GAME REVIEW CHECKLIST
Thanks to Fawkes, LuXo and seppo21 for the borrowed photos

OVERVIEW
Highly original, intriguing 3D puzzle game in which you try to hide your color of blocks behind neutral and rival blocks.

A non-random brain burner (not at all a gateway game), and fares only so-so on repeated plays. Still an essential for my collection.



RULES
Each player starts with 5 oddly shaped blocks in their color and 4 in the neutral (tan) color. All the blocks are the same size, and 2 together make a square.



You take turns playing blocks, then moving the Chieftain 1-4 spaces around the board perimeter. The Chieftain then looks at the Pueblo in a straight line and awards negative points for all the players' blocks he can see. You can play your block anywhere so long as it doesn't leave an overhang.

The trick is that you get 1 point for the level of each visible block, so a 3rd level block is thrice as bad as a visible 1st level block. Once the players run out of pieces the Chieftain goes around the board again, stopping at every square. Golf scoring.


1. DEPTH/COMPLEXITY 7 of 10
"How many and how compelling are the decisions you make per minute?"

When to play your neutrals, how to force your opponents to build up while you stay low, who to "tag" with the Chieftain, all the while struggling to understand just how these oddly shaped pieces fit. Almost each turn presents a new challenge, and the mixture of neutral and colored pieces gives the game a real beginning, middle and end game.

Only real down side is that with no random elements one game doesn't feel tremendously different from another. That's what keeps this from being an 8 of 10.



- Analysis Paralysis/Downtime?
Not bad, but could be a nightmare with a spacially-challenged perfectionist!

2. MECHANICS 8 of 10
"How intuitive, elegant and flowing are the moves that bring your tactics to life?"
Amazingly simple rules. Minimalism reigns.

3. INTERACTION 7 of 10
"To what degree does it facilitate a rich social experience?"
Good for a euro, especially a euro puzzler - because unlike many puzzle games, your play directly impacts your opponents in a clear and direct way.

Also a great game for kibbitzers to watch while waiting to play another game.

4. ORIGINALITY 9 of 10
"How fresh and unique are the strategy, mechanics and theme?"
The design of the pieces alone is genius. And there just aren't many good 3D games.

- What's the freshest part of the game?
As CurtC put it, "It's like an area control game where you DON'T want area. And in 3-space."

5. AMBIENCE 9 of 10
"How much do the theme, aesthetics and bits add the overall experience?"
Though an abstract, the art is a beautiful southwest style - a little-used motif in euros.

The way in which board grows gives you a real feel of a a pueblo being built, similar to how Torres (another K&K design) shows you a town being built, but even more satisfying.

And the blocks, as Greg Schloesser said, will "last a lifetime." No kidding. Probably the best-made plastic pieces in any game I own. I'd actually love to let my toddler play with them, but of course he'd lose them and ruin the game

6. AUDIENCE
"Who would love this game?"
- Fans of X may love this game, but fans of Y may not.
People who don't like puzzle games may not enjoy it - though I don't like many puzzle games myself. People who like some random elements may not like it.

But if you like the chess-like feel of forcing your opponent into an impossible situation, and the satisfaction of seeing a multi-color Pueblo form, block by block, it may be for you.

- Does it hit a sweet spot? Which one?
Oh yeah. 3D highly interactive puzzler with beautiful aesthetics.

- Luck (& Chaos) : Player Control
High player control, no luck, very little chaos. The only real chaotic element is the "take that" scoring where a player essentially chooses who to hose (do I hit A for 4 points, or A and C for 2 points each, or B for just 2 points b/c I think B is winning?, etc.)

SUMMARY 7 of 10



Pueblo is a great game - and a highly original one - that probably doesn't come out of the box enough. But the reason for this is the disconnect between a beautiful game that feels like it should be light but plays a little like 4-player chess. (I'm not saying it has the endless strategy levels of chess.)

Also, the games do feel quite similar after a while. Random elements are frankly important to me, in games as diverse as La Città, Ticket to Ride, and Nexus Ops.

There are reasons why people play euros instead of Chess and Go - and one is to engage in problem-solving that is satisfying and does not require intense focus to the exclusion of socializing. The required focus in Pueblo, for whatever reason, outweighs the payoff you feel (similar to another K&K invention, Java).

I don't know if it would make for a better game, but if you took Pueblo and added just a little bit (not all) of the random element of say, The Downfall of Pompeii, it would get out of its box more often. For example, I showed it to my non-gamer wife because I thought she would dig the aesthetics, but it felt too much "like work" to her - not a gateway game.

That said, I love having it in my collection, and can't wait to teach it to my kids, even though it will probably never get the number of plays as games that are less original.

Hacienda, Category 5, and Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix, for example - all games Wolfgang Kramer designed alone - all inject highly varying degrees of random elements, require less intense focus than Pueblo - and are each more pure fun.

Edits: typos, photo credits