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The theme about Rabbi Loew, who wants to bring a golem to life in 1584 Prague, is nice but, as you might expect, inter- changeable.
Each round starts with marbles. White, black, red, blue, and yel- low marbles are placed into
the synagogue and roll
onto the courtyard of the house of G-d in a colorful mix.
Each of the one to
four golem summon-
ers, aged 13 and up,
chooses two marbles
per round. The marble
color indicates in
which of the three
rows on the huge
main board one
of their students is
moved, firstly, in order to control their own golems in play, and secondly, to secure a lucrative income. The amount of marbles indicates how strong the se- lected action will be. What exactly can be done is determined by the location of the marble in the courtyard. You can put your golem to work in its neighbour- hood, upgrade your golems, or send an additional one into a neighbourhood; melt down gold to create artifacts; or stick one’s nose in books to increase knowledge, which is controlled by a clever mechanism. In addition to the two marble actions, each player can also perform one rabbi action. You will always feel like you need more clay, more gold, more knowledge, and more
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money, of course. Scarcity around every corner and at every turn.
The construct, you guessed it, is full of de- tailed rules. For example: if you choose two marbles for your actions that match the colors of the given round’s Character card, you will be able to influ- ence the character and reap some bene- fits. At the end of each round, it is import- ant that the steadily advancing golems in the three Prague districts are not too far away from the students they are sup- posed to control, otherwise you have to pay either with knowledge or victory points. And you will want to lose neither. At the end, we multiply a lot: the num- ber of golems by the number of red me- norahs, completed artifacts by the num- ber of yellow menorahs, and the number of book card columns by the number of blue menorahs. Oh yes, and then there are objective cards, and so on. Golem has
been illustrated by Ausonia and Rober- to Grasso in a rather gloomy but very
atmospheric way.
Getting started requires whoever will
end up teaching the game to others to meticulously study the rules. It is not yet known if and when there will be a Ger- man localization.
“The Magical World of Floating Islands!” claims the second new release by Cranio, Eriantys. The cover shows a Frog Prince letting treats sail into his mouth like in Schlaraffia, a unicorn smiling blissfully, a grumpy dragon guarding a treasure, and a Gandalf-esque wizard summoning na- ture. The beautiful illustrations lead us to expect a family game, especially since it is advertised for ages eight and up.
The impression could be deceiving. The new work by Leo Colovini is basically an abstract duel for two, which can also be played with three or in two teams of four. The objective is to gain control over the majority of the twelve islands by exerting influence over the students located there.
At the beginning of each turn, each player plays an assistant card that deter- mines turn order as well as the number
of movements of Mother Nature. If one of the adorably illus- trated cards by Alessandro Costa Kapakkione is on the table, then you get to move three of your own students, either
Long ago in a Far Eastern country, the queen and her people honored their four deities with a mystical pagoda. But then the regent fell ill – who will now succeed her?
Designer Martin Doležal invites two to four players, ages 10 and up, to create the most beautiful of FOUR GARDENS (German title: IM SCHATTEN DER PAGODE) in order to secure the throne and divine favor at the end. This is achieved by completing sets as picturesque garden panoramas. The goal is to collect resources and complete panoramas for bonuses
by rotating the three-dimensional pagoda. Only those who manage resources prudently, build the right cards and always keep an eye on the pagoda will prove to be worthy heirs to the throne. In 2018, the game won the Korea Board Games Design Contest. (th)
8 spielbox special
Photos: Becker