First Rat Board Game Review – Experience the Space Race From a New Perspective

First Rat is a delightful board game that transports players into a whimsical world of ambitious space rodents. The game is set in an old junkyard where generations of rats have passed down a captivating legend about the moon being made of cheese. This cheese-filled lunar dream has inspired the rat community to embark on an extraordinary mission: to build a rocket and claim the Cheese Moon for themselves!

Theme and Components

Theme

First Rat is a strategic family board game designed by Gabriele Ausiello and Virginio Gigli, published by Pegasus Spiele. The game can be played in solo mode, or it can accommodate up to 5 players. It takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes per player which makes it a good gateway game. It combines various mechanisms such as action efficiency, set collection, resource management, engine building, and racing to create an engaging and enjoyable experience.

The game’s narrative is cleverly woven around the rats’ discovery of an old comic book in the junkyard, detailing the first moon landing. This serendipitous find ignites their imagination and sets the stage for a race to space. Players take on the roles of different rat families, each competing to construct the most impressive rocket parts and train the most skilled “rattronauts” to feast on as much lunar cheese as possible.

Components

First Rat boasts an impressive array of components that bring the junkyard space adventure to life:

1. Gameboard: A double-sided board featuring:
   • Front: Standard Layout
   • Back: Variable Layout for increased replayability
2. Rat Teams: 5 sets, each containing:

1. Building Materials: 95 pieces total (30 Vinegar Bottles, 15 Calculators, 20 Tin Cans, 30 Baking Soda)
2. Cheese Markers: 60 in total (45 Value 1 Cheese markers, 15 Value 3 Cheese markers and 12 Moldy Cheese markers)
3. Awards: 16 pieces
4. Player Aids: 5 cards
5. Cards: 22 in total
6. Variable Layout Components: 26 Junkyard path tiles divided into 5 groups A-E, 36 Items (10 Bottle Caps, 10 Comics, 6 Energy Drinks, 10 Backpacks, 4 Super Rats standees)
7. Solo Game Components: 8 Score Tracks
8. Additional Components: 1 Scorepad and 1 Start Rat marker
9. Neutral Components (for games with fewer than 5 players): 2 Neutral Rats and 14 Score markers

Setup

The game board, as seen in the image, features a winding path through the junkyard, represented by various colorful spaces. These spaces likely correspond to different actions or resources players can acquire. The board’s artwork cleverly combines the grungy junkyard aesthetic with whimsical rat-sized inventions and cheese-themed elements, reinforcing the game’s unique theme.

Scattered across the board are vibrant, chunky wooden pieces representing the rats and various building materials. The different colors (blue, green, yellow, orange, and possibly red or purple) likely correspond to different player colors, allowing for easy identification of each player’s pieces and progress.

The player turns go in a clockwise motion, so at the start of the game the player with the “first rat card” gets one cheese, the second and the third player get two cheeses each, and if there are two more players they get three cheeses each.

The variable layout mentioned in the component list is evident in the image, showing different types of spaces that can be rearranged for each game, adding to the replay value and strategic depth of First Rat board game.

This comprehensive set of components, combined with the charming artwork visible in the game board image, creates an immersive and visually appealing experience that brings the quirky world of junkyard rats and their cosmic cheese dreams to life on the tabletop.

Game Mechanics

First Rat offers a rich tapestry of mechanics that blend together to create an engaging and strategic gameplay experience. The core mechanics revolve around movement, resource collection, shopping, and building, all while balancing the competitive race to the moon.

Movement

Each turn in First Rat begins with moving your rats along the junkyard path toward the rocket. Players have two options for movement:

1. Move one rat up to five spaces: This option allows for longer strides but focuses on a single rat.
2. Move multiple rats up to three spaces each: This option requires that all moved rats end on spaces of the same color, adding a layer of strategic planning.

Movement is unidirectional towards the rocket, and players cannot move their rats backward. Additionally, players must avoid having more than one of their rats on the same space (except at the start), which adds another layer of tactical decision-making.

Resource Collection

After moving their rats, players collect resources from the spaces they land on. The resources include cheese, vinegar bottles, calculators, tin cans, and baking soda. These resources are essential for various actions such as shopping and building rocket parts.

The Light String track enhances resource collection. As players advance their marker on this track, they gain additional resources when collecting from the main path. This mechanic encourages players to invest in upgrading their Light String marker early on. Although in it’s core this is a race game, it still holds many elements of a classical euro game. Resource management and engine building are core essentials for a good euro game and first rat has them in spades.

Shopping

Players can optionally visit shops along the junkyard path to purchase items that provide various benefits:

• Backpacks: Increase the amount of resources collected from specific spaces.
• Energy Drinks: One time effect of doubling the resources collected during a turn.
• Bottle Caps: Provide extra scoring opportunities at the end of the game.

These items add depth to the game by offering different strategies for players to explore based on their needs and goals.

Building and Donating Cheese

In addition to shopping, players can choose to build parts of the rocket or donate cheese for points. Building rocket parts requires specific combinations of resources and awards points immediately upon completion. Donating cheese also awards points and can be a strategic way to utilize excess cheese.

The game features several building tracks where players place their score markers as they complete rocket parts or donate cheese. The earlier a player places a score marker, the more points they will get.

Special Tracks

Two special tracks add further complexity and strategic options:

• Light String Track: Enhances resource collection efficiency.
• Rat Burrow Track: Unlocks special abilities through Comics and allows recruiting more rats from the nursery.

Super Rat Comics

6 of the rat comics are swished around facing upside-down, and when the cards are revealed next yellow comic cards are placed the super rats, which give the player that claims them a special ability (depending on the super rat).

Advancing on these tracks provides significant advantages and can be crucial for gaining an edge over opponents.

Variable Layouts

For added replayability, First Rat board game includes a variable layout option using double-sided game boards and modular junkyard path tiles. The variable layout changes the strength and positioning of different spaces each game, requiring players to adapt their strategies accordingly.

To set up a variable layout game:

1. Sort 26 junkyard path tiles into five groups (A-E).
2. Shuffle each group separately facedown.
3. Randomly place tiles on the path starting with six A tiles faceup, followed by five B tiles, five C tiles, five D tiles, and finally five E tiles.

Similarly, variable score tracks mix up scoring opportunities each game by randomly selecting seven out of eight score tracks to place on the board.

Endgame and Scoring

The endgame is triggered when a player either gets all four of their rats onto the rocket or places their eighth score marker. At this point, players tally points from various sources including built rocket parts, donated cheese, milestones on special tracks, achievements in the Rat Burrow, and collected Bottle Caps.

The player with the most points at the end wins the game. Tiebreakers are resolved by comparing who has more cheese left over; if still tied, shared victory is declared.

Overall, First Rat board game combines these mechanics into a cohesive experience that rewards strategic planning, efficient resource management, and adaptability to changing conditions on the board. The game’s blend of racing elements with engine-building aspects ensures that every playthrough feels fresh and engaging.

Personal Playthrough Highlights

During our playthrough, the game’s mechanics truly shone. The moment when Tom used the Energy Drink at the perfect time, doubling his resource collection from a lucrative turn was the best moment of the game. This allowed him to build multiple rocket parts in quick succession, giving him a significant lead in points. However, Sarah’s clever use of shortcuts and focus on high-value Bottle Caps kept the competition fierce until the very end.

One particularly tense moment occurred when we were all vying for control over the key spaces near Harry Hamster’s shop. The decision to either pay cheese to land on an occupied space or find an alternative route created a dynamic interplay of risk and reward. Sarah’s choice to invest early in advancing her Light String marker paid off as her actions became increasingly powerful, allowing her to outpace the opponents in resource collection.

The movement mechanics, where you choose between moving one rat up to five spaces or multiple rats up to three spaces each (as long as they end on spaces of the same color), add a layer of strategic planning that keeps each turn interesting. The resource collection and shopping phases are equally engaging, with various items like Backpacks and Energy Drinks offering different strategic advantages.

If you enjoyed First Rat, you might also appreciate games like Everdell by James A. Wilson or Mouse Guard: Swords & Strongholds by Luke Crane. These games similarly combine charming themes with strategic depth, offering players a rich and immersive experience.

Conclusion

Having spent several evenings immersed in the world of First Rat, we can confidently say that this game is a delightful blend of strategy, resource management, and whimsical storytelling. The charm of guiding a family of rats through an old junkyard to build a rocket to the Cheese Moon is both unique and engaging. The game’s designers, Gabriele Ausiello and Virginio Gigli, have crafted an experience that balances accessibility with strategic depth, making it enjoyable for both families and experienced gamers.

In conclusion, First Rat is a standout title that delivers on its promise of providing a delightful and engaging gaming experience. The combination of charming theme, high-quality components, and well-designed mechanics ensures that it will be a favorite on our game nights for years to come. Whether you’re racing your friends to build rockets or carefully planning your resource management strategies, First Rat board game offers a satisfying and memorable journey from the junkyard to the Cheese Moon.