Product– Splendor

Producer-Asmodee

Price– $40 here http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SCSPL01-Splendor-Board-Game/dp/B00IZEUFIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428287594&sr=8-1&keywords=splendor

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 45 minutes (2-4 players)

Type-Euro

Depth-Light

TL; DR– Excellent game with no story. 79%

Basics-Time to head to the mines! In Splendor, you play a gem merchant trading gems to gather mines while trying to impress the nobility.  At the beginning of the game, a number of noble characters are drawn equal to the number of players plus one.  Then, three decks of cards are shuffled, and three cards from each deck are displayed.  These decks all have different gems in them with one decking having cheap gems worth little to no points, another with middle value gems it in, and the final deck having the most expensive and highest point gems in it.  Below the gem decks are placed poker chips with the five different kinds of gems on them.  Each turn, players take actions to gather gem tokens or spend gem tokens to buy gem cards.   Each gem card has a cost in other gems on it.  The cheapest gems normally require between three and five gems, while the most expensive gems requiring over 10 gems.  On a players turn, a player can take one of four actions: gather three different gem chips, gather two gem chips of the same type if four gems of the same type are available, reserve a card by placing it face down in front of the player and taking a gold (wild card) token, and finally spending gem tokens to buy a gem card from reserve or from the available cards.  When a gem car is purchased, another is drawn from the deck.  This game has an engine building component as each gem card purchased has a gem on it.  Any purchased gem cards can be used in place of a gem token when purchasing another gem card on a one-for-one basis without having to discard or return the card.  Thus, building up your gem cards makes it easier to buy gems in the future.  Some gem cards have points on them, which are added to your point total.  Also, each noble drawn at the start of the game has a number of different gem types and amounts on them.  When you have that same number of gems and types of gems as the noble, you get that noble and their points for free on your turn.  When one player gets 15 points, play continues until every player has an equal number of rounds.  Then the player with the most points is the best gem merchant and is the winner!

Mechanics– This is where Splendor absolutely excels.  Splendor’s easy to master mechanics make the game a breeze for players of any age.  The game’s four actions are quick while still giving you enough meat of the game to think about what you’re going to do next and the engine you’re going to build.  It’s fast, fun, and brilliant.  5/5

Theme– And here is where Splendor fails.  The game doesn’t really have a story to build on.  I didn’t feel like a gemologist trading gems as I moved up the international mineral ladder to conquer my opponents.  I feel like a guy sitting around a table trading poker chips as I build a card gathering engine.  The saving grace for the theme of this game is the art and execution.  The art is nice, adding a bit of environment to the game while the substantial poker chips do add a bit of tactile feeling to the game.  If you want a strong story in your games, you need to look elsewhere!  Honestly, simply adding some more story in the rules would have made the theme stand out even more.  1/5

Instructions– The rules to this game are amazingly well done.  The rules are less than two pages, front and back.  It’s clear and concise while still having pictures to help with game play.  These are rules you can read in less than three minutes and get playing in five.  Well done!  5/5

Execution– I know the execution of this game is controversial with the battle lines drawn over the poker chips.  I’m in the camp where I mostly like the poker chips. These are not the standard cheap-o plastic discs with some stickers.  These are heavy duty, clay poker chips.  I like game components with some heft, and this game delivers.  Also the cards are nice, but they are a bit flimsy.  I’d like them to be a bit harder card stock.  The art is well done with great drawings of historical figures as well as mines from all over the world.  Even the box has nice dividers that really help package the game.  Overall, this game is well executed with only a few things I’d like to see changed. 4.75/5

Summary– This is a game where the score is not the great predictor of enjoyment.  I really enjoy this game and have gotten a ton of plays in.  But, if you need a story in your game for the most enjoyment, then this is one you want to pass by.  I don’t always need a story, but that part of a game does draw me in more.  However, if you just want some excellent mechanics then this is your game.  It’s fast, fun, and thought provoking.  Building the perfect gem gathering engine in the shortest amount of time is always a blast!  I can’t recommend this game to everyone, but if you want a fast-paced, quick, easy to lean Eurogame, then this is the game to get.  79%

Product– Abyss

Producer-Studio Bombyx

Price– $40 here http://www.amazon.com/Abyss-Board-Game-Cover-Vary/dp/B00KU10PH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427851039&sr=8-1&keywords=abyss

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 60 minutes (2-4 players)

Type-Euro

Depth-Light

TL; DR– Amass an undersea powerbase quickly and easily in this great game. 95%

Basics-Under the Sea!  In Abyss, each player is fighting to be the lord of an undersea kingdom.  Each turn players can do one of three things: explore the depths for cards, take cards that have been discarded by searching, or spend cards to get undersea lords for points.  When a player explores, the player reveals a card.  If it is an ally card, then every other play can buy that card from the player for one pearl.  Ally cards are one of five different undersea creatures with point values ranging from one to five.  As more cards are revealed and more are bought, the price of each card increases.  If the card is not bought from the player, then the first player can choose to pick up the card for free or leave it.  If the player takes the card, then their turn is over.  If they don’t take the card, the player then continues this process until they fill up a track with cards and are forced to take the last card also gaining a pearl.  In the exploration deck, there are also some monster cards.  These cards can be avoided, or the monster can be fought and the player gains pearls, bonus victory points, or possibly keys to buy locations.  In either case, the cards not taken are separated based on the type of deep sea ally they are and placed in different piles below the exploration track.  The second action a person can do on their turn is to take one of these piles.  The final action a person can take on their turn is to spend allies to buy an undersea lord.  These lords have a number of bubbles indicating how many different types of allies have to be spent, a number indicating how many total ally points have to be spent, a value for end scoring, and possibly a power and/or a key.  Also, when a player buys a lord, he chooses one of the lowest point allies used to buy the lord, and places that in front of the player for end game points.  If a player ever has three keys, the player has to buy a location either choosing from the current visible locations or drawing up to four, but all not bought drawn locations become available to all other players.  These locations provide end game victory points based on the lords or allies you have in play.  This continues until one player has seven lords or until a player can’t buy another lord.  Then players get points for the monsters they fought, the highest point ally of each ally type they put into play for buying lords, their lords, and their locations.  The player with the highest points is the new king or queen of the sea!

Mechanics– This game has the look of something far more sinister and complex than it really is.  It’s actually really simple once you get the rules down, and that takes less than two turns.  There is deep strategy, but it’s not so deep that you can’t have fun.  This is honestly as complex as Settlers of Catan with a different theme and a bit more player interaction and memory.  The three actions you can take on your turn are really self explanatory, and play fast.  There are some problems like players have no hand sizes.  One player in one of my games just kept taking cards.  He ended up with over half the deck of allies at the end of the game.  He didn’t win, but that can make the game drag a bit.  Unlike some Eurogames, this one has tons of player interaction, so who you play with can really impact your enjoyment.  That aside, if you like some quick thinking with a bit more auction mechanics than Catan that is a good intro to middle complexity game, this is a great game to add to your collection.  4.75/5

Theme– This game feels dark and mysterious, just like the undersea.  As a player you do feel like you’re building a support base for yourself by first getting the commoners on your side, then moving to the lords before you move on the throne.  It all feels fun.  The art really hammers home the feeling of being in a deep sea kingdom too.  It can seem a bit too oppressive at times with some of the art bordering on gothic macabre, but even then it’s still amazing art!  4.75/5

Instructions– The rules do teach this game really well, but this is a game you can’t just open the box and play.  The mechanics are well done, and the rules teach them easily.  My only real problem with it is that some of the leads are buried with small, important parts of gameplay kind of put in the middle of paragraphs.  I bought my first lord without realizing I should then have put an ally in front of me for end game points.  The rules are well done, but this is a game whose rules you should read by yourself before you bust it out on the table with friends.  4.5/5

Execution– This game gets a five out of five for presentation alone!  Much like most of the games I’ve been reviewing lately, I’ve made a YouTube video (http://youtu.be/nAGFEi1FldE).  The game is amazing.  The art is great.  The writing is clear.  And even the box looks good.  The little plastic shells for the pearls are the cherry on top of this game.  And, when you’re done conquering the undersea nobility, the pieces all fit back into the box with nice custom cut places.  Well done! 5/5

Summary– I really love this game.  It’s got a great theme with some amazing mechanics that make this a blast to play.  Building up your undersea alliances with different nobles for power is quick, fun, and easy to do with the sleek mechanics of this game.  It’s got a few minor faults like some player mechanics that can be made less fun depending on who you’re playing with and a few smaller problems, but overall if anyone wants to play this game, I’ll be one of the first to come to the table! 95%