Review: Tao Long

Game: Tao Long: Way of the Dragon

Designer: Dox Lucchin, Pedro Latro

Publisher: Thundergryph Games

Artists: Dox Lucchin

Player count: 2 (also with a solo mode)

Runtime: 40 mins

[caption id="attachment_2634" align="alignnone" width="3480"] Using the teleport tunnels is a great way to escape[/caption]

This beautiful, low component abstract game spans across the most grandiose of themes, it is a battle for the very soul of the universe, pitting chaos against order, love against ambivalence, fire against water.  Ying versus Yang. On this battlefield you will command a mighty dragon, a dragon so vast should you somehow cast mortal eyes upon it, it will fill the horizon. How does one control such a creature? Why, with its soul, its Bagua.  Each dragon, the mirror of the other, fights desperately for its half of existence, for its fate is tied inexorably with its twin. Through raging bursts of flame, unrelenting jets of water, and the sheer might you will battle for supremacy for another epoch of man.

Pretty heavy stuff, huh?  You’re right, it is, but it’s actually just a beautiful, interesting abstract game steeped in Chinese mythology.  It is a game with a very different, and very interesting control mechanic, a game that, much like chess rewards repeated plays, of accumulated wisdom.  It looks very pretty, is small and compact but delivers a very solid, vexing punch well above what you may initially think.

[caption id="attachment_2633" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Although smaller, the white dragon is now more manoeuvrable[/caption]

And when I say vexing, I mean the really good, under our skin itch type of vexing that urges you to get this back to the table.

So, your dragon is made up of four tiles, one piece for the head and the remainder are the body, printed on both sides, one side showing a straight connection, and the other a bend in the body.  When you move, you’ll move the head and then fill up the gap from the tail end. This is a very satisfying method of movement which feels both very mechanical, and yet organic, much like the way a caterpillar moves it has that rolling, creeping sensation which feels very at home with the Chinese dragons.  

You’ll aim to move your dragon around the board, to put your opponent in range of a fire or water attack, and/or a bite attack.  Each section of the dragon has four hit points, and so as the game progresses at least one dragon will become smaller and smaller until finally the head is destroyed too.    

[caption id="attachment_2635" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Bagau in full swing[/caption]

Now, in keeping with the tone game, that is literally how you move, the physical or Board of Human.   The control of that move is done on a separate mini board; the Bagua and it is, in my opinion, incredible.  Frustrating, but incredible.

The Bagua board, or the spirit realm, or in plain old English the User Interface is the traditional representation of the “eight symbols” that in Taoist cosmology represent the fundamental principles of reality.  (Remember it’s still an abstract game, but the Bagua is a fascinating area philosophy that is utterly worth your time reading up on).  In short, each position allows a type of movement for your dragon, and the opposites on the Bagua are rotationally opposite, so where Earth allows you to move horizontally, Heaven moves you vertically.  But you can’t just pick the movement, oh no, you use the Bagua Stones; counters in black and white. To make a move you collect all of the stones on any spot, and then in a clockwise motion deposit one on each subsequent space, with the last space being the move you actually make.

[caption id="attachment_2637" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Water is your health, and fire is your attack, however, water can also be used as an attack when there are water stones in the centre.[/caption]

This is a fantastic little puzzle all in itself.  Look at the board and you know what you want to do, in fact, you know where you want to go, how you want to attack and you can even take a pretty good guess as to how and what your opponent is going to do.  It is the orchestration of that plan, the manipulation of the Bagua board which is going to let you pull this off. It is the combination and the duality of these two boards which makes Tao Long such a good, interesting game.

Entering into “combat” it becomes far more engaging, far more tactical, as the aggressor you need to keep your opponent pinned down, but you need to keep out of range of a retaliation - not easy when your only four tiles long!  You’ll do this with not only the dragon itself and the obstacles present on your chosen map but on the Bagua. Thunder and Wind both grant a turn of the head and an additional move so you need to keep stones away from them, but equally Heaven and Earth grant double movement, which could lead to an escape.  You’ll be playing this game on two fronts and they do feel very much like a physical and mental a combat, that are both the same thing, but different.  

[caption id="attachment_2638" align="alignnone" width="4032"] When all else fails you can bite the other dragon[/caption]

The chase aspect of the game is hugely entertaining, to begin it is a lot of posturing, and gentle positioning, like two large carnivores, vying for control, in some ways it “feels” like chess, without actually being anything like it (oddly enough the opposite of Onitama, which is also a Chinese themed abstract game).  You’ll want to amass some fire stones before combat, as a fireball attack is efficient and brutal, and prevents you from getting drawn in too close for a counter-attack. This “phase” of the game really feels like a pre-battle sequence, who will break first and make the attack? How will the attack come? Teleport spots on the board can make a huge difference and can be executed with electric efficiency in the right player’s hands...and this is where we approach a stumbling block for this game.

Tao Long is very pretty, and the UI is very interesting, but it is so different it often takes players a little while to get used to it, and some of the iconography isn’t as intuitive as one would hope.  In every game I’ve had with a first timer they are still checking with me that, yes, Lake will allow you to turn your dragon’s head from vertical to horizontal- even towards the end of the game. Tao Long is also a game of accumulated wisdom, the more you play the better you will get by leaps and bounds, you’ll develop tactics and strategies which you can take between games, improve upon, hone and master.  In theory, this doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but in practice, it does limit who will play this game with me now, as the experience difference is a gulf that can be daunting and/or difficult to cross. I want to move onto the harder, more interesting modes and maps, but my opponents often aren’t ready or comfortable to do so.

[caption id="attachment_2640" align="alignnone" width="4032"] This map provides a great challenge and great fun[/caption]

The rulebook for Tao Long isn’t quite a streamlined as one might like either, it is chocked full of flavour, of quaint philosophical wisdoms, the descriptions of various moves are flowing with the “meaning” of the move, but this does get in the way a little bit (“little bit” in this instance is the very British code for ‘’a lot”). In my first game or two, I found that I was often turning to the rulebook to ensure everything I was learning and teaching was correct, but this backward referencing was slowed by all the bombastic, flowery text.  I found the page, the section I wanted but I had to skim through too much text to realise that yes, I was right or wrong.

Tao Long does a great job of encapsulating a battle, with posturing, positioning and a finally a chase and hard-fought battle.  Manoeuvring your opponent to be right where you want them when you want them isn’t easy but drawing the first blood is hugely satisfying.  Escaping an attack is equally exciting and fraught. The careful balance of the physical position of your dragon and the alignment of the Bagua stones presents a wonderful, complex puzzle that becomes more engaging and more rewarding with each play.  

[caption id="attachment_2636" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Chase is on![/caption]

This game may not be for everyone though, the bar of accessibility is higher than it needs to be, especially for an abstract game such as this, and without frequent and sustainable opponents you may quickly find that your personal enjoyment is dampened by too many easy games.  Tao Long is a game that demands and deserves repeated plays, it was clearly designed to spend time on the table, not on the shelf. If nothing else this game is certainly worth a look, just because of the balance of the two boards and their intricate and clever link, and for around £20 it’s not too big a risk, at the very least you should certainly give the Tabletopia version a go.

Disclaimer:

This review was based on an Early Bird Retail Edition of the Kickstarter project that I
pre-ordered and paid for out of my own money from my own pocket.  Do I
regret not getting the deluxe edition, with the neoprene play mat,
wooden components and all the mini-expansions?
Yes.
Yes I do.

I know, I know, this song has been in your head ever since you read the word bombastic. You’re welcome.

Onitama Review

Review: Onitama

Designer: Shimpei Sato

Publisher: Arcane Wonders

Artist: Jun Kondo and Mariusz Szmerdt

Player count: 2

Runtime: 10 minutes

“Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend.”

― Po from Kung Fu Panda

Onitama roughly translates as “Awesome Kung Fu themed abstract game”, which, like a tin of Ronseal, it does exactly as it says on the tin, or in this case, box. This game also graciously offers you the opportunity to constantly refer to your opponent as “Young Grasshopper”, to say things like, “Your Kung Fu is strong”, and of course, “Stop trying to hit me, and hit me”. There is such a thing as being a poor winner, so watch it, as the tide of battle can turn very quickly in Onitama.

[caption id="attachment_2592" align="alignnone" width="2776"] Say it with me now...TIGER UPPERCUT![/caption]

One cannot but notice the similarities between Onitama and Chess on first impressions, and although this is true, it is only fleetingly so, it is much like comparing a Harley Davidson to a BMX, more on this later, first bow into the dojo and we shall begin.

You and your opponent are rival Kung Fu dojos, who are battling it out for supremacy, and to the field of this great battle, you take four of your most skilled warriors. Facing off against one another across the tranquil arena you stretch and shake off that nervous pre-fight excitement, bow first to your master, and then respectfully to your opponent and go.

[gallery ids="2597,2588" type="rectangular"]

Fight!

Fight!

Fight!

Not quite, Onitama is a game of skilful, precise strikes, of calculated risks, and of considered judgement. Of knowing your opponent, and predicting their attacks and retreats. It is Kung Fu (well, as much as a board game can be Kung Fu). Unlike a game of chess, of near countless openings, strategies and moves, Onitama, deftly, and simply imposes restrictions and limits on your form and creativity. And it does this with a handful of cards. These cards are your movements, all of your attacks and retreats, all with an appropriately Kung Fu-ey related animal names, like Frog or Crab.

[caption id="attachment_2590" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Love the stylised Chinese writing here depicting the animal[/caption]

Each card further abstracts the game board and depicts it as a simple grid, with a number of the squares shaded, with one being darker than the others. This darkest square is your warrior, any of them, and the shaded cells are all the possible squares they can move to. Should you land on an opponent you take them and they are removed from the game. It is that simple, and yes, up to this point, the game may sound a little linear, and you’d be right, but obviously, that isn’t the game.

You see, you only get five cards per game, randomly drawn from the deck. These are the only moves any player can make. Five cards. Five attacks, five prescribed movements that both players can see, predict and plan for. Again, that may sound a lot more interesting, and it is, but that still isn’t the game.

[caption id="attachment_2595" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Reds are making full use of the arena width[/caption]

These five cards total all the cards you’ll use, and you will share them with your opponent in a manner that makes this game very, very interesting. Two will be dealt to you, two to your opponent and the remaining card placed between you both. Any of your pieces can move as either of your cards show, but then you’ll place that card to one side and take the card that was previously left out of the game. Now your opponent does the same, sifting one card at a time between the cards in front, to the card at the side.

This mechanic creates a flow, almost a sense of a dance across the play area as you and your opponent/partner sway back and forth. It creates a harmony and a balance which sits right at home with the theme. One of the things I love about this game is how quick and accessible it is, there is no text to read, its a case of pattern recognition in the moves you can make now, what your opponent can make and what move you can make later. A game of Onitama is so very quick, I don’t think I’ve played a game longer than ten minutes, and in that way the game too feels very kinetic. Although Onitama is an abstract game, the production and these notes of energy and flow really capture and encapsulate that Hollywood-stylised essence of Kung Fu.

[caption id="attachment_2593" align="alignnone" width="4032"] That's a strong defensive opening from the Blue Guys[/caption]

So, how much like a game of chess is Onitama? You do move pieces back and forth across a board in varying patterns, the win condition is very similar, it is a greatly abstracted view f a battle, and here, I would say the similarities end. Chess can be “mastered”, there are opening moves that are better than others, someone who has played many games will have little difficulty besting a newbie. Onitama, on the other hand, has such a degree of variability that a “perfect” opening doesn’t exist, as it can’t exist every game. Likewise, chess is often considered a battle above the board as much as it is on it, and Onitama isn’t that. Each of your opponents pieces can only move in two ways, and you can see those two ways, the difference is in this joy of pattern recognition, of building up your opponents move now, and move next and layering that against what you want to do, and the cards/moves you do not want to give them.

[caption id="attachment_2596" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The luxurious, fancy-pants playmat[/caption]

The production of this game, heck, even the box screams “Hey, pay attention to me!”, it has a cool magnetic closed box that looks more like a fancy bottle of whiskey than a board game, the insert is moulded perfectly to fit everything nice and tidy, and of course, you have the neoprene plat mat and the gorgeous oversized cards. However, and it's sizeable, however, it feels overproduced. The moulds on the figures aren’t what I’d expect from a game made in 2014, but even then I think there is a degree of charm, the impression of ancient skill and strategy that this game wants to have is well overshot with plastic models instead of something more solid, timeless and classical. The playmat tough great and functional is, I can’t help but feel is a half inch too narrow, those oversized cards don’t align neatly with my compulsion towards the neat and parallel.

Am I being picky? Yes.

Am I acting like a teenager at a house party dissecting the latest arrival?

(what an odd analogy) Well, yes, I am. But, in my defence, the game is crying out for attention about how it looks more so than how it plays.

And that is the main point, isn’t it? How good is this game? In short, it is a great, quick game that offers an interesting array of game restrictions each time you play. Each game feels noticeably different, and yet fundamentally the same. Part of that greatness stems from its shortness, its brevity, but also for its ‘feel’, it is an abstract game that wears its theme like a well-tailored suit, you’ll see it on the board and the pawns, you’ll see it scrawled across the cards, but you feel it in the game with the flow and sway of combat. Onitama isn’t the type of game you'll play for hours on end, it is the type of game you play between games, while you’re waiting for your dinner, and it’s perfect to travel with or for lunch break games, and at around £25 you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this little gem.