100% Orange Juice: Beginner Tips & Tricks

Released in Japan in 2009 and five years later on Steam worldwide, 100% Orange Juice is a cozy yet engaging board game title that pits players up against three opponents. Developer Orange_Juice brings strategy with an element of RPG to the table, and players can either take on three CPU opponents or join in the fun online against three other players from anywhere around the world. The further players get in their playthrough, the more boards they unlock, with complicated twists and tricks looming around every corner.

Getting into the game is easy, as 100% Orange Juice is relatively inexpensive and can be found on Steam for free at certain points, but knowing how to excel in it is another thing entirely. 100% Orange Juice's cute graphics and colorful style is quickly forgotten once the game begins, and players quickly learn how difficult the learning curve truly is. It will be made clear early on that losing is part of the experience, but what the player does with the lessons they learn will either aid them toward victory or send them tumbling down a road of disappointment.

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By Chris Chalmers

Choose A Comfortable Difficulty Setting

There are four different difficulty modes to consider when starting up, and each will affect the way the CPU plays each turn. This decision will only affect the single-player mode of 100% Orange Juice, while the multiplayer version pits players against other card-carrying players. The original setting for single-player difficulty will be adjusted to Normal, which will have CPU characters acting as the game's programing set for them. If players wish to play with less stress, Casual will reduce the CPU performance, making each move feel less of a burden. Original and Extreme boost the CPU performance more challenging difficulties.

Casual - Lowered performance for all CPU characters.
Normal - No adjustments for CPU characters.
Original - CPU characters' performance is customized individually.
Extreme - All CPU characters enjoy a performance boost.

It would be ill-advised to jump right in on one of the more difficult difficulty settings, especially when the basics haven't been mastered. From knowing where to move to understanding each card type, each section will require patience and experience before jumping into the deep end.

Creating Decks That Cover Offense And Defense

Each game, players will build a deck of ten cards to use during play. For newcomers, have no fear; 100% Orange Juice is kind enough to give rookies their first starter deck consisting of 15 cards, 10 of which are unique. From here, it will be a matter of mixing and matching to create decks that can give the player the best chance of surviving the elements while taking down each opponent on the board. There are seven different types of cards and three rarity groups: Common, Uncommon, and Rare, and players can hold up to three cards per turn.

Boost - Green cards that can give players dice roll modifications, star rewards, card draws, healing, designated targeting, and other helpful effects to give the player an advantage. These cards can only be activated at the beginning of a turn, and some effects may linger past the end of the turn.
Battle - Yellow cards can only be activated during a battle, some of which will trigger during the defending phase. These cards can help players avoid battles, grant them nullifying abilities for stat changes and damage, increasing the length of a battle, and increasing the user's stats. All battle cards expire at the end of a battle.
Trap - Purple cards that can be set on most tiles on the board — except for ice panels and those that already have a trap card. Trap cards can have chaotic effects, such as forcing players to discard valuable cards or engage in an unnecessary battle. They are strong and cost little-to-no stars, but they are difficult to strategically place.
Event - Blue cards that can only be activated at the start of the turn. Event cards can target one player at random or all players on the board, causing havoc with effects such as card theft, card destruction, and warping a player to a random location.
Gift - Pink cards remain active and continue to grant players unique boosts as long as they remain in their hand. Gift cards are the rarest type in the game and players are limited to one per deck. Gift cards can also be passed along to another player and stacked with one they may have already, and an icon above their head will indicate when a player has a Gift card in their hand.
Hyper - Red cards are unique to each character in 100% Orange Juice. These cards are assigned to specific characters, though they may be stolen at any point during a game. Typically, Hyper cards are the strongest in the game, providing a significant advantage to the player holding them, though they vary in utility and strength. Hyper cards are essential for sealing a victory in tight games.
Dual - While not technically an official type, the Dual card reflects on cards that have two types. Some cards may have Battle or Boost as the primary typing but will have a secondary typing that aids the player in another fashion. These cards can also be activated at multiple intervals in the game, making them one of the more helpful variations in 100% Orange Juice.

Some of the strongest decks available for players to create will consist of the character's Hyper card, a Dual card for versatility, and a strong combination of the remaining five types. Some players can get by without the use of Gift cards, as the attention it draws may prove to be too much risk over reward. With proper planning and some good luck, utilizing these seven types efficiently will make all the difference between victory and defeat.

Know When To Move And When To Use Cards

A big part of gaining the upper hand in 100% Orange Juice is knowing what the next three moves will be ahead of the following turn. This will depend largely on the luck of the draw with the cards in hand and the roll of the dice, but where the player is stationed on the board may also help. Typically, players will want to avoid battles in the first few turns in order to draw cards and complete objectives for the purpose of building up Norma.

Norma is 100% Orange Juice's mechanic to complete certain tasks on the board while collecting stars. Players can keep up to ten stars at any given moment, and may use them to play their cards. Since cards play a large role in helping the player succeed, it's recommended that Norma take priority at the beginning of the game.

After enough objectives have been completed and players have a healthy collection of cards and stars, it's time to plan the attack. Once engaged in a battle with another player on the board, attacking and defending sequences will depend on rolling the dice and hoping for a larger number compared to their opponent's turn.

Understanding The Meaning Of Each Tile Type

One of the most important aspects of learning 100% Orange Juice, or any board game, is what each tile represents. There is a long list of board panels to remember, and some may suggest having these written down and kept on hand for reference. At the very beginning of a playthrough, the board panels will be limited to a certain number, but the longer players get through their story and take on more difficult levels, the volume of board panels will increase. One wrong step may spell disaster for the player, so it's always good to remember the definition of each board panel before making the next move.

Home Panel - The player's home panel, which can be used to heal or collect Norma if an objective has been fulfilled.

Neutral Panel - An empty, safe space with no advantages or disadvantages.

Bonus Panel - Roll a die to gain stars multiplied by the player level, up to level three.

Drop Panel - Roll a die to lose stars equivalent to the player's level.

Draw Panel - Draw one card from the deck.

Warp Panel - Teleport to a random Warp or Warp Move panel.

Warp Move Panel - Same benefit as Warp, but with the additional benefit of rolling the die again.

Encounter Panel - Fight a random field enemy.

Boss Encounter Panel - Face the boss of the board.

Move Panel - Roll the die and move again.

Ice Panel - Slide to the next panel without reducing the amount of moves based on the roll of the die.

Goo Panel - Lose an extra board movement from the die roll.

Heal Panel - Heal one HP, does not activate if the player is at full HP.

Damage Panel - Take one damage point.

Mini-Game Panel - Play a random mini-game, only available during the Playground field event.

Boss Home Panel - Enter a battle with the board boss, only available in Co-Op mode on Normal, Extreme, and Hyper difficulties.

Decoration Panel - Gain one decoration during the game, only available during the Tricked Out event.

Player Encounter Panel - Face a random player on the board for 10 turns. Only available during the Fool's Gambit event in the Chaos Battle stage.

Finally, there are tiles that are known as Double Board Panels. They are identical to their single-point counterparts, but they offer the player double the reward. This is extremely helpful when players need a recovery boost and are granted twice the amount of healing, or drawing twice as many cards in one turn. Board Panels that have double the reward include: Bonus, Drop, Draw, Warp Move, Encounter, Move, Heal, and Damage. Most will be beneficial to the player, but landing on the Damage panel will cause twice the amount of damage taken in that turn.

100% Orange Juice is now available on Steam.