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Clean up crew is a game for players and a storyteller that heavily relies on a simple, but elegant, gameplay loop: a messy case happens, your crew is called to "kick ass" and after finishing the case, the characters get back to their HQ to have downtime, a much calmer sequence. 

 

Firstly, as said, this elegant gameplay loop will make the experience really clear but also makes reading the rules simple: the information is delivered in a logical order that facilitates their comprehension. 

 

Speaking of comprehension, the gameplay mechanics uses the LUMEN system (6-sided dice) with 3 different attributes: POWERS, PASSION and PATTERNS. However, what really feels like a core feature that will make the experience interesting, is the elements. 

 

There are five of them: wood, fire, earth, metal, water. Each enemy can have an element but what is cool about the game design here is the fact that when characters die, the consequence will be different according to the element. Indeed, characters will get cursed, curse that can either be controlled or not, and that bring really great complications. 

 

However, characters are not defenseless, and they have ways to kick some ass and survive: weapons and spells. The latter one feels interesting, as it requires Qi to be cast, has an element and also what I feel like a "tag»: some spells will have solo effects, other area effect or lasting effects. That make the design of the spells understandable and usable quickly!

 

Finally, because the game focuses on fights, the rules feature a content warning and safety tools at the beginning. I like this, as it clearly is a great example of how the game was designed: as a fun and enjoyable experience for all players that engage in clean-up crew! 

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Thank you for this beautiful review and your kind words!