It should be regarded as a fact that I am ignorant … mostly. When someone says the game is called ‘Ys’ then I assume the game is pronounced ‘why-s’. This is natural, logical, and suits an ignorant gamer with a science degrees. So when someone tells me it might be pronounced ‘iss’ as in hiss, or miss, or kiss, I go ‘What’?

Fortunately the pronunciation of the name is the only thing holding me back from this game, and my math centred business brain really got off on the market themed Ys. If you don’t like games with variable values and return on invest then run, because Ys is “all about the money”. But as for me and my peeps this was a blast.

Ignorant or not the physical package that is Ys is probably about average. The board is a comfortable size for play and all the elements have sufficient space to fit. The market and price quotation aspects of the game have a separate spot on the board and are clear and easy to follow. I was a little disappointed with the art since it tends to be a little muted. Although a lot of effort has been made to see that the pictures on the action cards are representative, the powers are complex so the pictures don’t give it away like some games. There main city portion of the board is also very ‘busy’, with many buildings that seem to obscure the more important functional elements of the areas. Don’t get me wrong it is not really a problem for game play, but I think a little less action and a little more clear functionality would move the presentation of Ys to the next level. Yes it fits the theme of the game well, but I favour clearer better defined art which shows the game play clearly over the ambiance of atmosphere. Put this down to personal preference.

Ystari have however excelled with the rules. Like Ysaphan the rules are great, they have all the elements good rules should have. Firstly they are bright and include pictures of the items. There is nothing worse than having to have all the components in front of you when you read, and having to constantly put down the rules to find a, b or c. The pictures are fantastic. The rules also include examples to illustrate in a parallel column. Why more games don’t spell out the rules with examples I am not sure. And although the rules have some intricacies, they are largely simple and there are not complex conundrums to solve. Top marks for rules. Any game you can feel comfortable playing after reading the rules off the net is on the right track.

Now the game-play. I said it once and I’ll say it again, this maybe is built for the market analyst. Not for it’s complexity, because I believe anyone can play it, enjoy it and seem like they are in the running. But because of it’s depth. The underlying strategy for the game is return on investment. Every player has a fixed number of pawns (market brokers) to use with a set value, and they must employ them for the best return. But return might come in several forms. Future capacity in the form of cards, guaranteed points in the form of black gems, variable points in the form of coloured gems, or control of the gem values (the quotation). The nature of the game is to maximise the value of your return, and this can be a very taxing problem. PS: Warning: this game can be quick and fun, but is certainly an AP game. Those with the problem should seek help before playing.

The primary game mechanics are broker placement, bluffing and value management. In the four player game each player has 11 brokers with values varying from 0-4. Two are revealed initially to select turn-order. The catch is that the more points that are used in gaining superior turn order, the less points that are available for placing on the board and scoring. Generally players favour playing later in the order, but not always. Putting a high value broker in an area early can often scare opponents away.

Brokers are placed in four groups of 2, with each group requiring you to place one broker face down and another face up. This brings in some very unique decisions. Do I show everybody that I mean business in this area by showing my high number, or do I keep it hidden so that a competitor that wants to fight doesn’t put high values in there. And what of those low values. Don’t I want them hidden so others will be scared away by what they might be. Lots of very intriguing questions. Bluffing comes into play, as does guts. And as always with this type of game there are plenty of bargains to pick up. There is nothing like getting a gem for your investment of one ‘0’ value broker. Many of the character cards available for auction allow special abilities like a value five broker, or the ability to move pawns when all the values are revealed. These add a little spice and some more complexity but feel like a tack on to the game for interest IMO.

The scoring also has some quirks. One third of the city regions that you place your brokers in score victory points. But the primary scoring comes from Gems. Black gems (which are earned in another third of the city areas) have essentially a fixed value which is slightly higher the guaranteed points in general. The gems however are all valued on a relative basis. If you have the most in that colour then you get 4 times ‘x’ where x is based on the quotation. The highest quotation gem makes x worth 6 then 5,4,3. So the most in highest value is worth 24pts, while the most in the least valuable is only worth 12. the remaining players with gems in each colour get 3x,2x and x respectively based on their rank. Competing for gems constantly reminded me of Dragons gold, and I like that one too.

Overall I think you get out what you put into this one. Sure you could do all the possibilities, and sometimes you must, but the element of uncertainty means you cannot calculate everything. Many times I need to just bite the bullet and decide because calculating the expected value will work in this one. There is some good gambling outcomes in this. But there are some very solid strategic principles in play and one must obey them or find themselves losing just a little on every turn.

I thought Ys was great. There is basically no luck besides that which comes from other players choices. Perhaps player a) competes with player b) and not you, that’s lucky, but it doesn’t involve any luck . But it can be played quickly or deeply and the results are never known till the end. It has mystery, and excitement, especially when you are beaten to the rewards by the thinnest margins. Which reminds me … don’t undervalue the tiebreakers that you don’t place, the tiebreaker is used more often than you know.

As for me and my ignorance, well it will remain. Still my ignorance will not prevent me playing this fun filled game again. Well done Ystari.