Tzolk’in is a worker placement game with a difference.  In this Mayan-themed game, players have around 26 turns in which to impress the gods the most, i.e. earn the most victory points (VPs).

Each turn, players either place any amount of their workers or remove any amount of their workers.  Players spend corn to place their workers on the cog(s) they desire taking the cheapest available slot (and the more workers you place in one turn, the more extra corn you must pay too). The unique part of this game is that workers are placed on small cogs which are located around a large central cog.  Each turn, the large cog is turned and this turns all the small cogs which moves all of the workers on them along one step.  When a player removes a worker, they get the benefit that the worker is next to and the longer a worker remains on a cog, the better the benefit when they are removed. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Will is a game where players must be the first to spend some money left to them by their uncle.  The first to prove they can enjoy such riches the most (fastest) will then be the sole heir to the rest of the massive inheritance.  In essence, the game is an interesting mix of worker placement with elements of efficiency engine too, but there are lots of things to balance.

Each round consists of several steps.  First, players take turns selecting their place on the actions chart – a player’s position on the chart determines the number of workers (errand boys) they will place (1 or 2), the number of actions they will spend (playing cards and spending money) and the number of cards they will take from the decks (giving them options on how to spend money or other abilities), plus it determines the order of play for that turn too.  This multi-dimensional choice is an excruciatingly interesting decision to make, especially as only one player can select each of the mixture of options.  (It’s a bit like the initial choice of what time to get up in Fresco but even harder to select.) Read the rest of this entry »

Sneaks and Snitches is a very clever game – it’s incredibly simple but delivers a lot of interaction in the form of trying to out think your opponents.  During the game, players are all thieves trying to steal gems and items so they can win by scoring the most victory points (VPs).

Each round a number of loot cards (depending upon the number of players) are placed in the centre of the table and each one has a letter next to it.  Most loot cards show a number of coloured gems the player that steals it will receive, but they also show items worth VPs and  a few other items.

Next, each player secretly picks one of their lettered criminals to be their sneak (thief) and another be a snitch (guard).  When all players have picked, all criminals are revealed and placed next to the matching letter – snitches above and sneaks below the loot.  Any loot that has a snitch next to it can not be stolen (B, D, F and H in the example picture) and, therefore, any sneaks next to it get nothing.  If a single sneak is next to an unguarded loot, i.e. no snitch (E) then that player gets that loot.  If multiple sneaks are next to an unguarded loot (C) then they get in each other’s way – the main loot stays where it is but each player takes a bonus card (which shows a single colour gem on it). Read the rest of this entry »