Alubari: A Nice Cup of Tea

Alubari: A Nice Cup of Tea is not especially coy about its lineage: this is Snowdonia in different clothes, with a notably smaller wardrobe. For anyone without Snowdonia Deluxe, that is not trivial; the central design arrives without the setup explanation and surrounding baggage of the fuller box.

The framework is still one of choosing actions and managing the resources available to you, with decisions focused on what can be accomplished before the game state moves on. Interaction comes chiefly through the shared action space: other players' choices narrow your options or alter your priorities. It is not theatrical, but it is efficient.

Its meaningful addition is the ability to burn tea for strengthened actions. Tea is not merely a minor bonus, because it also matters greatly to final scoring; the interesting decision is whether to turn it into tempo now or retain it as endgame value. That is a sound adjustment to the system, although it does not disguise the game's relationship with Snowdonia.

This is not a bad game, and it has a clear purpose as a less demanding route into this system. I still prefer the original: its larger range of scenarios and options gives each play a more distinct character, even if I am plainly never going to play every scenario in the box.