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
36" x 18"
Low Score
N/A
Stomach Confusion
I had this partially set up as I read the rulebooks for a couple of days. The level of confusion was what struck me the most. Which side of the boards to use? What was that?!
Even now, I know I played incorrectly… But couldn’t explain why. Never before did I struggle with the rules to a new game so much, and this one is fairly light.
Still muddled, I could see the makings of a fun puzzle with destroying adjacent alike bacteria and harvesting crystals.
Before I began, I had a foreboding feeling. Was it my own stomach playing the game?! Alas, I was merely confused.
Mining for Crystals
As I mentioned, I loved the idea and theme here! It was a very different sort of setting, and overall, the miner wasn’t all that complicated to play as.
I rolled 3 dice each round, then assigned them to different actions. Most of the time, the value corresponded to the number of the targeted card in the stomach.
But those numbers were very faint, and I kind of had to manually count each round to make sure I got it right.
The choices were fairly obvious: Get the crystals, manipulate some dice, and eliminate identical bacteria.
A Miner’s Dashboard
Upgraded actions sounded neat, yet for the most part, I found that these were simply used to pay for bacteria about to reach the second level… A required cost.
The triple-layered, double-sided puzzle piece boards didn’t quite work out: The dice didn’t fit comfortably in every slot, and I was confused by the upgrade values.
It was fun to see cascading effects with some actions, yet the components outnumbered the gameplay depth.
And then there was the beast’s automatic turn, which I was utterly confused about for far too long. (And still am.)
Collected Crystals
Although this resulted in a very narrow victory, I was almost relieved when I finished my first play. I still loved the overall theme, but the execution left me a little sad.
The components looked lovely, yet there wasn’t a lot of substance behind them. Such a shame for a unique idea!
Flipping around the rulebooks, not finding important terminology, and having to remember where vital rules were written in tiny print all contributed to my experience.
I wanted to go forth and have an adventure as a miner collecting crystals in an unexpected place! But not today.
New Game Rulebooks and First Impressions
Everyone experiences a new game a little differently, yet the learning process is an integral piece of that first impression when preparing to play. I prefer to teach myself with the included rulebooks, following examples and using my first few plays to understand the basic concepts, mechanics, and sequences of gameplay.
That all falls apart when I’m left with a single feeling: Confusion. I mentioned it before, but this is a lightweight game with just a few overall concepts. So, why the disconnect? Parts of the rulebook were written with humor in mind, yet for first-time players, a clear textbook approach is very helpful. Maybe it’s dry, but consider these unrelated examples:
- Draw 1 card from the event deck, follow all of the instructions in order from top to bottom, and then discard it.
- The monster attacks with a new event! Find out what happens as it activates and deal with the consequences.
One of these is a lot more interesting and flavorful, but which one helps you understand how to play better? 1 is how I prefer rulebooks to be written, aside from little sections to add flavor to the game itself, not the rules. 2 is how I might describe a play session to drum up interest in the game or bring it to life. Yet it doesn’t lead to understanding the rules.
I found myself flipping between the main rules and solo booklet time and time again. There were words on cards that never showed up… Except in a different mode of play? Was I supposed to ignore that, or replace it with an alternate action? When a card was active, was it actually being played or merely counting towards the limit of 5 active cards?
So many questions arose during setup and most of my first play. I wouldn’t feel comfortable teaching the game to anyone, unfortunately. I reset for a second play just to see if I could muddle through and find some silly moments, or manage to put together some neat combinations of the dice. But I never got the sense I knew what I was doing.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Miner Solo Mode
Outcome: 2 Wins
The bacteria nearly defeated the miner, almost reaching the maximum level in most instances, yet that final crystal led to a quick victory! With a lot of luck during the next play in terms of the cards, crystals showed up early and I managed to pick up 2 of the 8 every turn… A rather quick victory that had a few strategic choices on my part. But I had my fill, and gladly packed it up to pass along.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
1
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
5
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
3
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
3
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Mining for crystals in the digestive tract of a great beast is a very novel and interesting sort of theme.
- Solo modes exist for playing as either the miner or the beast, adding some variety to the overall game.
- The acrylic and wooden tokens are excellent in quality and add another layer of atmosphere to the artwork.
- Summary cards help provide reminders about the order of operations and top-level information during play.
- Play time is pretty quick with the way the dice are easily allocated and mining decisions are made.
- Modifying the order of the stomach cards can lead to fun combinations when eliminating 3 cards at once.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The rulebooks are extremely confusing with partial information in different sections and unclear wording.
- Luck plays a major role in the outcome, particularly with the order of the stomach cards with crystals.
- Although many of the components are nice, the game has the feeling of being overproduced with little substance.
- There is a clear and rather repetitive sequence to victory that doesn’t change all that much from play to play.
Victory Conditions
Meet a Win Condition as the Miner or Beast
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game as the miner.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played So, You’ve Been Eaten? What other solo games do you enjoy with very unique themes? There seemed to be a lot of promise with this one, but I was more excited to clean it up than play it. I never like to be disappointed in a game, though, and I do hope that there are those out there with the patience to stomach these rulebooks!
I have the game but have yet to play it. I’ve been doing my best to read up on the forums to make sure I have the rules down as your cons about them were shared by a few.
Have you heard of Far Away by Cherry Picked Games? Pretty cool 2 player game. I love it a lot but there are a couple flaws as well. I’m curious to see what you think.
Hopefully you get a good grasp of the rules! This was an outlier in terms of the level of confusion for me, but that doesn’t mean it will be like that for everyone. Just going in knowing things might not be clear could be helpful. I wish you lots of luck!
Very interesting game! I had never heard of Far Away previously, and had to do a little digging to see if it could be played solo. Sounds really interesting! To the point that I’ve almost cut out new board game purchases entirely… But this one is tempting me. Understandable about its flaws, although I’m often willing to look past those when there are RPG or narrative elements. Thanks for pointing it out! Have you ever played it solo?