Tigris & Euphrates

Today, I am reviewing one of my favorite games, Tigris & Euphrates.

If I had to sum this game up in one word, it would be nirvana. This game has everything for the strategy gamer. It has replayability, overt strategy, subtle strategy, some randomness, and conflict.

The premise of the game is you are the head of a dynasty in Mesopotamia. You must become the most balanced dynasty in the region. To win, you must score the most points in your worst category (have the most of your least). You do this by placing leaders, tiles, and fighting conflicts. Each turn, you can take two of the following actions:

1) Place a tile
2) Add, remove, or move a leader
3) Play a catastrophe tile
4) Exchange tiles - Players have 6 tiles that comprise their hand

There are four different types of tiles in the game, red (temple), blue (farm), black (settlement), and green (bazaar), and there are four types of leaders that correspond to each of these colors. If a tile is played in an area that can trace a line of tiles back to a leader of that color, the player that owns the leader, receives a point in that color. If there is no leader of the corresponding color, then the player owning the black leader, if present, receives the point. Leaders must be played adjacent to a red tile, as these provide support for the leader. If a tile is played such that two regions with leaders are joined, then an external conflict is initiated. If there are two leaders of the same color in the new kingdom, a fight will occur. Each player totals the number of like colored tiles in each part of the former kingdoms, and adds any like colored tiles from their hand to the total. The winner is the player with the most tiles, with ties going to the defender. The winner removes the tiles from the loser's kingdom, along with the leader, and scores one point for each tile/leader removed.

Leaders, as mentioned previously, must be played adjacent to a red tile. However, if a leader is played in a kingdom with a leader of the same color present, an internal conflict results. The leader with the most red tiles adjacent plus any red tiles commited from the player's hand wins. Again, ties go to the defender. The losing leader is removed from the board. The winner receives one red point.

A catastrophe tile is the ICBM of the Fertile Crescent. When played, nothing else can be played in that hex, it also destroys whatever it has been played on. These are frequently used to weaken or divide a kingdom, and to isolate leaders from their temples.

Finally, players can exchange tiles, which can be done to get a better hand, or to shorten the game, if they feel they are winning.

There is another way to score points, aside from conflicts and placing tiles. Monuments are constructed when a player plays four of the same type of tile in a square. A player then selects one of the two-color monuments and places it on the board. When a player with a connected leader of the appropriate color ends his turn, he gets a point. Because of this, they represent a focus for conflicts once constructed.

When all but two treasures on the board are collected, or the tile supply runs out, the game ends. The winner is the player that has the most points, in their weakest sphere. So, if a player has 10 black points, 15 blue, 7 red, and 2 green, he has 2 points. If there is a tie, players compare their next weakest sphere, etc.

This game is a solid 10. I try to play this at every opportunity. Even when all seems lost, it just takes one or two great plays to get back into the game.