The Old Kid

Here is a tip…Its Awesome! Since this game is currently being re-printed (I lucked out and was able to get a copy through amazon this last mini reprint) the site wont let me give an actual review.

I’ve only had one play and I am hooked. I would definitely class this game as a casual to power gamer game. Since everyone I played with, myself included, was new to the game I would recommend having some seasoned gamers playing it. This is mainly because there is a lot going on from the start. The set up is pretty intense, though once you understand what everything is and where it goes things should set up significantly quicker.

One of the draws are the races available. There are 7 race boards with each being two-sided. This means there are 14 playable races, 2 for each color and land type. Each race has different staring abilities and special abilities that occur as the game progresses. Since this was the first time playing we have only really seen four of them in action, but after playing my friends and I looked at the other races and saw some really cool ways that each race can be played.

There is a lot going on as far as game play and actions available to the player and this makes for a really intense and changing game. The whole point of the game is to terraform non-home terrain into home terrain so you can build on it. Changing other lands to your home terrain is a challenge because some change harder than others and there is always the threat that an opponent could get terraform a land you had your sights set on.

In addition to this mechanic there is the magic power mechanic that really stands out for me. You have a three tiered pool of magic. Lets say a level I, II, and III. Form the start of a game your magic is spread out between levels I and II and you can only use magic that is in level III. There are various ways for your magic power to move as the game progresses. The thing about it is that when your magic moves it always moves from the lowest level first. SO if I have a 7 magic in level II and 5 magic in level I, and have an overall magic gain of 4, that means 4 magic move from my level I to my level II. That leaves me with 11 magic in level III and 1 in level I. I still have no magic in my level III, which is the only place I can use it without the risk of loosing some. This mechanic really make the want to build up magic so you can spend a couple turns doing a lot more.

Through my first play I never felt like I was over powered and everything I did in the game had a cost that can be felt with a fair amount of significance. The mechanics of the game really add a sense of urgency and foster a mindset of getting the most out of a turn as possible.

There is actually so much going on in this game I just can’t get into about this game it is that deep in play value and strategy. Once you play it though you will understand what everything means for most casual, avid, and power gamers this game will open up in ways you might not expect.

Overall this game is great. Find it! Play it! There is a reason this game is so hard to find.

In Tzolk’in your main resource is corn. You need it to place your workers as well as to feed them when four times per game. The more workers you have the more corn you’ll need to do this. I immediately saw this as a problem of not having it when I needed it. The tip I would give would be to make you you play on the Palanque gear early and often. Being able to grab that corn is essential. But beware the corn fields can be harvested out quickly because it is such a needed commodity.

To help get over this make sure to upgrade the agricultural technology available. This will not only grant bonuses to the corn you gather, but the second tier allows you to harvest corn when there is wood covering it, without having to first harvest the wood or burn it down thus angering the gods. You can also harvest the corn on spaces where all the tiles have been removed.

So I’ve played this a couple times now and I noticed something about how to speciate and dominate land so that you set yourself up for some good VP’s throughout and in the end game. Going into the game you may think that really diversifying your your species is going to get you a lot of points because you will be adaptable on many areas. This isn’t necessarily so. What I’ve seen is that the best ways to build points and get dominant is to speciate in a way that gives you three of one element and 2 of another. Whatever your species starting elements are you should try to build on the base element and acquire two of another element. The final element could be anything that you think might help. Along with this you want to try and have a different set of elements you are strong in compared to the other players. This will be harder the more players there are so be careful not to mimic another player’s elements. This will just result in a “dominance” tie.

Building on that you should look to dominate the higher scoring land types like sea and wetlands. Because these are going to be targets you want to try and maximize your dominance by adding them as far away from any tundras while also placing elements that match your two highest elements on your species card. These two lands have the highest VP payout so try to be one of the top two species on them. If you can build them correctly to match your species’ elements then once the end game rolls around you will be able to score lots of point based on having a high amount of areas where you are dominant.