(Quick reference: Stolen purples says "chosen opponent reveals his hand and discards all purple [orbs]. Steal one of those purples [to your discard pile]. If you do, trash this chip.)
I’m still pretty new at this game, so it might just be that I haven’t figured enough out yet, but every time the bank has stolen purples, it seems like (a) in a 3-player game, the first person to get hit with stolen purples loses, and (b) in a 2-player game, the first person to land stolen purples wins.
If a player gets hit at any time, it creates a purple deficit that can only be replenished by buying two purples for the next cycle, or buying stolen purples to fix the deficit over two cycles.
It can be particularly strong in the late game when each player needs multiple purples to control his pile, and then one must discard all purple chips. In my games, whoever gets hit first by this loses.
Has anyone felt that this chip is overpowered?
Maybe it could give a choice between stealing one OR forcing the discard? Any thoughts?
You’re echoing a common complaint among new players. More experienced players say it’s pretty strong but not overpowered. But its strength also varies a lot depending on how you use it - I’ve had games that it did break, rendering the opponent completely helpless all game, and games where one player spammed it to steal crash gems and then choked on a pile of stolen crashes they couldn’t play.
I just read the whole guide, and I did find it very useful. I’m still experimenting with different chips and characters, and I haven’t gotten to the point of strategies. I’ll have to give it another try!
“Landing Stolen purples puts you up two purples” is a less big deal than it sounds, because obtaining a Stolen Purples usually means not obtaining a combine. If I buy a combine and you buy Stolen Purples, then you steal my combine, you’re only up one purple.