Collecting. It’s a staple of many hobbies out there and something I have done with a myriad of things. Records, comic books, coins and yes of course board games have all been a part of collections I have and still have. But one thing I really enjoyed as a very young collector were stamps. Today we take a look at stamp collecting and how it fits in a board game to see if it makes the cut for my collection!
Stamp Swap is designed by Paul Salomon with art by Conner Gillette. It is published by Stonemaier Games and plays 1-5 players in 20-60 mins.
Overview:
In Stamp Swap players take on the role of philatelists who come together to collect, trade and display their stamps at a 3 day convention. Make the best trades to complete the collection that scores the most points and you could walk away the best at show!
Gameplay:
In Stamp Swap players compete over the course of three rounds to select stamps and cards from a central pool with different characteristics, colors and sizes.
Each player begins with a player board and the main game board is set in the middle of the table. One of each of the 5 contest card types are picked and the event cards are shuffled with a number drawn per the number of players.
The game is played over three rounds with three phases in each. The phases in a round are the Collect, Swap and Show phase. Let’s explore each and how they contribute to the flow and gameplay.
1-Collect Phase. Here players take turns one at a time picked from the stamps and attendee cards in the pool created from the event cards. Once a player has collected 6 items their turn is over. Here you will line up items on the bottom of your player mat into your daily collection.
2-Swap Phase. Now everyone will place one item into their reserve and then split everything else they have collected into two piles. Then starting with the first player each player will choose one of an opponent’s split piles and then the keep the one not chosen. Continue until everyone has lost a pile, kept a pile and chosen a pile.
3-Show Phase. Here all players will place their items including their reserved item into their album. Placement will need to follow rules of not overlapping, placing so the value is in the upper right corner and other rules. Once placed, players will score all points on their own exhibitor cards and pick one of the contest cards to score placing one of their player token tickets on it to show it was used this round.
At the end of the round the pool is emptied and reset with a new event cards added the phase token advanced to the next day and the next round started. If it is the end of the game you instead move to final scoring and score forever stamps, stamp values specialist cards and the final contest card. The player with the highest score wins!
Impressions:
Stamp Swap is a new game in a long line of Stonemaier Games that have hit my table. While I have not loved them all I am always excited to try them all as there have been more hits than duds. I can confidently say that Stamp Swap is a hit and one that fits a new style from them.
I love polyomino games and when you add in drafting and I split/you chose to the mix you have three of my favorite styles of board gaming. There are too few good I split/you chose games in the world and this one is a great addition. Polyomino games are always my favorite style and this all together is a fun mix.
The idea of stamp collecting is done well here, you collect them, trade them and place them in albums. Feels about as thematic as it gets for this world and I love that it all fits well.
Overall this is a game that plays quickly which I really like, at 2-3 players we stayed right in that 30 min play time and it didn’t feel difficult to stay in that range even with less-experienced players. So it’s a good choice when you don’t want to play a really long game but want to give a challenging game a go on the table.
I can’t wait to introduce this to some friends who enjoy stamp collecting and see if it speaks to them in the same ways that Wingspan did for a whole culture of birdwatching fans. Either way this is one that will appeal to a lot of different players and I look forward to getting it to the table a few more times in the near future to see how my stamp collection builds!
Be the first to comment