As a kid, I was obsessed with pulling things out of cupboards and combining them into a bowl.
Shampoo, bubble bath and toothpaste.
Salad cream, yeast and lemonade.
My Mam was only shouting at me because she didnt understand.
These were my elixirs!
Sup from this bowl and taste the future of human evolution!
As I got older, It became apparent my future was not in alchemy.
Someone who puts baby corn into a bolognese clearly doesn’t posses the skill to create balanced mixtures.
And yet,Potionomicshas wrenched the rotting corpse of that childhood fantasy right out of its grave.
Finally, here is a suitable outlet for my feats of fantastical alchemy.
Im still not great at it, mind.
Its about sourcing the right ingredients.
Carefully balancing them together.
Paying attention to market trends and local events that may influence public opinion.
Haggling with your customers.
Flirting with a tree woman.Its complicated.
Potionomics sees young witch Sylvia inheriting her uncles potion shop following his death.
You only have a limited number of days to meet certain goals.
Fail them and its game over.
Ingredients possess certain properties.
Brewed potions can be placed on shelves, which locals can then purchase.
Heroes, merchants and other magic folk wander in before complaining about how much things cost.
200 gold for a common health potion?
Suddenly, Potionomics becomes a deckbuilding card game.
Attacks become persuasion tactics.
Grumbling customers inflict stress.
Run out of turns and you lose a precious sale.
The card game is maybe the best bit of Potionomics.
A plucky adventurer who brings you ingredients from their quests.
A melancholy soothsayer that lives on a rooftop and is also a shopkeep.
A walrus that sells you cauldrons.
Cards can protect you against stress, or allow you to be more convincing.
It all slots together very neatly.
Time is a finite resource and all actions drain it to some degree.
You are never without things to do.
Theres not enough time to get it all done.
Potionomics is stressful, basically.
Maybe a touch too difficult.
But its easily forgiven.
I mean, look at it.
Beautiful, painterly backgrounds.
Fully animated character models bursting with character and life.
But best of all, the potions!
The simple joy of throwing a bunch of nonsense into a bowl and seeing what happens.
Potionomics doesnt shout at me and tell me Ive made the kitchen smell foul.
Instead, it pats me on the back and says: Hey, look at that!
A cure for poison!.
