Pandoria

EvEvanstar5,9

In this game you place a double tile on the map, then you can place a worker. If a blob of spaces all containing the same resource type gets completely surrounded by other spaces, workers placed in that blob pop off and then each worker next to the blob produce one of each of the resource icons inside the blob. In this way players semi aggressively build out the board trying to get the most production while popping off opponents guys. There are also multi use cards that can be played as either one time effects or as ongoing effects. Players have asymmetric powers. Each faction gets one meeple that counts as two for production, but the trick is it needs to be placed as your final meeple, which means other players aren't popping your guys off the board enough. Something to watch for is that one faction's ability is they can place this meeple whenever they want, which felt quite a bit stronger than the other player powers we've seen so far, and seems to have lead to a runaway leader in that particular session. One of the key elements of the game is that every three resources you gain over ten gives you 1 VP. There are building types that enhance specific resource production and then further buildings that improve the overflow ratio to 2:1 instead of 3:1. These are quite strong, and there is some flip luck issues with the availability for these cards. In theory players can try to keep someone from scoring a region they have a fantastic conversion rate for, but that can be easier said than done. ★ Art, Iconography and components functional ★ Clever or interesting mechanisms ★ Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players ★ Multiple plays stay interesting ☆ Low or mitigatable luck elements ★★☆☆☆ Raw enjoyment