All of my 'Light Reviews' aim to offer a brief overview that allows people to get a good feel for what the game may offer them. I feel that other reviews can be sought if detailed game mechanics is what you are after.

Summary

Game Type - Abstract Dexterity Game
Play Time : 5-30 minutes
Number of Players: 2
Mechanics - Positional Play, Magnetic Forces
Difficulty - Moderate (Takes a few plays to learn and get the hang of)
Components - Very Good

Polarity is a rather unique abstract dexterity game as it is based on the concepts of magnetism and magnetic fields created by the magnetic poles found within each disc, hence the name. Skill is high on the agenda here but thankfully a person’s skill can increase with each new play and experience.

The Components

Polarity comes in a light canvas bag of essentially cylindrical proportions. In terms of storage in a collection, this poses a small problem as it won’t stack neatly with other game boxes. But in the end this is something of a non-issue as clever gamers will always find a way.

EDIT - I have found out since writing the review that there is also a boxed version, so take your pick.



Inside the bag is the play mat, also made of the same light canvas material. The mat takes a minimalist approach and depicts a circle 45cms (just over 17.5 inches for my American readers) in diameter. In the centre is a dot, which denotes where the red centre disc is placed. The circle forms the play area and all discs must be placed within the play area (on the line is in).

Inside the play mat (the mat is wrapped around it when packing up) is a sturdy cardboard cylinder. Inside this are the game pieces or discs. In all there are 52 discs and each disc has a white and black side. The discs are made of a hard plastic casing, which serves to hold the magnet within each disc. They are roughly the size of the pieces found in Othello but obviously much heavier. The texture of the pieces is also very pleasing, as the outer edges offer a rough surface that is a delight to touch. I can fondle these babies for hours but then again I am known for my fondling....dice being my specialty



The last piece is the center disc (so there are 53 discs to be totally accurate), which is red in colour.



The rules are the only poor component of the game. Without pictures and detailed descriptions it can be quite unclear what is meant by the many terms and descriptions that have been written. Thankfully there is a strategy guide and rules summary that can be downloaded at the following site -

http://polaritygame.com.au/

Overall the components shout out ‘classic abstract game’. How you rate them is a matter of opinion. Some will cry ‘simple’ and others will call them ‘elegant’. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ll go with elegant.

The Aim

The aim of Polarity is to get as many pieces onto the playing area as possible in order to score the most points. But unlike many games, success comes by forcing your opponent into error. With each new disc that is placed, the magnetic field is altered. By altering the magnetic field in your favour, your opponent will find it harder to place pieces without causing a 'Fault'.

When a player makes an error, called a ‘Fault’, it may allow their opponent to take a bonus turn in order to form a Tower. Each piece within a Tower is worth 1 point and all Tower points are added together at the end of the game.

From this total, 1 point must be deducted for each piece still in a player’s supply. This also makes getting as many of your pieces into play very important. The greater score is then declared the winner.

The Set up

Each player chooses a colour and takes 26 discs which form their supply (discs not in play). The red center disc is then tossed and will land on either its North or South side. This helps to alter the state of the magnetic field with every play and it is placed on the centre dot.

The white player must place 5 of their discs white side up, anywhere within the playing area. Black then follows suit. Once this setup is complete, white can start by placing their first disc.

The Strategy and Terminology

The play alternates with each player having the chance to put 1 more disc into play. When attempting to put a new disc into play it is important that a player holds their disc with their colour on top, or facing up. This allows the pole of the opposing colour below to interact with your pieces favourbly. In effect each piece that is successfully placed in this way is floating on a cushion of air created by the magnetic force.



However to understand the game play, strategy and potential moves any further, we must first look at the terminology that the game uses.

Action Disc - The name of the disc currently being held by a player (the disc they are trying to get into play).

Foundation Disc- Any white or black disc that is lying flat on the playing surface.

Strategy - Foundation discs are really important as they act as stable forces which are required to place Leaners. Probably the best analogy I can come up with is building a house. You can't build or affix walls unless you have your structural beams in place.

Leaners – This is the term given to a disc that is placed near another disc of the same colour. Using the term 'placed' is probably a poor description as Leaner discs are really suspended in mid air, at sometimes crazy angles. This is achieved by using the delicate balance of the magnetic field present in the play area.

Leaners really are a fascinating site to behold and when the playing surface is full of them the game is a wonderful spectacle.



Strategy - The reason for placing leaner discs is to manipulate the magnetic field in play. Through clever placement it is possible to build a network of discs in your colour. This makes it increasingly harder for your opponent to place a safe disc that won't result in a 'Fault' (see below). Creating a 'Fault' can then result in the chance to form a 'Tower' (also see below).

It should also be noted that after the initial Foundation Discs are placed, it is illegal to place another disc from your supply flat on the playing mat. Therefore placing 'Leaners' is the only (well almost) legal move that can be made.

Fault – A fault occurs when other discs are caused to react through the play of an 'Action Disc'.

The most common Fault is when a disc on the playing surface snaps up onto your Action Disc, whilst trying to create a 'Leaner'. If this occurs then all pieces that snap together are returned to the player’s general supply of discs.

The worst kind of Fault is when a player accidentally forces 2 or more opposing discs to touch each other. This awards the opponent a bonus turn in order to try and form a Tower.

If a player forces any discs outside the play area, they cause a Fault and must be added to that player's supply.

If a player causes a disc to flip and change colours, it can stay in play for your opponent, provided it isn't touching any other discs.

Towers - A Tower is a series of discs that have snapped together during play. A player can try to form a Tower when the opponent ends their turn and has left 2 or more pieces touching each other in an edge to edge fashion (Fault).

To form a Tower a player must simply grab their piece and lift it in such a way that it forces the other discs that it is touching to snap onto their disc. This is a pretty simple move in truth. The trick of course is not to allow this situation in the first place, which is much more difficult to avoid.



The newly formed Tower is then placed back in its original location on the playing surface.

After this bonus action, the player can then take a regular turn.

Strategy - Forming Towers will obviously earn points at the end of the game. But each Tower will also exert a greater influence over the magnetic field. The bigger the tower, the greater the influence.

So what is the Appeal – The Bigger Picture

Sometimes words do not convey the situation they are describing and this may be the case with Polarity as it really is fascinating. First you have the visual treat of the ‘Leaner’ discs. In only a few plays I have witnessed some amazing formations that defy belief.

Next you have the mysterious force that is the magnetic field. With each new disc that is added to the playing surface the magnetic field will change in some way. At times you will carefully approach a tower, foundation disc or a leaner disc and you will notice something weird going on. You will feel the magnetic forces in play (this is so cool) and you may see other discs start to waver or be pulled by the changing nature of the magnetic field.

This is where the strategy is really at. The greater picture is in manipulating the magnetic fields in play to force your opponent into a Fault that will hopefully allow you to form a Tower. With each new Tower you control you are one step closer to victory.

It should be noted that a player can deliberately cause a Fault if it is to their advantage. This is most common in order to create new Foundation discs.

With each new Fault, a player can be left with very few Foundation discs in the playing area. By using an Action disc it is possible to push a Leaner disc flat onto the surface. Doing so will end your turn as you caused a Fault, but you will have succeeded in forming a new Foundation disc to build Leaners from.

How does the Game End?

The game will end when 1 player gets their last disc into play. All points for Towers are calculated and points are deducted for each disc still in a player's supply (which acts as a double whammy of sorts).

The game can also end if any player causes the red center disc to attract to any other disc. The person responsible for causing this loses immediately.

The game can also end if a player finds they have no discs in play. This also results in defeat.

The Final Word

Any regular readers of my reviews will know that I am not an abstract fan and I am even a little puzzled by them at times. My brain just doesn’t work in an abstract way all that well. Being human, it is not surprising then that I don’t rate abstracts all that highly. It is our nature to generally dislike those things that we are not good at. It is our way of masking what we perceive to be our failings.

So why the diatribe? Well it is to highlight the fact that this adverse-abstract gamer really likes this game despite my 'baggage' . I am fascinated by the way each disc manipulates the hidden force that is the magnetic field. This interplay and the amazing visual display that the game puts on are compelling.



If you also factor in that Polarity rewards experience and experimentation, the game can provide many many hours of fun and wonderment.

But I must add some cautions. Polarity does take time to 'get'. I am still relatively poor after 3-4 plays, so it may not be a game for anyone without persistence.

I feel for games like this because we often overlook an excellent game because we don't get an instant return on our time.

You simply have to get the Strategy Guide and Rules summary off of the net if you want to make sense of it at all. See link above.

I am glad that our club was sent a copy because it has already provided many hours of gaming pleasure for many of our members. It has even attracted the interest of gamers that are regarded as specialist role-players or tabletop gamers, something most other board games have failed to do.

I probably can't give it more praise than that so I'll leave it there and see if my wife wants a game.

Links - To other Abstract Games

Hive

Hive: The Mosquito

Army of Frogs

Logan Stones

Pick 'n' Pack

Kogworks

Ubongo

Streetsoccer

On the Dot

Last edited on 2009-09-03 20:07:41 CST (Total Number of Edits: 3)