DropMix Review: The Life of the Party

DropMix is a musical party game about creating the ultimate, evolving mash-up mix with your friends. Unlike Rock Band, DropMix does not require any hand-eye coordination or rhythm whatsoever, which is a major boon since literally anyone can sit down and start enjoying it right away. In this way DropMix stands out as one of the best party games I’ve played in a long time, and possibly the most accessible party game I’ve played this generation.

DropMix can be downloaded to any modern iOS or Android smart device. The DropMix board is simple and inviting. It’s a sleek black slate with five indentions for your playing cards, a space for your smartphone or tablet (which connects to the board via Bluetooth), and one big button. The core gameplay concept and mechanics can be understood within seconds of watching.

Two players sit across from each other at a party. On the far end of the board someone plays a bright yellow card, and suddenly Carly Rae Jepsen starts singing ‘Call Me Maybe.’ On the opposite end of the board a dark green card is set down, and a groovy bass and harmony track from Jason Derulo cradles Jepsen’s vocals and brings them to life in a new way.

Where are the drums?! Another player drops a blue card onto the board and suddenly the entire room is tapping their feet to a familiar rhythm track from The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back.’ A passerby notices a player is holding a card featuring the horns from Cake’s ‘Short Skirt / Long Jacket’ and begs for it to hit the board. Now the game is heating up, and everyone in the room is listening to the sickest ‘Call Me Maybe’ remix they’ve ever heard in their lives. Check out the launch trailer to get a better idea of how this all plays out:

Once again, I have to give Harmonix props for constructing a party game in the truest sense. Not everyone feels comfortable picking up a guitar-shaped controller with buttons and knobs everywhere, but everyone feels comfortable fanning out a few cards in their hand. Anyone can start slapping down cards onto the DropMix board, and when they do, they’ll be creating some incredible tunes and earning points.

The Game Is Secondary, but Fun

The scenario I just laid out for you is one of literally thousands of potential mix setups that could play out in any given game. With over 300 DropMix cards available at launch, each featuring a unique, isolated slice of a hit song, the major draw for most players will be experimenting alone or cooperatively to find the most far-out mixes possible. The actual DropMix game modes and rules provide enough incentive for more competitive individuals to sit down and play, but they’re really just there to give you the perfect excuse to tinker with the music and dream up some impossible mash-ups.

The standard game mode for 2-to-4 players is Clash. This is a race to 21 points, with each team drawing cards and taking multiple actions per turn. Generally, playing a card will net you one point. There are special DropMix cards that will allow you to take extra actions, earning you extra points, and certain cards can even be played to change the entire mix’s key and tempo.

If you’re ever out of options, you can always smack the DropMix button. This will spin a roulette wheel that will eventually land on a certain card type, forcing your opponent to remove all of their current cards of that type currently in play. This is a great way to steal some points from your opponent, and it inevitably changes up the mix in unique and interesting ways.

Party Mode allows up to 5 players to get cards in their hands, and everyone has to work together to fulfill specific requests. Over multiple rounds, players will have to play specific card types in specific positions on the board, which will have the entire group collaborating and scrambling to see who’s holding what. There’s also a Freestyle mode with no rules. No color restrictions; no card level restrictions. Just play what you want where you want and see what kind of music you can make!

The pure magic of DropMix is that no matter which mode you’re playing, and no matter which cards hit the board, it always sounds amazing. There is some wonderful technology at work to ensure tempos, keys, and scales sync up appropriately to create captivating bangers, and you’re absolutely able to save (and share!) your favorite mixes when you stumble onto them.

Expansive and Expensive

Another one of DropMix‘s greatest boons is also one of its greatest setbacks. DropMix will come with 60 cards out of the box, which is more than enough to keep you captivated and keep the music feeling totally novel for at least a dozen play sessions. Sharing DropMix with friends and loved ones who have never played it before is such a delight, but for the owner who has spent hours in Freestyle mode and the various game modes, several musical motifs will begin to repeat, and the urge to diversify the lineup will start to take over.

The good news is that there are already multiple Playlist Packs (containing 16 cards) and Discover Packs (containing 5 cards) to add to your collection. These can be thought of as expansions and booster packs, respectively. If you want to add more R&B and hip-hop to your deck, there’s a Playlist Pack for that. If you’re craving more pop, or more rock, you can add that to your expanding deck.

The downside is that, for players who want to get the most out of DropMix, the cost can accumulate to pretty obscene levels fairly quickly. The base game is $100, which is a startling and prohibitive barrier to entry. Most mainstream gamers expect to pay $60 for a game that can potentially stay novel for months. DropMix almost doubles that cost, and serious players will start turning to those $15 and $5 expansions and boosters before long, if not imminently after purchase.

While your $100 can be viewed as a one-time investment in the game board itself (and you do get 60 cards right out of the box), it still stings. It doesn’t even come with batteries! This isn’t something that younger working people or parents will be willing to purchase impulsively, and I have a feeling that Hasbro and Harmonix will need to get these boards into as many homes as possible. The long-term revenue play, I would assume, is in playlist expansions, but those aren’t going to sell if no one can afford the board.

Conclusion

DropMix is expensive, but the experience is more than rich enough to offset the cost if you can afford it. This is a game that you will actually want to bring to parties, because it’s a game that anyone in the room can enjoy whether they’re playing or not. Players get to sit down and participate in a simple cooperative or competitive card game, while everyone else gets to hang out and enjoy an ever-changing mega-mix of top tunes.

It’s creative, the technology is fascinating, the board feels premium, and the music cards feature some incredible original art from a team of talented artists. You’ll be proud to show this sucker off. If the gameplay footage appeals to you and you’re ready to create some serious ear-worms with your friends, I heartily recommend picking this up.

WWG’s Score: 4 / 5