Sanity Test for Fairy Market

Follows the expected structure, with clear and logical section breaks. The wizard's musings leading off the sections are charming and make it easy to understand the why of the game.

Not listed.

Strong theme, though the two sets of italic fonts and the graphic design made it harder for me to process it as a whole. (We'll talk about this in more detail later, but it's a notable issue here.)

Good overview, but it would be clearer if you start with the objective (complete lists for the wizard) and then summarized how to achieve it (trade with the market or other players).

Everything is listed, numbered, and easy to figure out.

The graphic is a little crowded, making it hard to tell what's what. But the information is all there.

The setup is clear and easy to follow.

Setup graphic is excellent -- clear and easy to follow. The one thing that is "missing" is the Day/Night tracker, which is not assigned to any of the players. This isn't a significant flaw, but it might be an opportunity. If you can adjust this graphic and the components graphic a little, you might be able to "share" the D/N tracker between them, giving you a little more room for detailed versions of the market goods and list card. Alternatively, you might be able to use the space you have to put the card anatomy in the setup and gain clarity there.

Game play is clearly described (and the game sounds fun!). You do a great job of summarizing the turn and then providing detailed descriptions of the four action choices. The one area where I had a little trouble was understanding the important of having one of each Type of card to claim a list. That's easy to miss, especially since you can make the choice to give up points for speed by playing cards with the right Type and the wrong element. A visual example would probably help a lot here.

-- The Remember points are helpful and appreciated. One thing I would like to see answered here, because the rule is a little unusual: when play comes back to the starting player, why do they immediately flip the marker to Night?

No game play pictures. I noted the spot where I was confused and would have benefited from a graphic above, but the rules would be easier for visually-oriented players if each of the actions has an example. It might be especially good to see a couple of sample cards for the Fairy Favors -- it's not clear what you do with them after you've played them. (The Puck card goes back in the marketplace based on the card text, but it's not clear whether that is an exception or the typical rule.)

Victory conditions and tie-breakers are clear.

There are a couple of things like the Fairy Favors that I'm not sure about, but they would be easily addressed by looking through the cards for a couple of minutes.

The text is clear, concise, and appropriate to the complexity of the game.

This category is a bit binary (0 or 3 points), and the presentation is NOT bad as-is. However, the text is crowded, especially in the components and card anatomy area. The fonts are readable, but you switch sizes for examples in a way that's jarring to the eye. As noted, there are not enough visual examples. Overall, the rules feel jammed into the space, and that's both hard to read and intimidating to players. I suspect this is the kind of thing that an amateur could fiddle with for days and a graphic design professional could fix in an hour or two-- I think the game might be worth that investment.

The ad image is very low-budget indie game, but I like the overall look. The summary line sums the game up well. I don't think the day/night system is interesting enough to warrant a bullet point, and I think "Trade for unique magical items . . . and use them against your rivals!" might be worth using two.

Again, the image looks low-budget and -- in the long run -- I think it would be worth it to invest in a great cover image. But this is getting the job done for now.

I think having the designer's name is very much in line with the feel of this product, but that line break after "Fairy" is Not Good. Try the name in small type on one line, and the Fairy Market much larger on a single second line. As with the backdrop, this is another area where investing in some pro work could really pay off.

-- If it's not obvious by now, I think the game's design and theme are strong enough to compete in the big leagues. To abuse the metaphor, it just needs to suit up in the right uniform.

Action shots are not fancy but they cover the bases. I really like the "just opened the box" shot -- that's relatively rare and it gives my inner collector a little jolt of happiness.

Great description that sets the scene, describes the game, and establishes your bona fides as designers.

No video.