Let’s take a look at a brand new land, a dare we say confusing land that is ripe to explore. So grab a partner and let’s take off to see how this game plays!
Confusing Lands is published by Envy Born Games with design and art by by Zak Eidsvoog. The game plays 2 players in 10 mins and is for ages 10 and up.
Overview:
Players will complete a personal landscape that will score points at the end of the game by picking and passing a card each round. The player with the most points at the end wins the game!
Gameplay:
The game is an 18 card deck with a scoring pad in the box. To begin, shuffle the 18 cards and remove one to be the shared scoring condition of the game. Then deal each player 2 cards for their first hand.
Each card is two-sided and has 6 individual spaces on each side. There are seven different types of symbols represented throughout as well. On one side you will find a scoring condition that is unique to the card.
Once a player has two cards to begin a round, they will pick and place one and pass the other. You can use either side and rotate in any direction when placing it. The new card must cover at least one space on their landscape and cannot cover scoring conditions already placed. Then they will place the card that was passed to them in the same manner.
Gameplay continues for four rounds so that each person will have eight total cards placed in their landscape.
Scoring occurs with each player adding up the sun icons they scored that represent victory points. You must have at least one scoring condition in your landscape to score the shared condition. For each scoring condition in your landscape you must subtract 10 points from your total. The player with the most points wins!
Impressions:
I love two player games and I especially love ones that are pocket-sized like Confusing Lands as my wife and I often take them on the go with us. This game plays very quick and easy which makes it a great choice for a quick trip to the park, coffee shop or anywhere at all.
The art is fun and super cute which is a big plus for this one, making it a fun looking final landscape every time when you finish. The symbology takes a few plays to get down, so you will need the reference sheet when you play this the first handful of times so that you can check down all of the scoring conditions. But after a few plays they are easy to recall.
I love drafting and this is a fun light way to do it. Having the split and choose mechanic is a great addition to a quick game and one of the things I liked the most. Decision making but not over-thinking through your choices gives an easy introduction to mechanics that are often loved and done very well here in this game.
Overall this is one of the best two-player games I have gotten to my table in a long time and one that is sure to get a lot of play for the wife and I along with any other friends that want to line up for a good one on one match. I can’t wait to add this to my convention bag as well, you might see me playing this at Pax Unplugged in a few weeks!
Be the first to comment