Taluva

[Brel]

TALUVA

Designer: Marcel-Andre' Casasola Merkle
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
Players: 2-4

On my frequent trips to Compleat, I often just browse and then leave empty-handed. Not because I don't see anything that I want (I want them all - insert canned maniacal laughter here), but because I can't decide which game to add to the collection, and I need more time to contemplate.

On occassion, however, one of the many choices almost jumps off the shelf at me, and I leave the store with it in a bag and a stupid grin on my face. Such was the effect of Taluva. Designed by the creator of ATTIKA, it's a large step away from his last game. While I enjoy ATTIKA, I always thought that while it was a nice-looking game, it was rather drab. This one is certainly brighter and more colorful.

What's in the box?

• 48 Volcano tiles
• 8 towers in four colors
• 12 temples in four colors
• 80 huts in four colors
• 4 summary cards
• 1 rules booklet

 

The Bits:

First of all, this game is gorgeous! While I'm not sure I agree with the color choices for the player pieces, the rest of the game is beautifully done.

As you can see, the tiles are roughly triangular, and are basically three joined hexagons. Each one is printed with a volcano and two other terrain types, for which there are several. They are, beaches, mountains, clearings, jungles and water. The artwork is very bright, adding to the already great visual appeal of the game. The tiles are also made from the thickest cardboard stock I've ever seen in a game. If you've played Carcassonne, imagine those tiles, but three times as thick. Sturdy stuff!

The player pieces are your standard painted wood, but in original shapes. You won't find similar pieces in any other game. At least, not yet.

The Game:

This is going to be one of my shorter reviews, because the game is so easy!

The theme is kind of pasted on, as it could have been anything, but don't let that one nitpick steer you away from it. Players are the chiefs of unnamed Pacific island colonists exploring an island and forming new villages in the process.

On a turn, players pick a tile from the face-down stack(s), and play it on the board. They can be placed to either expand the island's area, or played over existing pieces, to add levels and give it a 3-D appearance. If you choose to place it on top of other tiles, it must be placed with the following restrictions

Volcanos must be placed on top of another volcano, and only so long as the direction of the lava flow is different.  You may destroy huts, but you cannot destroy temples or towers.

This leads to the playing area never being the same in repeat games. I've played games where the island is small in area, but has several levels, and in others where it covered a large area of the table and had only two levels. It really depends on what strategy each player is going for.

Any huts that are removed from the board because a volcano erupted nearby are out of the game. They may not be rebuilt later!

After placing a tile, players may then 'build' a new tribe by placing a hut away from any others of their color, or expand an existing one by adding more huts, temple or towers. Again, there are certain restrictions to follow -

Nothing can be built on a volcano space.
New tribes may only be placed on the first level.
If adding huts to a tribe on any other level, you add pieces according to the level, so you would add 2 huts to level 2, and 3 huts to level 3. You max out at three, but I've never seen a board with more than three levels.

Temples can only be placed in villages that cover three spaces or more.

Towers may go next to any size village, but can only be placed on the third level or higher.

No village may have more than one temple, unless they are two seperate villages that have joined through expansion. The same applies for towers.

When expanding a tribe, the player announces which village and the terrain type they are using, and fill all adjacent hexes of that terrain type. Example: I want to expand a tribe and declare that I'm using beaches. There are two adjacent beach hexes next to the village I want to expand, one on the first level, and one on the second. I place one hut next to the village on level one, and two on the hex at level two.

An unusual twist with this game is that if a player is unable to build anything after placing a tile, they immediately lose the game! Their pieces remain if there are more than two players, but they cannot make any further additions to either the board or their villages in play. This makes managing your buildings of vital importance. Example: You play a tile to form a second level and the only thing you can do is add two huts to it, and you only have one left - guess what?

There are only two ways for the game to end. When the last tile is placed, the player with the most temples built is the winner. In the event of a tie, whichever player between those two has built the most towers is the winner. If tied again, it goes to the most huts, and if tied there, you share the victory.

The other winning condition is that as soon as one player builds all of two types of structures, they win immediately. This doesn't mean that if you build a temple and a tower, you win. You must build all three temples and both towers to win, or build both towers and all huts, etcetera. Huts removed from the game are also counted as having been 'built.' While this is quite simple, I've seen players confused over it.

Reactions/Opinions:

In the past week I've played this game more than a dozen times with different people, and the reaction to it has always been overwhelmingly positive. It's very easy to learn, requires more than a little strategic thinking, plays in under a half hour even with four, and is aesthetically pleasing. More than once when playing in a public area (we like Pikes Perk, great tables), we've had people stop to watch and ask what the game was.

No one has yet claimed to dislike the game, and usually after finishing are ready to play again.

Conclusion:

Taluva is one of the better releases of 2007, and one that I highly recommend. As already stated, it's easy to learn and play, has a short playing time, and it's (for lack of a better word), pretty. I found the cost to be right around where I thought it should be, so that should not be a hinderance. If it had been over $40 I might have been miffed, but at the current MSRP it's quite reasonable for what you get. The production value alone is amazing.
I'd score this an 8 on a scale of to 10. It's that good.

Try this game, you won't regret it!

Review by: Majiken

Source: compleatgamer.com

[Brel]

Video review:

[Brel]

A few years ago, at the ludopathic gathering, I had looked, without taking part in it, at a test game of a prototype by Marcel. The way the players were holding their head between their hands, the visible warmth forming on their forehead, made me think this was not a game for me. Visually, the game reminded of Attika, for which I don’t really care, and of Java, a great game I deeply respect but that takes too long and hurts my brain too much so that I never really want to play it.

I was therefore not really eager to play Taluva, which I brought back a few months later from the Essen fair. There were so many games looking more fun, light and exciting. A few months later, however, knowing I was heading for a calm gaming session where such a deep thinking game could fit well, I took with me the box of Taluva, It was an instant hit.

Of course, Taluva is a tactical and strategic game, where accurate evaluation of every position is required for the placement of every tile and pawn, and where errors are never forgiven. I had not guessed that it was also a fast paced and dynamic game, reminiscent of Carcassonne – but a more involved, more pure, more concentrated Carcassonne. Like in Carcassonne, each player in turn first draws and places a tile, then plays one of his pawns – here wooden huts, temples and towers with a vague Indonesian style. Since you are not bound to play your pawn on the tile you have just placed, you can often one of the action to help yourself, and the other to hinder your opponents. The tiles, made of three small hexagons, can be stacked, slowly creating a really nice looking 3D landscape, often raising attention from the nearby tables. The two victory conditions, either with placing all your pieces of two different type, either with having the most temples on the board when the tiles are exhausted, as well as the way the players settlements are entwined, all this makes for more variety, more interaction and more strategic depth than you could think from just reading the rules.

All the gamers who liked Carcassonne and now either find it a bit light and limited, either find it a bit fiddly after adding pigs, giants and dragons, should try Taluva.

Format: Big box
Genre: Tile laying game
Author(s): Marcel-André Casasola-Merkle
Publisher: Hans im Glück
Released Year: 2006
# of players: 2 - 4
Playing time: 40 minutes

RATING:
The Game Itself: 5 / 5
Graphics and components Rating: 5 / 5
Complexity level: 3 / 5
 
By Bruno Faidutti

Source: http://www.faidutti.com

[Talismanic (Mark)]

This is a great tile-laying game game. Jay is the only one I know who has a copy. Luck of the draw in getting tiles is minimal, unless you really really have to have a tile with 2 of the same terrain on it, and everything else is within player control. Good tile placement and settlement building can certainly make your pieces immune from destruction and that is part of the challenge. The rules are easy and the flow of the game fairly fast.

I've had the opportunity to play this around five times and it is certainly a lot of fun, and looks great when laid out. Its one of those games that can actually be used as a decor if you wanted to use it as such.