Hoity Toity Board Game

by Pamela Laurenne Laserna

(boardgamebeast.com)

Hoity Toity Board Game
Board game manufacturer:
Vintage Sports Cards
Number of players:
3-6
Ages:
6+
Time:
60 mins

Quick verdict

Hoity Toity is an upper-class themed game of bluff and counter-bluff. It’s not heavy, so it’s accessible to many players, but true strategy game fans won’t rate it really highly.

The game and gameplay

Hoity Toity is basically a classic bluffing game wherein players are aristocrats who are vying for prestige by exhibiting top-rate collections of antiques. Players use any means to achieve this goal: buy, steal and exhibit art and can even play detective to bust thieves.

The overall aesthetic quality of the game is attractive and forms a cohesive whole. The board has a fairly clever design and is easy to use. The action and place cards are well laid out and has clear and precise instructions. However, the two types of cards are a bit too similar-looking on the front; players will likely have the tendency to accidentally grab the wrong one during selection.

Game play is unique, quick to learn and matches the theme very well making you feel like a bunch of conniving and desperate collectors. It is usually described as an advanced version of Rock, Paper and Scissors since players try to outmaneuver opponents by predicting their actions. Due to this, others may dismiss the game as based entirely on luck.

While the luck element is indeed high, there is some fair strategy involved. The differing penalties and rewards for certain actions introduce an added psychological element (which largely affects a player’s tactic).

For example, some players may be reluctant to put on an exhibit in the fear of being robbed. If you can detect such patterns in your fellow players, you could tailor your strategy to have an advantage over them.

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Thus it can be said that the game allows real strategy to complement the bluffing.

Decisions involved aren’t too taxing making it suitable for beginners. It is also this game’s characteristic that deters its replayability. Some choices are rather too simplistic to be played over and over again.

The verdict

Hoity Toity Board Game’s characters may be overly competitive in terms of their collectibles, but the game play isn’t for the serious and competitive gamers. It’s a light game played just for pure fun and has the feel of a filler game, although a round lasts about an hour.

If you’ve played Hoity Toity, please leave a rating and comments using the link below.