Five Tribes

Why did I wait so long to buy this one?! I LOVE this game. It seems simple, but is deceptively so. The rules took a little longer to explain to my parents, but I think by halfway through the game they started (mostly) understanding the point of it. I wouldn't consider this a first or second gateway game, but could be one to introduce to someone who has a few games under their belt. I'd say it's a mid-weight Euro game with little luck involved. Why I love it: * There are multiple ways to achieve victory. This means your initial strategy may be foiled, but you can adapt to a new strategy. You will be putting some thought into every move you make, especially as you get farther into the game. * There are lots of parts and pieces to this game. It's overwhelming at first glance but all pulls together surprisingly well to make a rich, complex game. I think the Djinns are the only part I'd say I could live without, but even they add another layer to consider. (If you're playing with new gamers and want to make it lighter, you could definitely play without them.) * Theme fits pretty well. It's not super immersive, but I can see how every part and piece works together to strengthen the theme. Each meeple has a fitting purpose, and camels, oasis, and palaces all tie in nicely too. It's just a great game! I could go on and on about how much I LOVE this game (despite not truly representing any of my favorite mechanisms), but you should try it out yourself. If it does feel too complex, I'd definitely suggest playing without Djinns for your first game to learn the basics first.

So. Much. Fun. Played it with 4 people (first time for everyone - all in our 20s) and including the rules explanation, it took about 2 hours. What is great about this game is that each setup is going to be completely different. The tiles and meeples are always placed randomly at the start of every game. There are numerous ways to score victory points at the end of the game which lends to many different strategies. Don't let the busyness of the board and pieces overwhelm you! Once you get playing a round or two it is pretty smooth. The player aids are AMAZING. Probably the best I have ever seen in any game. The rule book is there if you need it but honestly the player aids are so clear that we were only really referring to them throughout the game when we got stuck. This is definitely not a "light" game but it is also not "heavy" in my opinion. I don't really know what game to compare it too, but if you are the type of person that likes Ticket to Ride, this is definitely a step up from that. Our group isn't really "gamers" and we thoroughly enjoyed it and weren't overwhelmed in playing it. There can be some analysis paralysis because you do have so many options each turn. But it is honestly worth taking the time to learn and I imagine it will be much faster/smoother the next time around. Highly recommend!

It's hard to believe that Five Tribes is only two years old. This game burst onto my personal scene with a vengeance, and I'd have to class it as my favorite game right now (I've played the game probably 5-6 times, but only recently started logging plays). in Five Tribes, you will use a reverse worker placement mechanic smooshed with mancala to pick up meeples off the board and use their abilities. Meeples can buy you goods, help you court the favor of powerful genies, assassinate other meeples, and earn you victory points towards the game end. Five Tribes is an incredibly tight, tactical game. Every turn, you will be scoping out the game board for the best possible turn, and then bidding on the turn order (which brings in some nice bluffing and planning -- it's possible to entirely overbid as happened to one player in the latest game we played). Because of this, it can be prone to AP, but this doesn't happen often if you keep players moving. I love Five Tribes because it presents so many difficult decisions as well as so many paths to victory. I sprinted to a tight win in our latest game because I specialized on the market almost to the exclusion of everything else. I've seen other players win with Djinns, with conservative bidding, and with great area control on the board. The great part is, you need to focus on multiple victory point engines in addition to your primary one, because one specialty won't be enough to bring you to victory. If you love tactical games, beautiful artwork, and a great, elegant game that plays in under an hour and a half, Five Tribes is for you. I couldn't think of another game that better uses worker placement in such an innovative fashion, and it's one of my go-tos when we want a medium-heavy game to play. Highly, highly recommended.

This is a TERRIFIC game. The components are great, the art is great and the game play is simple, smooth and exceptionally well crafted for balanced and engaging game play. Although the board may look intimidating because of all the pieces (the reason I initially ignored the game) the rules are really simple and quick to pick up. Everyone understands them after the first couple turns (not their first couple turns but for the whole group). But the strategy can be as complex as you want (there’s a lot to think about if you’re inclined to). Feels a lot like 7 Wonders but with more WAY more interaction. You should get it. If you like Scythe, Catan, 7 Wonders, Ticket to Ride ect then you’ll definitely (98% sure) like this. The only con is if not everyone wants to play at the same pace there can be some “analysis paralysis”, where one player takes forevvvveeeer to take their turn. But heckling usually solves that issue and it’s still usually not super frequent of an issue, but if that’s something that your group is prone to or the irks you, buyer beware.

Muy buen juego, un poco caro, pero me ha gustado muchísimo. La jugabilidad será tremenda y ocupará sin duda un lugar especial en mi estante de juegos.

Super jeu à jouer à deux

Gioco semplice ma strategico e divertente, lo abbiamo giocato in due ed è godibilissimo!

Five Tribes es un magnífico juego de mesa que funciona perfectamente de 2 a 4 jugadores. Montar la partida lleva unos minutos, pero al ser el tablero modular, ofrece a cambio una gran rejugabilidad. El juego consiste en ir moviendo y retirando muñequitos (meeples) de diferentes colores del tablero, que te permiten ir haciendo determinadas acciones y sumando puntos de victoria. Al principio hay muchas acciones disponibles, pero al poco tiempo éstas se van volviendo más escasas y hay que analizar el mejor movimiento con el que conseguir hacerse con casillas del tablero, mercancías, genios, visires, ancianos, dinero, etc. Un aspecto muy positivo es que hay tantas formas de puntuar que cada jugador puede llevar a cabo la suya y, si los otros jugadores no se dan cuenta, hacerse con la victoria de forma casi sorprendente cuando parecía que se estaba quedando atrás. El juego está en inglés, pero es totalmente independiente del idioma. Sólo las instrucciones hay que leerlas en inglés y se pueden encontrar en castellano en el siguiente enlace de la BGG. [....] Five Tribes termina siendo una especie de rompecabezas o pseudoajedrez con una interacción entre los jugadores intermedia, ni inexistente ni continua. El mayor riesgo que tiene es que alguien pueda estar mucho tiempo pensando su jugada, aburriendo al resto, riesgo que se puede acrecentar si se juega a 4 jugadores. En esos casos, conviene poner límites al tiempo (un relojito de arena hubiera sido un añadido curioso y apropiado para un juego con una temática tan árabe). Por eso, funciona extremadamente bien a dos jugadores. En definitiva, un buen juego de estrategia, con magníficos materiales y componentes.

Five Tribes have become one of our favourite games since we bought it! The rules are simple yet game really deep and strategic. Can definitely cause analysis paralysis for certain people, but lucky for us it wasn't an issue at all. Highly recommend this one.