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It is a land of mystery and intrigue, a land filled with logic and luck, mathematics and magic, strategy and surprise. Cross beyond the fabled Land of 1,000 Nights to arrive in the legendary Sultanate of Nagala. A prophecy predicted that after the sultan died, strangers would vie for control of the city-state. Lo and behold, the sultan passed last night, but then you and your friends appeared at the gates in the morning. What perfect timing. Let the games begin! Five Tribes: The Djinns of Nagala, the newest title from Days of Wonder, mixes both modern and classic mechanics in really fresh ways. The combinations create a novel During the first few plays, it’s hard to keep all of the game’s moving parts in mind as you try to work out a winning strategy. The double-sided player reference cards really help you there. They do a great job of explaining the options, helping you plan, keeping the game moving, and making sure you stay on track. Still, strategic trade-offs lurk around every corner. Should you spend money for a better turn order position in this round or save the money as victory points at the end of the game? Should you store more meeples or hire an assassin to eliminate some? And if you don’t hire the assassin this turn, will your opponent do it instead? Because of this, Five Tribes is not an entry-level game. It will appeal the most to an audience that already understands a few designer/European board games. These people will appreciate the game’s intricacies without being put off by juggling its many strategic options. A player who never saw meeples or a tile-based game board before will be utterly lost without an expert guide to catch them. ~ Building the World ~ The game’s setup uses two random elements on top of each other to generate as close to a completely unique experience as possible. Players shuffle the 30 game tiles and then lay them out in a five by six grid to build the Sultanate of Nagala. The tiles have three important characteristics: a victory point value between four and fifteen, a color (blue or red), and a special ability (more on that later). Players then populate the Sultanate by randomly placing three meeples on each tile until the whole board is filled. The meeples come in five colors, representing the five tribes of the land. Each tribe gives players a special benefit for collecting groups of those meeples from the board.
~ Playing a Round ~ Each round starts with a simple turn order mechanic. Beginning with the previous turn’s first player (randomly determined for the start of the game), each player buys a spot in the turn order. Purchasing your position in the turn order is the game’s first trade-off, since the gold coins you use for purchases are also counted as victory points at the end of the game. The best turn order positions cost the most money, but will it repay the investment?
The basic play in Five Tribes focuses on a Mancala-style mechanic of picking up all of the meeples in a single space and then depositing them one at a time across the board. The last meeple you place can only go into a spot with another meeple of the same color, which makes you plan ahead very carefully. After placing the last meeple and checking to see if you control that space, the next step involves performing the space’s special action. The actions add another challenge to the game as you try to place the last meeple of your turn on a space that helps gather the best color of meeple AND do something cool at the same time.
Finally, the game’s djinn cards act as icing on the strategic cake. These beings can help your quest for victory and counter your opponents’ strategic moves, provided you have the right resources to earn their help. They’re a huge wildcard in the game, yet they don’t overwhelm the balance. In fact, they fit beautifully into the game system as both a functional part of the design and a wonderful nod to the setting. ~ Solid Mid-level Strategy ~ Although the game uses simple individual elements, it combines them into a surprisingly deep and thoughtful game experience. Still, this is not a game for people completely new to the European board game world. Players already familiar with a handful of entry-level designer titles should grasp Five Tribes pretty quickly. The rules and quick reference cards are a tremendous help. |
and challenging game experience with a great mixture of strategy and good fortune. Because it offers so many strategies and counter strategies, players will find plenty of to explore. Its depth, quick playing time, and overlapping strategic elements work together to give Five Tribes a high “one more game” factor. I see this title hitting the table regularly.
