Sagrada – 1-4 players Sagrada, based on the unique stained glass found at La Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, tasks players to build their own stained-glass windows using brightly... The post Pretty Puzzles appeared first on Board Game...
Sagrada – 1-4 players
Sagrada, based on the unique stained glass found at La Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, tasks players to build their own stained-glass windows using brightly colored translucent dice. At the start of the game, players will select a window card which comes pre-printed with various colors and die values. Window cards can vary in difficulty and helps level the playing field for newer players. Over the course of 10 rounds, players will draw from a bag containing dice in five unique colors and roll what is drawn. Players then take turns drafting (selecting one at a time) the dice and immediately placing them into their window. To help offset some of the luck with die rolling, each game will have “tool” cards available to help players adjust die values, or later move dice around their window card. Three public objectives and one private objective will help guide players on which deice to select.
Review written by Brett Mowers
The key to the puzzle that Sagrada presents are the restrictions players have for placing their dice: dice of the same color or same value cannot be next to each other. Further, remember the pre-printed colors and die values on the window card mentioned earlier? Players must only place dice of those colors or values onto those spaces, further limiting how their window can be constructed. Each player’s private objective will show one of the five dice colors which will grant them bonus points for each die of that color they place. End game points are scored for the public and private objectives players achieve.
Sagrada is a very approachable game that is great for both seasoned and new gamers. After the game finishes, each player will have a uniquely beautiful and colorful “window” to show for their efforts. This game is truly Instagram-worthy. As a bonus, this game can be played solo for times when an opponent isn’t available. For players who really enjoy Sagrada and are looking for more, there are several expansions that have been released to further add content to the experience.
Azul – 2-4 players
Azul, winner of multiple game awards, is the next game on our list. The theme of Azul is simple: players represent builders creating lovely mosaics from tiles of varying patterns and colors. Depending on player count, several factory boards will be placed on the table. To start each round, tiles are drawn randomly from a bag and 4 of them are placed onto each factory board. Players will take turns drafting tiles from a factory board with an important caveat: whatever tile is selected, the player must take all matching tiles of that type from the factory board. For example, a factory board has 3 blue tiles and 1 red tile. The player decides to take a blue tile, so they take all 3 and must place them onto their player board. Afterwards, any tiles leftover are placed into the center of the table making another pile of tiles.
Player boards have rows consisting of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 spaces for tiles. Once a player puts a tile into a row, they can only place tiles of that type into that row until it is filled. Players will continue drafting tiles from factory boards and the center pile until all tiles are taken. Any tiles that a player takes that they cannot legally place will be stored at the bottom of their board and be worth negative points! Strategic players will carefully leave lots of tiles for their opponents to take that they are unable to legally play.
Azul is built on a very simple premise but each decision made by players can have a big impact on their round. As players finish rows of tiles they will slide one of those tiles to “lock” into their player board for the rest of the game. At the end of each round, players score for these locked tiles based on how many adjacent tiles they are touching. Further, if a player can complete a full row or column of tiles, they score bonus points at the end of the game and additionally will score extra points for covering all spaces of a certain tile type. Thus, players have lots of things to consider as they draft their tiles. Do you maximize bunching tiles together or work towards completing rows and columns? Do you draft a tile just to leave your opponent with something they don’t want?
Regardless of your strategy, each player will agree that their mosaic of tiles at game end is great to look at. Besides the quality of the chunky plastic tiles, the tiles feature intricate designs to emulate the Portuguese mosaic tiles they are inspired by. Shuffling and drawing tiles out of the bag is a tactile joy and the randomness each game of how those tiles populate the factory boards ensures each game is a unique experience. Azul is worth the buzz it has received and works well at all player counts.
Calico – 1-4 players
Cat and quilt lovers rejoice! Calico’s cover art features a cat blissfully napping on top of a quilt, belying the brain burning puzzle that lies inside. Upon opening the box, players will discover a pile of hexagonal quilt pieces in six different colors and patterns. Each player is assigned a quilt board with spaces for placing the quilt pieces and before starting the game, 3 scoring tiles are placed onto each players board to guide players for end game points. In addition, 3 cats will be selected for use in bonus scoring. During a player’s turn, they will place one of their quilt pieces onto their board and then select one of two available quilt pieces in the market to replenish their hand. A new quilt piece is then drawn for the market and play passes to the next player.
The scoring tiles will reward players for surrounding them with quilt pieces of certain colors or patterns while cats score for continuous sections of quilt pieces of the same pattern. Once a player has placed the right number of quilt pieces, they will take a cat token and place it on their quilt for some cute and cuddly bonus points. While placing quilt pieces, players can also string together 3 pieces of the same color to “sew” a button worth 3 points onto their quilt. Once all tiles have run out, tally up their points from tiles, cats, and buttons to declare a victor.
While it sounds relatively simple, Calico may be the trickiest puzzle of all the games we have talked about today. Quilt pieces are limited in number in both color and pattern, so when that one piece you need is drawn out of the bag, you are never guaranteed it will make it back to you on your turn. Players must decide between working on completing scoring tiles or saving space to place a certain color or pattern for those much-needed bonus points. Also, who wouldn’t want a cute cat piece or button to place on their board? Savvy players will keep an eye on their opponents’ boards to snatch up a piece that their opponent needs and deny them big points. Calico has plenty of variety in the set up each time to reward multiple plays and can’t be recommended enough.
5 Takeaways
Calico may be the cutest game, but will burn your brain the most. If you love shiny objects and bright colors, Sagrada will catch your eye! All of the games are beginner friendly, but enough of a puzzle for seasoned gamers. Azul can be a mean game. Play nice. These games are photo worthy…guaranteed.
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