Oddland Game Review

Small Box, Big Critters

You gotta hand it to Allplay: their small-box games work overtime as both space savers and a smart marketing angle. Walk past their booth at a convention and you’ll see a neat, satisfying wall of matching boxes. Even those with a hint of OCD would feel soothed by the uniformity. As a friend once called it, it’s the “Pez Dispenser” of game displays.

Oddland, the debut title from video game designer Dan Schumacher, fits right into this aesthetic. Inside its tiny box are colorful map cards and a parade of hybrid critters practically engineered to make you grin. Whether it’s the Owloose (moose + owl), Pangaroo (pangolin + kangaroo), or Grizzsleep (sheep + grizzly bear), the game’s tone is baked right into its cast.

I also had the chance to try the upgraded components—handsome wooden versions of the cardboard markers—and if you’re picking this up, they feel like an essential add. The 3D pieces make scoring cleaner and more readable, and they elevate the tactile appeal. But be forewarned, they won’t fit in the base box!

Quick Cartography

Oddland unfolds over seven rounds, and your goal is to position your creatures in spatial configurations that maximize their unique scoring conditions. Each species has its own…

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