As a dad, I have an appreciation for games that stretch my children’s thinking and problem solving skills. I taught my then 10 year old daughter Dominion so she would understand the deckbuilder mechanism as a framework for other games. She got it immediately. She understood the build-up, and picked the perfect time to shift her strategy to buy end-game victory points and smoked me. Blew me out of the water. Then she smoked her mom. Then I taught her Clank! In! Space! and order was restored in the world. I’m sure she’ll have my number there soon enough. Clank! In! Space! is the perfect level of difficulty for her because it’s got just barely too much going on for her to manage it all. We recently purchased a game that has a similar characteristic for my younger two daughters, and I enjoy playing it a lot. It fits so perfectly, it’s pushing a classic game right out of my collection, but that’s another discussion entirely. We’re here today to discuss Trekking The National Parks.
Trekking is a beautiful mix of set collection, recipe fulfilment, hand management, and unlockable special powers. Players all start in Middle America and must choose 2 actions from choices like drawing a card, playing a card to move, claiming a park card (only one player can claim any single park card), or setting up camp in one of the major parks (all players may set up camp in each of these parks). Cards come in 4 values across 6 different colors and can be drawn from a market or from the top of the deck. The card values matter for the movement action, as players can only move exactly the number of spaces equal to the values discarded. One extra twist on movement is that players cannot move through each other, but they can land on the same space as another player, “bumping” them back to the starting location. Sorry! The card colors matter for the claiming actions, because each park requires a different set of colors to be discarded to claim or set up camp. Along the way, players are collecting stones of varying colors. The end of the game is triggered when a player claims their 6th park or all of the stones are collected (one from each park).
At the end of the game, each stone is worth one point and players with the most of any given color get bonus points. In addition to the stones points, each claimed park is worth points based on the number of cards necessary to claim it and each major park camped in is worth another 5 points. Much like other games that have a card draw mechanism. All of this is really open information – so if you see someone racing for a few easy to grab parks and forcing a quick game, you may choose to spend your cards for movement and pick up enough bonuses from the stones to counter that strategy. If someone is picking up all the high-point parks, you may choose to target the major parks and get a few extra abilities to help stay flexible for tactical play later in the game.
The park cards are large, and visually appealing with easy to read iconography. The cards players hold in their hands have a slick finish to them, but I’ve had no problem shuffling them without sleeves, and haven’t noticed any wear issues. Additionally, each color has a specified icon, which is easily distinguished despite any colorblindness. The stones are simple plastic pieces, and the player markers are large wooden meeples. The game board is a disproportional representation of the United States of America (because the concentration of parks is heavier in the west than it is in the east). At first, this is a little disorienting, but in-game, it’s necessary and appreciated.
Because the game has such simple rules, it can literally be taught in 5 minutes. The concepts make it simple enough to teach to people who do not play hobby games. But the scoring is such that players can really fight and feel the tensions between some of the choices. The number of stones is fixed, so some of those bonuses can be locked up really early in the game. The market of parks that can be claimed keeps some pressure on players vying for some cards of the same color as well as specific locations on the board. Those in-game tensions make the special powers or bonuses from the major parks even more important. The game ties all the player priorities together well. I love how simple the game is to teach and I love that despite its simplicity, choices feel meaningful and tense. I really like that player turns are very quick and that the movement is restricted to precisely the number of spaces equal to the discarded value. And I like the bumping mechanism – it makes moving more tense than just ditching cards and landing in a spot – players must spend a little more thought and planning on where to be and when.
Occasionally, a player’s successive turns are reduced to just drawing cards. However, this problem is much less pronounced than other classic games with similar mechanisms. And occasionally, particularly with my younger daughters, bumping another player feels personal. In my household, this can trigger a bumping war. Players become distracted from the goal of the game and just spend turns bumping each other.
However, when that doesn’t happen, this game sings for our family. It’s got just the right amount of meat to stretch my daughters’ thinking and planning. I’ve also played with my gaming friends when we’ve looked for something a little shorter. And while a single play is not a centerpiece to a game night for my usual group (who typically prefer something a little heavier), several plays might be because it’s got more meaningful decisions than some other light games but still plays very quickly. Trekking The National Parks is an instant shelf staple for us. Have you played it? What are your thoughts?
Cheers!
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