Preview Written by Chelsea Siaca

It’s the 90’s and the toy craze is at its peak! We have Furballs, Yoyo’s , Bean Bears, and Pocket Petz. You are managing your own warehouse; should you order more stock or spend your money marketing in order to influence the demand for a particular toy?

Welcome to Overstock

Overstock is a quick card game that plays in about 20 minutes. We played 4 games in about an hour or so! Each player starts the game with 6 cards. The game is played in 6 rounds, in which each player places one of the cards from their hand in either “The Popularity” or their “Warehouse”. “The Popularity” is how big the craze is becoming for each of toys. “The Warehouse” is how many of each toy you have in stock! 

Art

The art for Overstocked could not be any cuter and I mean that as a complement. The moment I saw the preview art, I knew I wanted to review this game. Seeing the art of this game, I was reminded so much of the toys of my childhood.  The only difference is the marketing of these toys is far more accurate. The Pocket Petz is needy… the furball is rude! Couldn’t be more accurate. 

Components

Overstocked has 43 Crate Cards and one Score pad. I did receive a prototype copy, so the card quality and art was not finalized. However, the art in the cards has been updated. Below is an example of the updated cards.  The cards display 6 crate slots and a number. The crate slot can be filled with one of the following items: one of the four toys, an empty slot, or one of the four toys with a worker. 

Objective

As the manager of your “Warehouse” you have to find a balance between your inventory and influencing the market. Don’t over stock on a single toy, it could backfire! 

Game Play

The game is played in 6 rounds, in which the players simultaneously select a Crate Card and place it face down. Once all the players have selected their cards, they are revealed.  Turn order is determined by the number on the revealed Crate Cards. Players take turn in ascending order and finishing with the player who revealed the highest number Crate Card. 

In turn order, players place their card in either their “Warehouse” or “The Popularity”. To place a card, you must cover at least one crate, but no more than two crates on a card that is already out.  However, you can never cover a crate that has a worker on it, because it is against health and safety regulations.  You can rotate the card you are placing as many times as needed, in order to find that perfect spot to maximize your victory!!   

Scoring

Once the 6 rounds have been played, you will score each toy individually. For each toy, you will count the largest connected area in “The Popularity” and your “Warehouse”. You will then multiply those 2 numbers. For example, if there are 4 Pocket Petz in “The Popularity” and 3 Pocket Petz in your “Warehouse”, you would multiply those numbers (4×3) to score 12 points for that toy!

There is one exception to that rule: the LARGEST connected area in “The Popularity” scores negatively!!! So try not to have an Overstock of that hottest toy, the fad will soon pass and you will be left with all that inventory in your “Warehouse”! 

There is an advanced variant; the only difference between the standard and the advanced mode is how the toy in your “Warehouse” with the largest connected area is scored. For that toy, the players would score half the points. This makes it even trickier!

Final Thoughts

We played at a 2-player count. This is a great game to have in your car or purse. You can play a game while you wait for your food to arrive at a restaurant or while having coffee with a friend! It is very puzzly, and you have to find a balance between managing your “Warehouse” while still adjusting “The Popularity”. One thing we weren’t expecting for this cute card game was the amount of take that! There was one game where I was winning until the 5th round! My husband basically changed the landscape of “The Popularity” and I lost miserably! You definitely have to play defensively! We don’t usually play quick card games but the take that element made this more interesting and challenging for us. 

If you are looking for a challenging quick card game, this is the game for you!
Currently on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter includes a solo mode and 3 mini expansions. It will be very interesting to see what the mini expansions add to Overstocked!!!