Hit The Clubs: Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge

By Christopher Guyton | June 4th, 2020 | Categories: 40k Flashback, Board Game Reviews, Board Games, Product Review

In this time of social distancing, why not simulate the times of hanging out in a 50s era martini lounge? Hit the clubs in Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge!

Prepare to make friends with some hipsters and jive cats in Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge by designer Seth Roback. Published by Daily Magic Games, Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge is an area control, hand management game. Each player is a time-traveling witch doctor trying to have fun and create the best cliques by making the most friends and becoming king or queen of the voodoo lounge.

Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge: $60.00

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Tonight, it’s a new town and it’s time to make the scene with some new friends. Fortunately, you’ve got an edge and it’s that “Voodoo you do so well.” Papa Legba has interceded on your behalf and the Loa are listening. So pour some drinks, make some friends, work your magic. Welcome to the Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge.

Contents:
1 Game Board
1 Rule Book
5 Martini Glasses
5 Quick Ref Coasters
15 Red Chips
15 Blue Chips
15 Green Chips
15 Purple Chips
15 Yellow Chips
16 Skull Cards
20 Blue Monkeys
20 Orange Monkeys
24 Trend Cards
25 SKull Tokens
54 Clique Cards

Ages: 21+
Players: 2-5
Game Length: 90 minutes

Hit The Clubs: Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge

The board will represent the 50s era cocktail lounge. The lounge itself is divided into four separate lounges. These are the Neptune Lounge, the Tiki Lounge, the Lava Lounge, and the Cocoa Lounge. Each lounge has a variety of colorful characters, known as lounge lizards, to add to your clique. Toward the center of each lounge is a private party where the Jivecats hang out, these are the highest scoring contacts you can befriend. They require you to use a Jivecat card and remove two contact chips from two other lounge lizards that are not in the Jivecat’s lounge. You get a bonus if those two happen to also be Jivecats.

Each player in Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge will have a hand of four clique cards. These are represented by various drinks and number values. They can also be used to cast spells from one of four types. The values can be used as addition or subtraction to reach the number of the contact you are trying to befriend. Each lounge lizard has a target number you need in order to place your contact chip onto it and bring them into your clique.

There are also trend cards that can score points based on how popular they are at the time you earn them. Cards at the bottom are retro and worth two points. The middle trends are passé and only worth one point. The top trend cards are vogue and worth two points.

Clique cards can be used as spells for movement, messing with other players, or even making zombies that act as permanent multipliers for drinks.

Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge has some amazing and unique components. Each player gets a martini glass that holds their contact chips. And the points are tracked by hanging little plastic monkeys on the rim of the glass.

The artwork is really fun and looks great. The board is colorful and busy. The clique cards all represent an actual drink. The coolest part is each drink card has the recipe you could use to make the actual drink with.

Overall Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge is a fun game. The theme is pretty unique and funny. There are moments where players could get analysis paralysis due to planning a route and the math involved with the clique cards. Other than that I really enjoyed the game. The components really are what won me over however. The little martini glasses make the theme come through much stronger. It definitely feels like you are hanging out in a fancy cocktail lounge.

As an older game it might be a little tough to find at a local shop. It was initially released on Kickstarter in 2016 and released in retail later that year. I hope you get a chance to check out this unique title.