Game Review

Concept:

You are one of two families vying for control of a walled city during the middle ages. Power is measured in real estate holdings. The church has offered to mediate the dispute.

Gameplay:

There are three colors of buildings: light and dark representing the players and a separate black cathedral. After placing the cathedral in the town grid, players take turns placing a building on the map. If a player can successfully surround an opponent's building with his/her own, then the isolated building will be removed from the board -- the captured area is claimed by the surrounding player.

Winning Conditions:

1. All of your buildings are placed and your opponent cannot place any more buildings.

Or

2. No more moves are left. The remaining building areas are totalled; The player with the least area of his/her unplaced buildings wins.

Our Opinion:

This game is like tetris crossed with the strategy of chess. Intelligent placement of small pieces at the right time is the key to victory. I liked this game. It is very quick to learn. The instructions are brief and straightforward. It can be played within 5 minutes after taking it out of the box. The game plays as fast as the players are willing to place pieces. It is well balanced and a fun strategy/puzzle game.

We bought the "polystone edition" of the game. My wife, the Baroness, thought that the polystone looked better than the original wooden edition.

I recommend buying this game. It is such an eye-catching pretty game board, that we plan to leave it out as an ornamental game for parties. It is very easy, and any random guest can play within minutes.

Where to buy:

Any local game or hobby store.