SNAKE OIL -- ELIXIR

So, how good of a salesman are you?  Can you pitch just about anything to "sell" your strange products?  Snake Oil -- Elixir from Out of the Box Publishing is a fun, cute, simple party game similar to Apples to Apples (which is also from Out of the Box Publishing); it's also a successful Kickstarter that plays the same as the original Snake Oil, but with all new cards.

At the start of the game, players draw a hand of six Word Cards.  Next, one player becomes the Customer and draws a Customer Card, which has a profession or character (Party Animal, Ghost, Villain, Little Red Riding Hood) on each side; the Customer decides which side to use.

Going clockwise from the Customer, each player selected two of their Word Cards, "mashing" them together into a product.  The player pitches their product to the Customer, explaining why that Customer needs or wants the product.  (The Customer can stop a pitch after 30 seconds.)  After everyone makes a pitch, the Customer gives the Customer Card to the player whose pitch was liked the best.  Players draw back to six Word Cards, the next player clockwise from the Customer becomes the new Customer, and after everyone has been the Customer the player who earned the most Customer Cards wins!

Snake Oil -- Elixir is quick and fun.  There's a lot of opportunity for humor in the card combinations, and the game goes very quickly (a little too quickly; I recommend letting everyone be the customer twice).  You have to trust the judge will reward the best product and not avoid giving a Customer Card that would guarantee a win to a player.  Apart from that possibility, Snake Oil -- Elixir is a funny, enjoyable party game.

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch