"Spilled Mushrooms has become my new addiction to Playdate card games."

The experience of playing Spilled Mushrooms has proven to be quite revealing. Initially, I felt confident in my skills in both puzzles and card games, but I was momentarily confused during my first "delivery" in this mushroom-collecting card game. Sometimes, underestimating a game that features adorable animals on its cover can lead to surprises.

In Spilled Mushrooms, a game designed for Playdate, you take on the role of a mushroom delivery person who has made a big mistake: you've spilled the mushrooms, and the situation is so extreme that they have ended up scattered across various habitats. What a blunder! Now you have a week to recover them and deliver them to their correct destination. However, in a fortunate twist, you have befriended the local wildlife, giving you a network of animals willing to help you correct your mistake.

The game requires a bit of simple math and a lot of strategic thinking. Each animal can collect a certain number of mushrooms and is available to do so for the number of days indicated alongside the hourglass symbol on its card. For example, the Hippo can collect five mushrooms at once but only for one day. In contrast, the Porcupine can only collect one mushroom at a time, but it can do so for six days.

Each animal possesses a unique trait that can interact with other cards in its habitat. For instance, the Moose or the Elephant increase the collection capacity of other animals, while the Grizzly Bear decreases that same ability. The Platypus, on the other hand, seems to be confused. As you progress in the game, you accumulate small tokens that you can use to stack the deck with cards you want to have in hand. You can only play one card per turn, and there are three habitats you need to clear over the seven days that make up a round of the game. Each of these sites will have a different amount of mushrooms.

After clearing the cobwebs from my mind and familiarizing myself with the flow of the game, I managed to rectify my mistakes and started winning some rounds. However, collecting all the mushrooms on the first (...) or second attempt is not guaranteed. The puzzles take a few minutes to resolve and are procedurally generated, so you'll get something different with each attempt. Sometimes, they can be quite challenging. Spilled Mushrooms also offers the option of creating a custom delivery, where you choose the habitats, the quantities of mushrooms, and the available animal cards.

Despite the challenge it presents, Spilled Mushrooms is an extremely relaxing game that I find myself returning to again and again for long stretches. Its focus on nature and its tranquil soundtrack make it ideal for playing at the end of the day or, in any case, to accompany a cup of coffee in the morning as you start to think. This game is likely to become a staple in my repertoire for a good while.