Category: 1player

Tsuro Luxury Edition

Only 978 copies of the Luxury Edition of Tsuro were pre-ordered three years ago. I was one of them. Why not more? Well… very likely the cost! Total cost of the game plus tax and shipping (for me) was almost $450! [note: 1,200 games were produced]

=> Kickstarter // Calliope Games Announcement
=> Art Director Article
=> Spotlight on the metal dragon pawns
=> Quick Guide (official)
=> Len’s v2 Rules Summary Tsuro Luxury (Standard)
=> Lens v4 Phases Cards (Important – I use them in every game) v4
=> Variants (placed at the bottom of this page)

Now, 3 years later, Calliope Games was investigating how to ship these heirloom quality games to avoid having them damaged. And the damage they were trying to avoid was more than simply damage to the box that the game was packed in for shipping. It seems that the wood itself is quite sensitive to temperature changes. So Calliope wanted to TEST shipping methods to find the best way. After all, they were charging $78 as shipping costs for one game. They are doing test shipments to 11 people in April 2025. I am one of them!

As part of the test shipment group, I was give specific instructions on what to do when I received the game (and signature was required on delivery too). Instructions included NOT opening the box for FIVE DAYS! True! Here are that portion of the instructions:

Your game box is carved from natural wood and has been inspected for damages and flaws before shipping. The game box has been shrink wrapped to allow for a slow acclimation to your environment. Once you receive your game, please bring it into your home and allow it to sit for 5 days before opening the box and removing the shrink wrap. We do understand this is very hard, since you have waited so long to get this beautiful game in your hands. Failing to take this essential step will put your wooden box at risk of splitting.

Wood splitting as an issue for a board game got my attention. I looked online about this, and perhaps this webpage shines a light on it (even thought it is not about a wooden board game box):
=> exoticwoodzone.com/blogs/e/how-to-avoid-wood-cracking

Actually, I almost missed their instruction to NOT open the box for five days (I’ve never had that request from any other game company). But, fortunately, I DID notice their warning and the box sat under a table in our family room for seven days before I opened it.

Part 1 (taking it out of the shipping box):

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Planet Unknown

=> BoardGameGeek
=> GameFound Fullfillment
=> Deluxe Reprint Kickstarter (July 2023) // Original Kickstarter
=> Rules
=> Complete “official” online FAQ // Planet Unknown FAQ

=> Len’s 1 page Rules Summary (v1)
=> Planet Unknown Score Sheet v2

NOTE: several reviewers suggest not using the optional Event Deck for multiplayer games.

=> Video Playlist

Dice Tower Review and Explanation (he gives it an EXCELLENT rating) [original version]:

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Red Rising

=> BoardGameGeek
=> Official Website / Official Rules and FAQ
=> Rules (online pop up) / Rulebook
=> Lens v4 Rules Summary

=> Video Playlist

Notes:

  • The game designer has recently stated: “a score over 200 is very good, and scores over 300 are incredible!”
  • You only get the location bonus for placing a card with the SCOUT action. You do not get the location bonus when placing a card at other times.
  • You cannot gain a card without first deploying a card from your hand (LEAD action).
  • You can’t discard a card in Red Rising. Also, when you take the Lead action, you deploy a card and then you must either gain the top card of a location or the top card of the deck. When doing this, you always end up with the same number of cards (because you deploy one and gain one)
  • Most cards have a core value over 10+, and the only penalty for having >7 cards is -10 points. So focusing on getting as many cards as possible is the way to win.
  • Some cards have an end game ability to gain a banished card. You DO get to use the end game ability of that card as well.
  • If a card’s end-of-game ability lets you take a card from a location, that card’s end-of-game ability or/and end-game bonus DOES trigger!
  • Clarification: “top non-Gold card at a location” means if the very top card is Gold, then the top non-Gold card might be the 2nd or 3rd card in the location.
  • If Apollo triggers “end game”, everyone gets one more turn (because Apollo was the first player and does get that extra turn at the end).
  • The Apollo house card has you just add a card to a location (ie, you do NOT get the placement bonus)?
  • Some gray cards let you choose to set it to another color. It then is gray plus that color.
  • A “non-Gold” card includes colorless cards (ie, face down cards).
  • When deployed sometimes you get to move another card (from top or from anywhere in a location stack?) => Discussion (with comments from two game designers)
  • Official Variant for Multiplayer Games: When choosing one or more opponents to banish, potentially banish, or steal a card from their hand without the immediate ability to regain a card, you may only choose players who have more cards in hand than their starting hand (most starting hands are 5 cards; for House Ceres it’s 6). You can still deploy cards with such abilities, but any abilities related to choosing an opponent won’t trigger. This applies to Aja, Antonia, Arlus, Karnus, Roque, and Tactus.

How to play (with a two player playthrough):

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Rules are in ALIEN (all symbols) – City of Six Moons

I ordered this game December 17, 2024. It might take up to two months to receive it as each game is individually packaged.

It’s like someone discovered this alien board game and now we want to play it … but the rules aren’t in English … they are in ALIEN!

It would seem that most of the fun of the game will be just figuring out HOW to play the game. The game designer and publisher have stated that they will NOT answer any rules questions!

Here are some articles (reviews?) of the game(?)

  1. Designer Diary (background on the game written by the designer)
  2. Three Phases of Six Moons (written by someone who actually IS a translator of dead languages (ie Biblical))
  3. The Alien board game people are spending months translating (Polygon) first article I read about this game
  4. “People have spent 20 hours solving” City of Six Moons, the board game you must learn an alien language to play (Games Radar)
  5. BGG – Forum – Possible Errata (nope, it was correct – but the thread is interesting)

SIdenote: one of the “blue” cards looked a tad bit purple … the game designer has confirmed that this was a printing issue, and the card really should be the regular blue color!

A fairly short look at the “game” (or whatever you might call it):

Back of the box:

Promotional photos provided on the game designers / game publishers website:

Continue reading “Rules are in ALIEN (all symbols) – City of Six Moons” →

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