How To Play Tikal

In Tikal you want to get the most points. You get points for having treasures and majority at temple locations on scoring rounds. At the end of the game once all players take a scoring round the player with the most points is the winner of the game.

Two Part Turn

Turns are split into two parts, though the second part is where the majority of the turn is. So let’s talk quickly about that first part. On your turn the first thing you do is place a tile. It must be connected to another tile and accessible. To be accessible there must be a stone connection to another tile. If you draw a volcano you do a scoring round which we will talk about in the next section.

Once you place a tile you are able to do up to 10 action points of actions. The different actions cost different action points. I won’t go through all of them, just some highlighted ones.

• Place a worker
• Move a worker paying action points for stones that you cross
• Uncover part of a pyramid
• Find a treasure

Like I said, there are more, but these are some of the highlighted ones. When you uncover part of a pyramid you make it taller. The taller it gets the more points it is worth in a scoring round. And when you find a treasure, it is set collection. The more of a type of treasure that you have, the more points they are worth in a scoring round.

Scoring Rounds

The other big element is the scoring round. When a volcano tile is going to be placed each player takes a scoring turn. On your turn you don’t draw and place a tile. Instead you just spend action points to take the actions defined above, plus any of the others you want.

At the end of your scoring turn, you score points for temples that you own the majority at and for treasures you have. Then the next player takes a scoring turn. So it is possible that multiple players might score a temple as majority changes as they move workers.

What Doesn’t Work

No real complaints for this one. Because of how scoring works the area control is not too in your face. But you do need to pay attention and manage a few things based off of what your opponents are doing. Probably the biggest thing that might get some people is when placing tiles you can maybe mess or block off areas temporarily to limit how your opponent can build out. That is the most negative interaction in the game and it’s not very negative.

The other slight negative is that the treasures are less impactful in scoring. Having a lot can help, but scoring temples that are worth a lot of points is just better, for the most part. But some of my negative opinion with them might be me messing up my scoring in the first game. Still it is more luck based to see if you can create sets because sets are worth more points, if it’s just a one off, that is a wasted action to get it in some ways.

What Works

Firstly, I really like how the Tikal scoring works. I messed that up big time in my first game. That’s not an issue to mess it up in a game as long as you learn from it. But I like that it isn’t just straight area control. If I take control of an area I get the points for it. Then if you score after me, you can move in and gain control of that area. Now I might block that if I can cap it off so that the temple is completed, an action I didn’t mention, but that is limiting points in the future for me as well.

Let’s talk about that capping off action. You need majority. And it is going to cost you all of your workers there. And they don’t go back into the worker pool, they are just gone. So that is a nice tradeoff as you decide what to do. Do I want to have a ton of workers available further into the game, or if we fight over a spot is it worth spending a number of workers to lock in that scoring every scoring round?

I like the action point system in Tikal as well. I think that it’s pretty slick and easy to understand. Once you take a turn you generally know the actions. There is also nice strategy in figuring out how you want to spend your actions or when you should put out a tent, an action that costs five action points, to help you get into the further reaches of the jungle.

Who Is Tikal For?

I think that Tikal is a game for people who like that action point management and that feeling of exploring while optimizing your scoring. Now that is saying a lot. It is less of a puzzle than some games, say Lost Ruins of Arnak, with a similar theme. So this one is pretty welcoming game and easy to understand and play.

It is not going to be a game that I’d introduce someone to as their first game. It is also probably not going to be a game where heavy euro gamers are going to feel like there is enough going on. But it’s that nice welcoming action point game for people who have played a few games, like Catan and Carcassonne, and they want a bit more.

Final Thoughts and Grade on Tikal

I really enjoy this game and system. I was not sure I was going to when I started, but it is easy to learn and play. Like I said the one thing that tripped me up was that I score at the end of my turn on a scoring turn. I easily could have gotten more points the first game had I remembered. That is a rule that I would drill into the heads of people I play with at the start of the game and then remind them at the scoring round. It is something unique about the game, so something to remind about.

This is a game that I want to add to my collection. Now, I know there are a lot of games like that which I play on BGA. I think that Tikal is a good one because there is a bit more going on to it and some things that make it feel unique as compared to other games in my collection. And I like it because it is quite easy to teach. Even with all the actions, I assume there is a cheat sheet like on BGA, that the players can see what everything costs. So it makes teaching the game faster and easier to get Tikal to the table.

My Grade: A-
Gamer Grade: B
Casual Grade: B
Strategy (out of 10): 6
Luck (out of 10): 2

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Games from Miniature Market

Bonfire

This is a game about gnomes building a bonfire, well, maybe that’s some of it. But it’s a Pegasus Spiele game, like the next one. And Miniature Market had a sale on them. Pegasus Spiele got on my radar because they put out First Rat, a game I wasn’t sure I’d like, but then I really did. Bonfire looks more complex, so I was interested in trying it.

Raccoon Robbers

This one I bought because it looked like a fun, more simple game from Pegasus Spiele. So I wanted to give it a go and see if it would work for me. Plus it’s about raccoons, a fun theme and comes with 3D (ish) houses that they climb up on, so fun components.

Via Magica

This is a light game that I wanted to try because I thought when I heard about it on the Dice Tower a while ago, Camilla is a fan of it there, it sounded fun. You can read my whole review here.

Mesozooic: Jurassic Mini Expansion and Triassic Mini Expansion

I’ve written a review on some of the games. Mesozooic I actually bought the base game a while ago. The two expansions were unlikely to be around much longer, on closeout, so I bought them. You can read my review on Mesozooic here.

Abyss: Kraken Expansion

This is an expansion, I own both, for a game that I need to play. It is probably not the smartest plan, but I have them now, so I need to get Abyss to the table soon. Abyss looks like a massive epic game, one you’d expect a lot of minis for. Well, it’s a much smaller simpler game than that type of game. More of an engine building from what I know. So I hope it’s one I really enjoying.

Escape the Dark Castle

This is one that just came back into stock recently. It and Escape the Dark Sector or games with fun dark looking artwork and, well, a dark theme. I want to play them and see how they stack up against something like Spire’s End. I know both can be played solo, so I’ll be getting to this one soon to really know.

18 Holes: Course Architect

18 Holes: Course Artchitect actually needs to get a review written about it. Same with the next one though that one I need to play more. But 18 Holes is about building out a golf course in a roll and write game and seeing how well that you can do. It’s a bit rules heavy for how simple the game is, but the more I play, the easier it is to pick up each time and faster games go. So it’s one that might just stick around as a solo game for me.

Bargain Basement Bathysphere

Bargain Basement Bathysphere is a solo game. And you can watch me play it on Malts and Meeples. It’s a roll and write game that is a campaign. So I want to see how it is over the long run before I write a review. It’s definitely very loosely a campaign. But the two games I played of it were a lot of fun, with really simple mechanics.

Clank! Catacombs

Clank! Catacombs I knew was a game I would buy. I waited until after Christmas, and then when I was told about Bargain Basement Bathysphere, I used Catacombs to get it to a level where I could get free shipping. It’s just another version of Clank! but one with a modular board which is build every time. Clank! In! Space! has a modular board, but that one is set to start the game. This could come out differently every time.

Three Sisters

A roll and write game from the people who did Fleet and now Motor City. I am curious about this one. I like Fleet, but it is a lot of mechanics, especially solo. Though I wonder if I will feel the same with Three Sisters. But it is one that I want to get to solo.

Star Realms Deck Building Game

Star Realms is the space version of Hero Realms, kind of. They are different games and Star Realms came first. But it’s a two player deck building game. I wanted to try it and see which one I like better. I think I’ll enjoy both, but will both stay in my collection?

Thornwatch: The Dark of the Wood Expansion

Thornwatch is a game that I picked up on a sale, probably hasn’t been in a Point of Order yet. I got it around Black Friday from the publisher. It looks like an adventure dungeon crawl sort of gaming experience. And it has some work done on it from Penny Arcade guys who I like their stuff. So I am curious about it and if it’ll be a dungeon crawler for me.

Planet Unknown

This one got an order all by itself. And I still need to play it. But Planet Unknown is a game about terraforming a planet. Yes, I own two games like that already. But it uses polyominoes and a lazy Susan. Though mine doesn’t come with it. But as you select pieces for your planet, you rotate a this central piece. And where I decide to stop rotating it, that determines what you get. So there is a bit of a puzzle where I might take a slightly worse for me piece to stop you from getting the perfect piece.

Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball

I own two, no three, versions of Super-Skill Pinball. It is a roll and write game that I really enjoy and one I should play more. It is playing pinball and this one has a, you guessed it, Star Trek theme. There is a Christmas one as well with Christmas movies that I’m less interested in. But I do like Star Trek so I wanted to play this one.

Featherlight

Featherlight, another one that I played on Malts and Meeples with Bargain Basement Bathysphere. So you can find that in the video above. I like it as a way to optimize how you are scoring. It’s kind of a puzzle with some randomness. And I think that works really well for the length and weight of the game. It is very light, but offers you good choices as you play.

Unmatched: Marvel – Redemption Row & Hell’s Kitchen

I hadn’t planned on getting into Unmatched. But Marvel is what drew me in. And I have made a promise to myself that I won’t buy other sets, unless they are Marvel. So I am trying to get my hands on Deadpool, just waiting for someone from a Discord to ship it. But their lives are busy, so I understand. And there are upcoming Marvel sets, but I will talk about those later.

The Librarians

This is one that I got to try in 2020 when I did the digital GenCon. But it is a game around the Librarians TV show. The game is good, and I didn’t back it because I was backing too many things. So when it hit retail and hit a sale, I wanted to get it into my collection. It is a cooperative game and a fun theme that I want to play.

Ascension X: War of Shadows

Ascension, I’ve talked about it, this is my favorite introductory deck building game. I have two expansions, this one and a nature themed one, that I need to play still. But more is good because they are standalone or can be all mixed together. Well, maybe not all, but somewhat mixed together.

18 Holes: Second Edition & Expansion

You saw the roll and write, this is the tabletop version. It is still building a golf course. But you do that as a group. And then you play that course to see how well you do. I’m excited to try it. Sports games often aren’t the right match for board games. But I think that a golf theme works better than a faster spaced sport like Soccer or Football.

Starship Captains

Starship Captains is one that I played at GenCon in 2022. And I enjoyed it, but it is one that I want to spend more time with. It is a fast game, and I think that end snuck up on me in my one play. Is it one for me, or will it always feel too short? We will have to see, but I want to give it more of a try.

Relics of Rajavihara & Expansion

I just wrote a review on Relics of Rajavihara and you can read that here. But it is a fun puzzle game and I hope that this week or in the next two, I can fully wrap up the game. It’s fast and fun and a great puzzle.

Solomon Kane Expansions

Mythic Games is getting rid of their extra stock as they try and raise funds to complete and ship out other games. I could explain it more, but basically the pandemic hit them harder than a lot of companies. So this is a chance to grab the last of the stuff I don’t have. I think I own basically all of it now.

Enchanters

Another Mythic Games, another one that they sold the rights to. So it is discounted as they move their stock. A deck building game, but one I wasn’t super interested in. But when it is on sale and I can get the all in Kickstarter, or near that, it is worth buying and trying.

D&D Books

Just some more setting books and different books for more D&D content. I am there for that, and I want to mix it into my game.

Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama

This is one that Zee mentioned in his Top 100 Games. It is a rework of an existing game, with a theme that Indie Boards & Cards has used before. So I want to try it with that theme. The rest of the Kodama games are less interesting for me. But this one because it’s an existing theme is interesting.

Exit: Lord of the Rings

It’s an Exit escape room board game. And this one my wife wants to try because of the theme. And in all fairness I’m excited for the theme as well. Exit games are not my favorite of the escape room style games because they are destructive. So it’s a one time use thing. But the theme in this case pulled me in.

Skyrim: The Adventure Game

Another one where the theme pulled me in. I avoided backing it on Gamefound. The game play looked fun, but I can only back so many games so often. Then as more came out about the game, the more interesting it became to me. And I hope that it’s a pretty narrative driven game that feels like Skyrim.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice

And to wrap it up, another video game one. And one that I wouldn’t have looked at too much. But it turned into one that I was very interested in because it has that big campaign feel to it, and cooperative play. And we know that is what I like in games.

Pre-orders

Plus there are a few pre-orders to talk about.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Discovery & Crisis Expansions

This one I should have added to my other set of pre-orders, but both of these are expansions to a game I really like a lot. Ares Expedition. One gives you ways to upgrade your action selection which will make you different and unique in the long run. The other one is going to offer a cooperative or solo play opportunity. So two things that I’m very interested in. There is a third one as well, but when it was on Kickstarter, it just didn’t interest me as much.

Earth

Another one coming from Kickstarter that I am picking up now. It’s an engine building game that looks like it should be pretty on the table. I find that I really like engine building games. And this one looks like it is in that framework of being light, but not too light. I’m hoping, mainly, that the rules are in a place where it is easy to teach and get to the table.

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure to Mount Doom

See what I said about Lord of the Rings before. This one is going to be an adventure book style game where you play through different scenes. Besides it being Lord of the Rings and based off of the same or similar system to the one used in the Princess Bride game I don’t know a ton more. But I’m more excited for this one than the escape room game.

Final Thoughts

Some of this has just been catching up on games that I’ve had an eye on and have been on my wishlist. The Librarians, Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed were all on that list. And you can see a number of expansions as well.

But if it were you, which of these games would you play first? Of course, I’ve played some already, but I tried to call those out.

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Casting Shadows from Unstable Games

Casting Shadows is going to be a battling game for two to four players. Players are going to gather cards, summon companions and sling spells in a strategic game. This is from the company that brought Here to Slay and Unstable Unicorns. I haven’t played either of those games and they aren’t high on my radar. But I always checkout the games because the artwork on Here to Slay is great, and same with Casting Shadows.

What interests me less about the game is the style of game that it is. I am always only so interested in skirmish style games. Especially where the game seems to be focused most on slinging spells and knocking out your opponent. I own Super Fantasy Brawl in the genre, and it gives me ease of game and objectives. It reminds me in some ways of a combination of Magic: The Gathering and Super Fantasy Brawl. I own both, so the artwork isn’t enough to bring me in. This is a Brick for me.

Fire For Light from Greenbrier Games

Greenbrier Games is another well known company. They’ve done some fun games like Folklore: The Affliction, Grimslingers, and Champions of Hara. This one feels different than some of their other games. Fire For Light is a narrative driven cooperative game. They have done stuff like that before, but the polish of this game seems less than their other games.

That said, I do like that this is supposed to be a light, fast to the table narrative driven campaign game. A lot of campaign games end up with a million little pieces and take forever to set-up. Fire For Light looks like it should be faster. And it offers character leveling. I also like that Fire For Light is a 15 game campaign. You saw Sleeping Gods played over 10 sessions, I like some shorter campaigns right now. That said, it is still a campaign game, and how many do I need? This is going to be another Brick for me.

Jurrasic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar by Prospero Hall

Dive into the world of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies. Build up your dinosaur islands, create new dinosaurs and hope that things don’t go wrong. That’s the hole of Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar anyways. This is a big cooperative legacy game from Prospero Hall who has done a lot of work with Target for games before, but this game is too big and expensive for a mass market store. So it is coming to Kickstarter, and I expect to see it show up at local game stores as well.

Obviously, the main thing that draws me in is it being a legacy game. Whenever someone says Legacy I am going to be interested. But, I am also interested in it because of the dinosaur theme. There have been a lot of games that promise dinosaurs from Dinosaur Island, Dinogenics, Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, Welcome To Dinoworld, and more recently. But this is the first truly Jurassic Park one.

I like that about it, but there isn’t much that is Kickstarter exclusive. Yes, this game might be harder to find when it comes to retail, but what’s the added benefit of backing it? Apparently they are looking to address that, but until they do this is a game I will get, but at retail.

Mercurial by Hyperlixer

This one I don’t know nearly as much about as some of them. It hit my radar because of the artwork and someone telling me about it. Which, I mean, other people being interested in a game makes it more interesting to me. I like it when I don’t have to fully vet everything myself. And then great artwork that is going to draw me in even more. I don’t know much about Hyperlixir as a company, so while I don’t think it is a big risk that this is never going to fulfill, expect it to be later than the estimated date.

Mercurial seems like it might be some of an engine building game, at least to some level. I almost get a bit of a Century game vibe to it, Spice Road or Golem Edition. The game appears to have you adding in cards to your hand and rotating those cards to get different resources, then using those resources to complete bigger cards. It’s a system that looks interesting, but I’m not quite sold on it yet, so right now it’s a Brick for me, but one I want to look into more.

Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders by Druid City Games

So, while this is in the same world as Tidal Blades, it is a very different game. This is a dungeon crawler versus that was a dice upgrading and engine building game. Druid City Games, is also an established company and definitely makes very pretty looking games. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is definitely the interesting part of this campaign to me. Cypher System RPG is great for some people, but I am sticking with D&D for my RPG’s.

What interests me a lot in the dungeon crawler is how you activate. This building action as you play down cards to a grid and when you get full rows or columns they activate for a big action, wipe, and you build up again. I see this an interesting puzzle, but I wonder about the downtime between the big actions. That said, this looks like a deluxe game, even if you don’t pledge at the minis level. And the character progression and the different paths you need to keep track of is cool to me. It has a lot going on that I like in a campaign game.

But, that said, it is also a campaign game. That means that it will take a while to play. And Druid City Games, and what they have done before, they generally do see some level of retail. I’m tempted to wait on this one, but it’s teetering whether or not this is a Back or Brick for me, right now it’s a Brick because of upcoming games, but I really want to get it at some point in time.

Ares Expedition: Discovery – Foundations – Crisis from Stronghold Games

So, when the original game that this is expanding upon came out it was called Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. The game, from what I know, plays different than Terraforming Mars, but is similar in some ways. It appears for this Kickstarter they are focusing on the fact it is a different game. That might have made it more interesting or better set expectations for some gamers the first time.

There are three expansions for this game that they are doing. You’ll be able to get all of them later, but the big draw of buying it now is getting dual layer boards, as an add-on, if you want, and the fact it comes in a big box. The big box means that you can store everything, including the base game, more easily. And that’s the most tempting reason to back it.

Discovery adds in awards and and milestones. Those are interesting, but less interesting than the upgraded phase cards. In the base game you all have the same phase cards that add extra powers if you play down that phase. The upgraded phase cards means that my cards can become more unique as th game goes on.

Crisis adds in a cooperative mode. Basically, Mars has been terraformed and now things are happening to undo all our hard work. Can we keep up as bad things keep happening. It’s an interesting add to the game.

Foundations is a 5-6 player expansion, so you can play with more. Plus it adds in an infrastructure track and 20 project cads that you can work on for that track.

Right now, I think I will end up backing this one. But I am waiting on it. Out of all of them it’s the most likely to be a Back for me. Mainly having a big box that will store the base game and expansions sounds great.

Crowdfunding Madness Final Thoughts

There are so many games that came out this week. I know that there are some others that I haven’t looked into as much because they didn’t jump out at me. But there are a strong six games here, so let’s go through quickly and rank my least to most likely to back.

6: Casting Shadows – Great artwork, not my style of game.

5: Fire for Light – Looks like a light campaign game and some interesting things, but it’s campaign and the aesthetic doesn’t draw me in.

4: Mercurial – I need to look into it more, I hope it’s hand/engine building, but I don’t know. Also, I have games like that.

3: Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders – Game looks gorgeous and I really am intrigued by the building up rows and columns for actions.

2: Ares Expedition – Discovery -Crisis – Foundations – I really like the base game, so expansions are almost a no brainer. The only thing is, do I need the big box, that’s the main reason to back it on Kickstarter.

1: Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar – It’s a legacy game, it’s a cooperative game, and it’s a dinosaur game. But right now while I know I will buy it sometime, I don’t need to back on Kickstarter to get a fancy sleeve.

Which one are you most interested in?

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