Pillbox Games Side Effects, Strategic Take that Card Game of Therapy

Side Effects initially caught my eye because of its cool art style. Its skeleton-mental health theme gives it a morbid (and often funny) aesthetic and the box art is gorgeous! The long, skinny "tarot" sized cards are lovely to hold and sturdy, with beautiful artwork on both sides and vertically mirrored effect text that makes it easy to read cards sitting across the table. This small format detail is incredibly important to gameplay. Mechanically speaking, Side Effects is a fabulous, fast-paced little card game with a kind of rock-paper-scissors dynamic! Because you need to sort out conditions to deal out each player's "psyche" and then reshuffle them into the deck, you are going to have to shuffle these cards A LOT, and I could see that wearing them out in the long term. Side Effects gives each player a psyche full of illnesses that they must treat. But treating them with medication leaves you vulnerable to other conditions, and while you're attempting to treat yourself you also need to prevent other players from outpacing you or penalizing you. There is a fair amount of strategy to be had here, but it is light enough to be quite beginner-friendly. The game dynamic causes quite a bit of laughter and playful "punishing" moments. For more seasoned board gamers, this game is a wonderful palate-cleanser between games or for the end of a gaming session!

Easy to learn base game, we bought the Side Effects expansion deck with it and it was a lot of fun! Only caveat with the expansion is that some of the new cards don’t have the rules written into the cards like the others, so keep the one reference card handy. The cards are excellent quality and the art is great and easy to read for anyone across the table.

This game is by far one of the most fun I’ve played. The cards can be redundant and sometimes you get stuck in a loop of back and forth plays. I will say there are definitely some house rules that the game encourages you to add yourself that make it more challenging and fun. The art is lovely and funny. It’s fun especially if you have a dark sense of humor. The quality of the game is fun. It’s easy to understand and sometimes the rounds are short and easy. It gives everyone a chance to experience how to play the game with different strategies. It’s worth the buy. If you were looking for a new game to try but didn’t know which one. This game was one I sat on debating to purchase for months and I’m glad I chose this one!

We play a lot of games - basic ones and more high strategy ones. This game was actually pretty easy once you got the hang of it. It does take some slight strategy and you definitely have to pay attention to what cards you have and the disorders your opponents have. You cane cure yours, give others more disorders, or make them have an episode, but any action can backfire on you too. My adult son and I played and really enjoyed it! We laughed and had a good time. One game can be very quick or take a but if time - it just depends on the luck of the draw. This is definitely a game we can play over and over again. Pros: Easy to learn Can play with 2-10 people, so more options for group size. We have only played with two and it was fun. The artwork on the cards. It is fun. Cons: The cards are larger than regular cards and harder to shuffle. You have to separate out the disorders, shuffle and deal them out, and then shuffle them back in the deck each game. That is time consuming. Some complained about the fact that it calls out or makes fun of mental health. It is actually accurate on the treatments and side effects of them, so it isn't making fun and is realistic. Yes, players can give each other disorders and such and make it fun, but it is a game folks! I have a psychology degree and have family members with mental illness and I do not take offense to this game. If you do, don't play it. I highly recommend this game if you don't mind the content of it.

This game has been more fun than it had any right to be. There are nights me and my group of players just don't play other games because we want to play this. And whoever did the game design is top tier, brilliantly put together. The card quality is roughly that of a tarot card little bit thicker maybe, the print is beautiful full color, and the actual artwork used in the various cards are stunning. I think the thing I like most of though is the actual box with its gold foiling it's just such a beautiful little container that you can kind of take anywhere. If you're traveling a lot and want a game that you can just whip out and teach somebody in like 30 seconds this is the game. Should fit in any pack easily. Here's a quick run through of what the game looks like. Everyone is dealt for random illnesses such as anxiety, depression, impotence, etc. Everyone draws four cards and you can get a mix of treatment cards that cure your illnesses, other illnesses that you can inflict on other players who are susceptible to them, and then there are therapy cards that cure almost anything, and lastly a car to trigger episodes. Each illness has a specific side effect that you will experience through the game as a great example if you are mad and someone makes you have an episode all of the cures you've used on your illnesses are gone. Each treatment, with the exception of therapy, will make you susceptible to different things so depression makes you susceptible to impotence or anorexia or suicidal thoughts. When you see a player susceptible to a illness can give it to them to prevent them from winning. You win by hearing all of your diseases. Great fun for I would say probably somewhere around the lines of 13 and up there's a little bit of a morbidness when you're talking about illnesses such as Suicidal Thoughts. With a group of adults this is a blast, it can accommodate up to six players roughly, turns go by really fast, and the game doesn't last more than like 20 minutes unless you have max players and everyone is playing optimally.

We were pleased to find the positive messages and mental health resource links in the instructions. For a game that could be accused of making light of serious subjects, this was tastefully done and comes off as a positive not a negative. The cards look and feel a little like Tarot Cards in their size, card stock, and presentation. Game rules are not too difficult. Replayability, maybe middle of the road. This is a really clever game with a novel subject matter, and vary fun to show off to the right audience. Gameplay is a little like Mille Bornes but not as engaging. They use generic names of all the medications, to avoid copyright issues presumably. Sort of wish they could have used the more common names. Buy this one for the subject matter. The design and artwork is delightful. No regrets, go for it.

OMGsh!!! Such a fun game! Just bought the booster pack with more /different illnesses. Can’t wait to play again. I think it’s best with more vs less people. I’d say age appropriate. There is nothing derogatory or inappropriate. The only condition we felt might be questionable would be “impotence” but I guess it depends on the child and how the parents explain things. Our youngest is almost 16. We were fine with it. It is not represented with bad taste. It’s just a card with the word and a pic that is more comical than other. We felt the game was in good taste. Instructions are easy except for the “trade” section. But no big deal it was a take it or leave it out.

I saw this game played on TikTok and really wanted to try it. One round quickly turned into five, and it was GREAT! Really easy to learn, lots of techniques for handling your hand. This one's a keeper!

carte eccellenti, mi sono piaciutr molto

Jogo muito divertido. Da pra ficar horas e horas jogando e o tema cai muito bem com o humor do grupo de amigos!

Can't wait to buy the expansion!

Really fun game lots of playability. Gets pretty dark

Además de tener una calidad excepcional la dinámica es muy divertida. También es importante reconocer la investigación que hicieron para desarrollar el juego, pues los medicamentos que aparecen para tratar los padecimientos son reales. ¡Ni deberían dudar en adquirirlo!. Acá les dejo un video de tres minutos que hice.