All-Star Draft is a drafting, set collection game.

Title: All-Star Draft

Year Published: 2021

Designer: Marco Schaub

Publisher: SunCoreGames

Players: 2-6

Game Time: ~45 minutes

Set-up Time: ~5 minutes

Ages: 10+

Theme: Anthropomorphic Ice Hockey.

Mechanisms: Drafting, Set Collection, Area Majority.

How to win: Gain the most fans by winning matches in the regular season and the playoffs!

Game Description

“Don’t get cold feet! Prove yourself as manager by drafting the best players and sending them to this year’s All-Star Cup. Keep in mind that a well-coordinated team will attract more fans! Once you made your way through the regular season, the playoffs await. You’re skating on thin ice now, because those who lose are eliminated right away!”

How to play All-Star Draft

Learn how to play All-Star Draft!

Main Mechanisms

Drafting is the way you get your cards… Set collection is what you do with them once you have them. Technically area majority in the way you win tournaments but it’s a stretch.

Bluffing is also a bit of a stretch but once you have 2 teams you can bluff which team you’re sending to which tournament.

Theme

The theme of Ice Hockey is 100% pasted on but it’s fun!

Setup & Rulebook

You need a number of animals (or suits) for the player count which means the cards need a fully shuffle the deck every game, then split it out afterwards. That annoying bit aside, the rest is fine.

The rulebook is OK. The rules around the coaches are pretty sparse and could be explained better.

Components & Artwork

The big cardboard trophy is fun, the rest of the components are fine.

The artwork for the animals is pretty good.

Ease of Teaching

It’s easy to teach. The cards only have 3 bits of key information so it’s not like they’re complicated or anything.

I would say that front-loading the teach gives a fair bit of info for people to remember. They might not recall the rules for the playoffs by the time they’ve played 6 regular season games.

Similar Games

You could include a simple drafting game such as Sushi Go Party as something in a similar area.

The tournament-style gameplay reminds me of Golden Cup which is the game I played right after this at Essen.

All-Star Draft Review

Positives

Simple and familiar core gameplay.

Planning for your previous teams, future teams and the play-offs while drafting a great challenge.

The art is fun.

Negatives

The theme is pasted on and the sports theme may put people off giving it a go.

The coaches are tough to explain.

All-Star Draft Round-Up

A very fun and simple game that gives you plenty to think about both in the moment and in planning for the future.

Rating

I give it 6/10