Doomlings is a hand management, set collection game.
Title: Doomlings
Year Published: 2022
Designer: Justus Meyer, Andrew Meyer
Publisher: Doomlings LLC
Players: 2-6
Game Time: ~45 mins
Set-up Time: ~2 minutes
Ages: 10+
Theme:
Mechanisms: Hand Management, Set Collection
How to win: Have the most points at World’s End.
Game Description
Somewhere on a doomed and distant planet, life has emerged, competing for supremacy until the world’s inevitable destruction. The object of the game is to score the most points by the time the world ends. Score points by playing Traits for your Doomlings’ species, making them more adaptable, resilient, and mischievous. As your Doomlings assert their dominance, Catastrophes will befall the planet, causing setbacks for each competing species. When the third Catastrophe inevitably strikes, the world ends, and the Doomlings with the strongest set of traits gets to look the Apocalypse in the eye and declare…“I scored the most points!”
This was a review copy from Doomlings LLC; thanks to them for sending it over.
How to play Doomlings
Learn how to play Doomlings quickly and concisely.
Main Mechanisms
Hand management, set collection, and a bit of take-that.
USP
Bright, playful art paired with a surprisingly strategic hand-limit system that makes even small decisions matter more than you’d think.
Theme
Your Doomling evolves through traits while the world inevitably collapses. It’s cute and colourful with lots of different characters.
Setup & Rulebook
Shuffle the traits, create the Age deck with three Catastrophes placed at different random depths, and deal starting hands. Quick and simple.
The rulebook has all the rules, but it’s a pamphlet that’s quite fragmented, so the rules are not altogether.
Components & Artwork
Bold colours, cute illustrations, and a clean graphic design that keeps everything readable at a glance. The iconography is easy to follow, and the trait art does a lot of thematic lifting.
Ease of Teaching
Very easy. One card per turn, effects are short, and the clunky timing on some effects is the only slightly fiddly part for beginners.
Similar Games
Exploding Kittens and Fluxx are lightweight, chaotic, humour-driven card games where the rules and situation can shift rapidly.
Doomlings Review
Positives
Bright, colourful production that looks great on the table.
More strategic than similar light card games.
Lots of replayability thanks to the variety of age cards and trait effects. (Plenty of expansions too)
Quick to teach and easy to get new players involved.
Negatives
Still very light overall, despite the strategy.
Plenty of randomness with card draw and age order heavily influencing outcomes.
Doomlings Round-Up
Doomlings is an accessible, fun little card game that combines colourful presentation with a surprisingly thoughtful hand-management puzzle.
It won’t replace heavier strategy games, or more strategic lighter games, but it’s a reliable, cheerful filler with plenty of variety.
I give it 4/10 (Would play it again)