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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First up this week: We ship magnificent beasts of the animal kingdom to place on display in Zooloretto: The Dice Game
Next up: We ship out our minions to a battle to the death among our mighty towers in Cloudspire
And lastly: We ship the mail across hard won Bavarian routes in Thurn and Taxis
Zooloretto: The Dice Game
Designed by: Michael Schacht
Published by: ABACUSSPIELE & Z-Man Games (2012)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 7 & up
Playing time: 15 min
In Zooloretto: The Dice Game, each player is their own zookeeper, whose goal is to make the best zoo in all of zoodom. How does one become the best zoo? By collecting the best group of animals, the ones that yield the most victory points.
The scoresheet, which represents your zoo, has spaces for five types of animals: one crocodile, two ostriches, three monkeys. four elephants, and five lions. There are also spaces to collect coins and barns for animals that don’t fit in the appropriate pens.
Players go in turn, one at a time, and take one of two actions:
Roll two dice, then assign each die to a transport cart on the game board.
Take all the dice in one transport cart, then score them
The first player to fill the pen of a particular type of animal receives a bonus; if a player takes more animals than they have room for, that means negative victory points.
At the end of the game, the player with the highest score is deemed the greatest Zookeeper in all of Zooloretto – and therefore, the world.
Cloudspire
Designed by: Josh J. Carlson, Adam Carlson, Josh Wielgus
Published by: Chip Theory Games (2019)
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 13 & up
Playing time: 90 – 180 min
Cloudspire, takes place in the floating realm of Ankar, and tells the story of a war to acquire a powerful and rare energy known only as “The Source.” Each player controls one of four unique factions in a battle to destroy and steal source energy from their opponents. Your faction will build armies, erect towers to protect your base, and explore with your heroes in search of resources and powerful Relics to turn the tide of battle.
As armies and minions approach opposing bases, they’ll need to contend with Spires – powerful defense towers that can be built around the board. Fight for control of build sites and acquire new spire schematics to build an impenetrable defense and hold off the enemy. Upgrade your home base to unlock new strategies and abilities. Level up your heroes and lead your armies into battle with advanced and upgraded skills!
For the one who controls Ankar, controls The Source, will be the Champion of Cloudspire and the envy of clouds everywhere.
Thurn and Taxis
Designed by: Andreas Seyfarth, Karen Seyfarth
Published by: Hans im Glück, Rio Grande Games (2006)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 60 min
In Thurn & Taxis, players build post office routes across Bavaria and the regions around, collecting bonus points in various ways.
Players build postal routes between adjacent cities. Each route must consist of at least three cities. Players may only build one route at a time.
On a turn a player will:
- draw a card from a display of six, or one from the top of the deck
- add one card to your route
- If the route is at least three cities, the player may score it. Where the player may place post offices in the cities, collect bonus tiles, and acquire higher value carriages.
Optionally, the player may receive support from one postal official in the form of: drawing a second card, melding a second card, refreshing the six city card display, or acquiring a higher value carriage than the route length when finishing a route. Once a route is scored the city cards of that route are discarded, and the player begins a new route on his next turn.
When a player exhausts his supply of post offices or acquires a value 7 carriage the end of the game is triggered. Players score points for their highest valued carriage and bonus tiles, and lose points for unplaced post offices. The player with the most points wins and becomes the Postmaster General of Bavaria, and the envy of postmasters everywhere.