Pollution from men has finally advanced to the level of spreading across the entire planet, destroying so much life in its path. It’s up to us as some of the surviving humans in small forests that remain unscathed to grow the forests, build new cities and fight the pollution. As one of the elemental magicians in your village, can you help turn the tides and fight back the pollution?
Tribes of the Wind is a new game from La Boite de Jeu and Hachette Games. It is for 2-5 players and designed by Joachim Thome with art by Vincent Dutrait. It plays in 60-90 mins.
Overview:
In this game you will play a guide who uses elemental magic to fight pollution. Players will use cards to grow forests, build new cities and secure the future of mankind. Work quickly and efficiently and score the most points and you will be the best guide and help ensure the future for all mankind!
Gameplay:
Players will each take a player board with their matching guide cards for the character on the board. Collect your wind riders, village markers, pollution tokens and card holder and place them on the board. Each player begins with 5 elemental cards and player forest tiles are passed out based on player turn order.
Players take turns one at a time clockwise and take one action and then refill their row of cards. There are three actions you can take on your turn. They could be:
1-Play an Elemental card
2-Place a Temple
3-Build a Village
To play an Elemental card players will pick one of their cards in their hand and play it if the requirements on the left side of the card are met. the effect is on the right side and can be top row or bottom row prizing based on the requirement you used to fulfill it. The cards to each side of you that your neighbor has can be used to fulfill the requirements as well.
To place a Temple you discard three Element cards from your hand to place it. Chose a Temple from your board, place it on a tile and gain the benefit where the temple was located.
To Build a Village a space on your board has to have 2-4 Wind Riders based on the tile. Wind Riders go back to the main Capital start area and the Village marker is place on the board on the tile you have flipped over. Some of the buildings also have bonuses based on what is one them. Villages allow you to play a Village card and you can use the effect of end game scoring side, you must chose at time of Village construction.
At the end of a turn players will refill their hand and then turns move to the next player. Each guild has specific powers you can use as well that will help you advance as the game continues. These are all asymmetric and can be used by the player to give benefits to the specific actions you use.
The end of the game is triggered when someone builds their 5th Village. That player takes the end game token and then the round finishes. The final scoring takes place for the Villages, Temple placement, Pollution Tokens still on the board, and Number of Tiles.
Impressions:
Tribes of the Wind is a card game that does some of the more unique placement aspects in a game that I have seen in quite some time. The other players cards matter significantly, and while you can make things happen off of your cards you also need their cards or lack of certain types to make it all work out well for you. The way you must manage your hand and sometimes clear it out to get the play you need is one of the best parts of this game.
The grid coverage and tile placement is the other part of Tribes of the Wind that really shines well. It is simple to understand but being able to place what you want when you need it is a bit of a challenge. I really like all of the tiles and variety the game gives you for trying to place them out on the board.
Gameplay is not overly complicated but it is definitely something you will need to go over in detail for less-experienced gamers. It is a race, so those that move and play the game in the most efficient ways will be the ones to come out on top. So keep in mind while there a lot of things you can do and will probably chose to do, don’t get behind the action curve of other players.
Overall:
Tribes of the Wind is a unique experience coming to the table at a time where unique is harder to find in board games. The card play of your neighbors and your own different Elements adds an always evolving nature to the game that must be followed close enough so that things are not missed. This alone made the game for me and the more I played, the more I picked up and saw the complexity that it adds to the overall experience.
Make sure you take the time to check out Tribes of the Wind and get it to your next board game night. The art, the gameplay and the overall aesthetic of the game and the theme shine making this a top title for 2023!
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