When comparing Snake Oil vs Aye, Dark Overlord!, the Slant community recommends Snake Oil for most people. In the question“What are the best board games that have acting in them?” Snake Oil is ranked 4th while Aye, Dark Overlord! is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Snake Oil is:
Whether they're selling Story Pajamas to the Teacher, a Pocket Toilet to a Couch Potato, or the ever-handy Baby Shield to some Aliens, it is the sales pitches of the players that elevate Snake Oil above similar games like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples. Being able to sell their products gives players ownership of what cards they play and it rewards those who commit to trying to actually match the product to the customer.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Creating convincing pitches for ridiculous products rewards creative thinking and often leads to surreal, yet hilarious, situations
Whether they're selling Story Pajamas to the Teacher, a Pocket Toilet to a Couch Potato, or the ever-handy Baby Shield to some Aliens, it is the sales pitches of the players that elevate Snake Oil above similar games like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples. Being able to sell their products gives players ownership of what cards they play and it rewards those who commit to trying to actually match the product to the customer.
Pro Tons of replayability
With 56 possible customer roles and 336 product cards, there's already a large amount of variety built into the game, but the 30 second pitches allow everyone's creativity to keep each game fresh and new.
Pro Blaming other players for failure leads to hilarious storylines
Perhaps the mission failed because that one minion got too drunk on dwarven ale, or maybe it was that the other minion fell under the sway of a mysterious siren, no, it was definitely because all the other minions are working for the other dark overlord! Whatever the case, the shifting blame and pointing fingers leads to a frantic and fun game full of laughs.
Cons
Con Players need to commit to the concept of making short sales pitches for the game to really shine
If players aren't willing to really try and sell their products the game can quickly grow stale as people simply play cards and hope to get picked. Now use that silver tongue to get out there and sell some Snake Oil!
Con The heavy dependence on storytelling isn't for all players
Players need to be willing and able to make up stories on the spot and roll with the game as it evolves over the course of play, which isn't for everyone and as a result this game can fall flat for some players.