The Pie in the Sky expansion for My Little Scythe sat in its box for three days as my children didn’t want to play a “new game”. I could have done a better job of explaining that it added to the game but I wanted to get some play with just the base game for my review so it suited me.
After we had got to grips with My Little Scythe I introduced the expansion and immediately things did not work as well.
My 9-year-old liked the new characters and enjoyed the new addition but my 7-year-old struggled. She struggled with the new rules and I could tell the enjoyment had ebbed. I decided that for the first few games we would play together and after the first match the fun had returned but when we play now, she will always ask not to add the Pie in the Sky expansion to the game.
The game adds two pairs of seekers, Owls and the cutest Arctic Foxes ever created, an Airship named Kai that all players share, a 5th trophy meaning the games are slightly longer, a new dice, several extensions to the player mats that hold the 5th trophy and all have different abilities, some quest and upgrade cards, tokens and a card to cover your Seek action as you now have more options.
You can choose to pair the extensions with the animals they relate to or randomise them and deal them out however, there is a third option where you can assign any animal to any extension meaning that if your child doesn’t understand one faction’s ability then you can substitute it for one they do.
On your Seek action, you now roll the Airship dice as well as the resource dice and which will let you move the Airship to a space with at least one gem or apple in it. You then choose if you want to collect a resource that you remove from the board and store in your cargo hold on your extension or you can choose to use your ability. The ability could give you options like placing a token in that space that adds resources or you could be awarded pies when you lose friendship. We found that adding the resources to our mat meant we could store them without fear of losing them in a pie fight. This adds a layer of complexity and additional strategy that makes the game more interesting for adults but I could understand why my youngest struggled with the additional concepts.
Pie in the Sky adds to My Little Scythe and makes it a more interesting proposition for older players, it doesn’t become a deep and thoughtful game by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly does add to the game in a positive way. Actual gameplay remains the same.
The components are of exceptional quality as ever and as a bonus, there is a place for everything in the original box with spaces left for the Seekers. It is such a nice thing to be able to pack away a game properly and fully it really helps to want to get the game out and to the table.
From my point of view Pie in the Sky, expansion adds to My Little Scythe and I feel balances the game. No one seems to be able to rush ahead and games take a good 10 to 20 minutes longer but when playing just the base game we would play 2 or 3 games in an evening we seem to stop after 1 game when we play with the expansion. It seems for my youngest this addition to the game has taken away some of the fun as even now I don’t feel she fully understands what is happening with the game and asks for help a lot more.
We chose some house rules, we kept the airship but removed the 5th trophy which made the game more pleasant for our youngest.
In Summary
The Pie in the Sky expansion adds a great deal to My Little Scythe. It adds a layer of strategy that was missing for older children but it will be too much for some of the younger gamers, at 9 my son can cope fully with the whole bundle, at 7 my daughter needs help so perhaps 8 to 9 would be my recommended age. It is currently around £15 from your local board game store and this price is exceptional value for money and will certainly add to the number of years you will be able to play My Little Scythe with your Children.