Game: Tsuro

Thread: Re: A Puzzling Take on the East

1Wif — 2008-11-23T13:14:43+00:00

Honestly, I didn't even notice the "path to enlightenment" theme. We just play it as a pretty game. But we have found that with 2 players it has a really quiet meditative feel to it. Perfect for when you've just put the kids in bed, are having a cup of tea, and want some freakin' peace and quiet before your head explodes.

That said, it also plays really nicely with children as young as 4 years old. Which is a big plus for family gatherings, to have something lovely and accessible for everyone to play together. I find it's this versatility that makes it one of the favourites in my collection. You're right though, there are definitely people who won't appreciate it's simplicity.

Thanks for your review!

Image

longagoigo — 2008-11-23T06:28:04+00:00

We use Tsuro to introduce new players to our gaming events.

Thread: A Puzzling Take on the East

thdizzy — 2008-11-23T06:12:11+00:00

Tsuro is a game for 2-8 players. The basic premise is that as a seeker of cosmic wisdom you wind your way through the path of enlightenment. Whether anyone is thinking of the path of enlightenment when playing this game is doubtful though. You'll probably have the same impression that I had--it's a nice little puzzle game with lots of dragons on it.

The game play area is a board with a 6 x 6 grid on it. Each of the squares on the grid have two paths. Along each edge of the board there are 12 paths. At the beginning of the game, you place your dragon stone on one of the paths. There is a set of 35 tiles. Each player is dealt 3 tiles. When it's a player's turn, that player must lay a tile continuing the path their stone is on. Once the path is placed, then the stone moves and the player draws a new tile. If the path connects to the edge of the board again, the player is out of the game and has lost the path to enlightenment. That's basically it--be the last player on the board to win. In other words, be the player who has the endurance to stay on the path to enlightenment. I guess the players who have been eliminated are out drinking a six-pack in front of the monastary or whatever monks do when they lose the path to enlightenment.

I bought this as a party game that could be played easily by non-gamers. It is extremely fast to teach and fast to play, so everyone gets a chance to win. The components are something special. The board is beautifully illustrated and the dragon stones are a pleasure to hold. The tiles are very thick, so they will last the numerous plays this will get. If you're looking for a nice party game that plays with up to eight players or are looking for a warm-up game for a group of gamers, this is a nice game to add to your collection.

People who will like this: non-gamers, people who like puzzles, people who like beautiful components, people who like quick games, family gamers

People who won't like this: people who don't like pasted-on themes, people who don't like light games, people who like to have complete control (other players will mess up your path)

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-11-22T04:51:30+00:00

Heh, I finally found a place that sold 6" tile and it was $2.00+ per tile. This may be delayed until after the first of the year as I don't have $100.00 to spend on tile this close to Christmas. I've been planning this for two years now and all that's really keeping me back is the cost of the tile itself. The wife won't let me use the existing tiles...

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

philomars — 2008-11-22T04:24:16+00:00

FunkyBlue wrote:
Update: You would not believe how hard it is to find 6" x 6" tile... All the home improvement stores have are 4" x 4" and 8" x 8". I hav to try and find an actual tile store that may be able to special order them.

You can buy a wet saw at lowes or rent one and make as many as you want!!
Phil

Got an update on this?

Image

caparica — 2008-11-17T22:09:33+00:00

Game Board

Thread: Re: Two six year olds face off...

bjlillo — 2008-11-16T21:54:17+00:00

Yeah, I'm not quite sure why I thought a competitive game would somehow put an end to the fighting. Oh well, at least there was peace for a little while.

Thread: Re: Two six year olds face off...

legendno6 — 2008-11-16T20:56:32+00:00

Hmmm...games with my wife end up the same way!

She's getting better, but it still a a fussy loser. Perhaps we should try Strat-o-Matic Hockey where fighting is just part of the game? (I won the last game 6-0, it is currently on the "not-a-chance-we'll-play" list).

Thread: Re: Two six year olds face off...

Larry Welborn — 2008-11-16T15:09:30+00:00

Ah . . . who doesn't enjoy a game that ends in a fight.

Thanks for the report.

Thread: Two six year olds face off...

bjlillo — 2008-11-16T14:06:15+00:00

My son had his first sleepover Friday night with a fellow kindergartener from his school. They had stayed up very late the previous night and were having a fight-filled morning. I decided to try and keep the two of them entertained until his mother came with my son's favorite game, Tsuro.

Things were a bit interesting at the start. My son's friend was a little unsure of the game, thinking it was a puzzle and arranging the pieces on the board. After getting a good look at the pieces, my son delivered an excellent rules explanation describing the path, picking tiles (he prefers mixing them up and picking them instead of just drawing them off the top of the deck), and victory conditions. He explained how running into each other would cause them both to lose and warned that the corners were dangerous. The two of them then had a discussion about which colors they were going to choose. After deciding an appropriate super-power for their color of choice (orange was firebreathing, blue was some sweet ice-based power that I forget) they started playing.

The early part of the game went really well. The two boys took orderly turns staying a safe distance away from each other on opposite sides of the board. About three turns into the game, my son's friend asked "Where are the dice for this game?" to which my son responds "You don't need dice. You just move where the path ends no matter how far it is." I was so proud.

I decided to go into the next room and do some cleaning up at this point keeping half an ear on them. My son apparently doesn't have much patience for AP as he loudly reminded his friend more than once that it was his turn. I then took a break just out of earshot and returned to see the game pieces strewn about and the two of them wrestling on the floor. My son's friend had run his piece off the board by playing a tile that put him on a fairly long path. Instead of trying to take his move back, he tried to jump to another path which my son didn't like too much. They then started arguing about it and then got to wrestling as they had been doing all morning.

After breaking that up, I had an opportunity to discuss good sportsmanship with the boys. A lesson was giving on losing gracefully, not cheating, and being understanding with a new player just learning a game. All in all, it was a good way to spend 30 minutes and hopefully will help the two of them in future games. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera handy to get a great picture of the two of them wrestling on the floor with the pieces strewn about.

Thread: Re: 2 player variant

bunjee — 2008-11-11T19:15:33+00:00

We do something like this, but each player is represented by one piece, and other pieces are used as "free agents" who must move as normal when tiles are placed by them, but don't count towards a win, they just interfere with the players.

Alternately, position all the stones around the board, play so as to intentionally send them off, collecting them when you eliminate them. Winner is the player that has collected the most stones. Add even more stones around the board with things like Hershey's kisses and you can even have a reward when you eliminate a token. With that variation, the winner is the one with the most UNEATEN candies at the end of the game.

Image

longagoigo — 2008-11-03T13:48:34+00:00

Tsuro gets introduced to Hiroshima students.

Image

longagoigo — 2008-11-03T13:02:19+00:00

Playing Tsuro in Hiroshima

Thread: 2 player variant

jkandell — 2008-10-20T01:34:36+00:00

Each player gets three pieces. Each turn you lay one tile, as usual. Winner if first person to eliminate both of his opponent's pieces.

Image

pdclose — 2008-10-13T20:21:25+00:00

My Tsuro tile-drawing bag blends in almost perfectly with the game!

Thread: Re: Tiles ++ Game --

Ninjabob — 2008-09-28T05:12:06+00:00

Here's an idea I had...it hasn't got much of a response.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/308235

Thread: Tiles ++ Game --

ddyer — 2008-09-28T04:24:28+00:00

The basic tiles are promising, but the standard game with them
is a bit boring. It certainly appears that the best strategy is
to stay away from all the other players and try to hide at the
edge of the largest void remaining in the play area.

On the other hand, some other, more engaging and agressive game
based on the same tiles could be lots of fun. How about a game
for 4 where you start with pieces in each of the starting pips
of the board, and the general objective is to eliminate all of
your opponent pieces by colliding with them. Running off the
edge of the board would not eliminate your piece. Alternative
to adding a new tile to the board, you could rotate an existing
tile if no pieces were on it.

-- just a few thoughts - this hasn't been play tested at all -
but I really do like the tiles. Something like this would work
well with Octiles too!

Thread: Re: Tsuronament

remus — 2008-09-25T21:04:49+00:00

Yes, that's correct.

Thread: Re: Tsuronament

asmiles — 2008-09-25T20:05:48+00:00

So does that mean that two players who were eliminated by collision simply swapped starting spaces?

Thread: Tsuronament

remus — 2008-09-25T19:43:16+00:00

We ended up playing a Tsuro tournament at EPGS a couple months ago and came up with this simple tourney variant:

Everyone picks a starting position for the first game (as usual).

Every game after the first, your new starting position is where you exited the board. The survivor of each round is the only one to choose a new starting position for the next round.

Doesn't really add a ton to the game, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Edit: typo

Thread: Scoring Variant

craniac — 2008-09-12T23:03:30+00:00

I got this from the manager at http://boardgamerevolution. If it is a duplicate post please let me know:

---------------------

This is a variant that uses points to determine the winner and an
eliminated player may still win because of that. All the rules of the
original game apply unless stated otherwise in the following section.

- * Optional* Before the first player chooses his starting position he
places the dragon tile on any location. The dragon tile is considered out
of bounds just like the boarder is.

- * Optional* Two tiles in hand one face up infront of the draw pile.
Players when filling their hand may take either the face up tile or the
tile on top. Replace the face up tile if taken.

- If a marker is eliminated, then the marker remains on the board where the elimination took place and is turned over to the side. This is only for the sake of simplicity and overview.

- In the case of collisions both markers are laid down on the board. The
active player gets three points.

- If there is no or only one active player remaining, the game ends. All
players now count the amount of times their markers crossed over from one
tile to another. This number equals the amount of winning points.

- The last remaining active player he receives a bonus of five winning
points.

- The player with the most points wins.

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-09-12T09:47:01+00:00

Update: You would not believe how hard it is to find 6" x 6" tile... All the home improvement stores have are 4" x 4" and 8" x 8". I hav to try and find an actual tile store that may be able to special order them.

Thread: Re: How Many Different Tiles?

woodwardiocom — 2008-09-10T17:11:11+00:00

Thanks!

-JW

Thread: Re: How Many Different Tiles?

LoneCleric — 2008-09-10T17:04:56+00:00

Check out this older thread:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/150978

Thread: How Many Different Tiles?

woodwardiocom — 2008-09-10T16:23:29+00:00

To a semi-casual eye, the number of possible different Tsuro tiles would be 105. (The first tick mark has seven choices of endpoints, the second tick has five choices, the third has three, and the last has one. 7x5x3x1 = 105.) However, a series of empirical tests (having my computer generate random tiles and compare them for uniqueness, discarding simple rotations) gave 35, which is the same number of tiles included in the actual game. This also happens to be 1/3rd the "casual guess".

So, while I now believe 35 is the total number of possible tiles, I'm not sure why 7x5x3 is the wrong answer. What's the right way to calculate it from first principles?

-JW

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-09-06T03:57:35+00:00

True, I suppose I don't need a dragon tile carved into the ceramic ones. Unless I decide to use those as permanent table tops and leave them in. I'd need something to spice up the blank spot.

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

Friendless — 2008-09-06T01:23:00+00:00

I have the German edition of Tsuro with the different markers as pictured.

]]>

This edition contains no dragon tile, so I reckon you don't need to design one at all. Good luck with your project.

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

Bateman — 2008-09-04T01:42:43+00:00

FunkyBlue wrote:
Bateman wrote:
Just a thought - if you can't find tiles of the size you need in ceramic, have you considered going for a different material like wood, plastic, or pressboard? Ceramic seems kind of troublesome anyway - heavy, breakable, and will scratch the table when you play.

The neat thing abou this table is the tiles are interchangable. They pop up and out leaving only an iron grid that supports the tiles. That's what makes this table perfect for Tsuro becuase all the original tiles can be easily removed and then you just build the map as you add the tiles back into the table. No scratching involved.

I thought about creamic or porcelain tiles for a couple reasons. 1. because you can get a gorgeous tile color that kind of matches the game tiles (the existing tiles are reallllly close, themselves.) 2. When you rout out the lines, you're left with a very defined path in the bevel, which should be visually attractive if I can pull it off.

Ah - interchangeable tiles. Sounds like a cool table! I hear ya - ceramic will definitely capture the look of the game nicely. Good luck!

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-09-04T01:18:17+00:00

Bateman wrote:
Just a thought - if you can't find tiles of the size you need in ceramic, have you considered going for a different material like wood, plastic, or pressboard? Ceramic seems kind of troublesome anyway - heavy, breakable, and will scratch the table when you play.

The neat thing abou this table is the tiles are interchangable. They pop up and out leaving only an iron grid that supports the tiles. That's what makes this table perfect for Tsuro becuase all the original tiles can be easily removed and then you just build the map as you add the tiles back into the table. No scratching involved.

I thought about creamic or porcelain tiles for a couple reasons. 1. because you can get a gorgeous tile color that kind of matches the game tiles (the existing tiles are reallllly close, themselves.) 2. When you rout out the lines, you're left with a very defined path in the bevel, which should be visually attractive if I can pull it off.

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

Bateman — 2008-09-04T00:51:10+00:00

Just a thought - if you can't find tiles of the size you need in ceramic, have you considered going for a different material like wood, plastic, or pressboard? Ceramic seems kind of troublesome anyway - heavy, breakable, and will scratch the table when you play.

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-09-04T00:12:37+00:00

cferejohn wrote:
Wait, your wife loves the table as much as she loves your son? Or your wife loves the table almost as much as your son loves the table?

Oh, umm, I can't build things for crap (those who can't build...harp on about grammatical ambiguities), but looks like a cool idea!

That would be the former. The kid's only 7 months old.

I hope I don't booch this. Hehehehe...

Thread: Re: My Tsuro table project

cferejohn — 2008-09-03T23:37:55+00:00

FunkyBlue wrote:

I could use the existing tiles, but my wife loves this table almost as much as our only son, so I figure I'm safer by getting new tiles.

Wait, your wife loves the table as much as she loves your son? Or your wife loves the table almost as much as your son loves the table?

Oh, umm, I can't build things for crap (those who can't build...harp on about grammatical ambiguities), but looks like a cool idea!

Thread: My Tsuro table project

FunkyBlue — 2008-09-03T23:28:43+00:00

I'm about to embark on a project I've wanted to do for two years: create 3' x 3' giant Tsuro game.

I have a tile-top table as seen below:

]]>

I'm trying to find 36 6" x 6" ceramic floor tiles to fill the tables 6 x 6 grid. I have had no luck at the local Lowes/Home Depot as 6" seems to be a non-standard size... So, I'm heading to the local tile shop in the near future and see if they have what I need. I could use the existing tiles, but my wife loves this table almost as much as our only son, so I figure I'm safer by getting new tiles.

I have access to a Dremel with the router attachment, so that should provide the platform I need but I have to find out what bit I would need to use. If anyone reading this knows, please tell me and save me the research!

Next, I have a can of clear acrylic spray (satin finish) to protect the tiles once finished.

I'm going to try and design some kind of Dragon tile, but I may just leave a blank because my art skills aren't that great. Ok, I paint outside the lines, but that's why I became a computer tech. I can router out the tile lines, but much more than that and I'm asking for a Tsuro set that looks like it was carved by a 4 year-old.

The last thing I'm asking for help with are the tokens. I need something big to match the scale of the table, but be easy to make out of, hopefully inexpensive, materials I can find locally. I'll post more pics as I move along in the process over the next couple of weeks and I'd be interested in any suggestions or comments you guys have!

Thread: Re: Last player advantage ?

loofish — 2008-08-20T17:50:44+00:00

In the first 3 games of this we played, the FIRST player won or tied all 3.

My feeling is that, as it gets down to the wire, whoever just played is in the best spot.

Thread: Faster than a - Hey, we're finished!!!!

rantinronrevue — 2008-08-07T19:43:12+00:00

Tsuro?

Tsuro!

What the heck is Tsuro?

I’m the one in the family who is usually most ‘up’ on games, so how come I never heard of Tsuro?

My son came in one day and told me he’d bought this game. I was VERY curious, as I’d never heard of it. Eight markers, a bunch of tiles, a gameboard, and a rulebook…wow. I wasn’t impressed. This was an abstract strategy tile-laying game that can be played by anywhere from two to eight players? I had to play it myself to believe it. Within three minutes, he’d verbally told me all the rules and we began playing. It didn’t take me long to change my tune. OK, I’m now impressed.

The components are very simple indeed, but that doesn’t mean that they’re cheaply made. The eight markers are made of sturdy plastic, and engraved with a serpent figure. They are polished and shaped to resemble a smooth stone. The board is a 6x6 grid atop a beige/tan background, and printed over a large phoenix which takes up a good portion of the middle of the board. There are 36 tiles, 35 of which contain straight, curved, and ‘squiggly’ paths that enter and exit at eight points on the tile (2 per side), so all tiles can fit together in some way, shape or form. The last tile contains a drawing of a dragon. The tiles are a little larger than Carcassonne’s, and a bit thinner. All of this makes this game aesthetically pleasing.
The game play is simplicity personified. Place your marker on one of the 48 hash marks that border the 6x6 grid. Everyone is dealt three tiles which make up their hand. On your turn, place one of the tiles in your hand on the square directly in front of your marker, and move the marker along the path in front of your marker as far as you can. Early in the game, your move is usually only to another edge of the tile, but as the grid fills up and paths cross, you’ll be swerving back and forth, doing loop-de-loops, and going in every single direction.

The object of the game is to be the last person whose marker is on the board. This can be a bit tricky. As the grid fills up, more and more paths eventually lead right off the board. There are times that you will lay a tile down that affects not only you, but other players. In such cases, each marker must be moved to its’ new end. If you’re good, you can hopefully find a tile that keeps you on the board while carrying your opponent off the edge. If two players collide on a path, they are both knocked out of the game. If you are knocked out, any tiles remaining in your hand should be placed in a small discard pile.

The game plays amazingly fast – lasting about 10-15 minutes. I’ve played with two to eight players, and the game plays well, but differently, at both ends of the spectrum. The two-player game is very calculating and tactical as each player builds his own path, seeking to avoid (or initiate, depending on your style of play) conflict with the other player. As the number of players increases, you have less control of your own destiny, but the chance for affecting others in your turn also increases, so it’s a double-edged sword. Even if you’re knocked out of a game, the game is quick enough and simple enough that the disappointment is minimal and short-lived. It won’t be long before the next game starts.

You can play this game in a reactionary fashion just by putting down a tile that keeps you on the board, but once you’re familiar with the game, it’s possible to ‘visualize’ which areas of the board will be troublesome. Then, depending on the tiles you have in your hand, you can try to affect your opponent’s pawn towards that area and/or keep your pawn a safe distance away from it. In this way, people that are familiar with the game tend to win more often.

All in all, it’s a pretty neat little filler. I’m not one who’s overly fond of abstract strategy games, much less tile laying games (Carcassonne being an exception). Tsuro overcomes my prejudice against both of those genres. Although I wouldn’t want to play this for hours on end, it’s a fun game to take out now and then. In the time it takes to read this review, you could probably learn the rules and play the game. So what are you waiting for?

Thread: Re: Video Introduction and Review for Tsuro

Yokiboy — 2008-08-03T14:17:59+00:00

Nice review Colin.

Thread: single player, dynamic board

WhiteSeal — 2008-08-03T13:46:50+00:00

Found Tsuro such a compelling game that - on a lonely night - I tried to play it as a single player game. The way I enjoyed it most was the following:

1. Get rid of the board.
2. put 1 tile on the table and at random place 1 marker on each path (one on each side of the tile).
3. Shuffle tiles and take 2 (not three in your own hand)
4. Place a tile to move your marker (one of the four) down the line
5. for each other marker, flip a tile of and place (do not rotate the tiles)

* if a column or row reaches 6 tiles the edges of the board are reached and cannot be extended. If a player goes beyond, the marker is removed from the board.
* It is not allowed to create loop lines (unless 2 players collide, which means they are removed). If a tile creates a loop, take another one and place that instead. Removed tile is place at the bottom of the pile.

I have recently played the game without the board and found that it works quite well (and it is easier to take along that way).

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

kduke — 2008-08-02T04:57:24+00:00

Well, it's a wonderful, light, fun game, and Drake is completely wrong that it has no strategy.

But then, why should any part of his article be accurate?

It's a great game late in an evening, or with a bunch of folks who are REALLY gamer types, but gamers enjoy it too. Certainly not very expensive-- no reason to pass.

Thread: Re: Error in the printed rules

kduke — 2008-08-02T04:45:12+00:00

I also think the only purpose for the dragon tile is to hand to a player who should get a tile but does not.

It's just a "place holder" to remember who is owed next, until more tiles become available (as they will when the next player gets knocked out.

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

gmonk — 2008-07-16T14:41:01+00:00

Hilarious!!

I had been wondering about the game because I have a weakness for nice bits. I think I'll give this one a pass. It really does look *nice* though.

Image

thdizzy — 2008-06-28T12:44:31+00:00

All paths lead to destruction!

Thread: Re: Aggressive Variant

wispwalker — 2008-06-23T01:08:17+00:00

Heh, I like this idea, Bob. I'll try it out next time and tell you what I think!

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

Great Dane — 2008-06-09T14:05:48+00:00

dogzard wrote:
Nice review! I've played it a few times. The rules are very simple, except where it comes to explaining the dragon tile. IMO, it's just not worth the effort.

- which is exactly why the German publisher decided to drop it.
I agree, it's a great filler!

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

CJWinter — 2008-06-09T03:13:53+00:00

Ummmm... excuse me, but do you have any idea how offensive this post is?
I don't want to be a stickler for historical accuracy (especially when humor is involved)... but this just isn't funny.
This is an example of how ignorant people can be about other cultures, and how bullsh*t racial stereotypes are perpetuated.

Please leave this crap to your blog, thank you.

Thread: "Forcing your hand" Group Draw Variant

lengthtoavoid — 2008-05-29T13:05:28+00:00

We discovered a much more fun and challenging way to play Tsuro as a result of reading the directions incorrectly. We quickly realized it was incorrect, but the idea stuck and became house rules for us.

Players are issued 3 tiles at the beginning of the game and the rest is stacked upon the dragon tile. Rather than picking up a tile after one has been placed at the end of each player's turn...play continues over the next three rounds until all the tiles in their hand are used. At the beginning of the game, you can easily plan ahead and use all 3 tiles in succession...but as the paths start to collide, and the board starts to fill up, being forced to use the tiles in your hand can often lead you off the board or colliding with another player for lack of a better option. You must think ahead to use all of your tiles in a way that doesn't screw you in the end. I think playing this way limits your tile options and adds a bit more strategy and forward thinking to this game.

You can choose to shuffle the dragon tile into the pile at the beginning of play as normal ...or don't. We usually don't play with enough players that we get to the discarded tiles anyway. This variant works good with 2 players on up...

Enjoy!

Thread: Re: 2 PLAYER VARIANT

Deliverator — 2008-05-27T16:14:58+00:00

My wife and I played a 2 player variant this weekend. We each took two pieces and placed them on opposing sides of the board. Then play went as usual with each of us having three tiles. On your turn you could play a tile on either of your pieces.

That's it. Very simple change but it worked out extremely well. It allowed you to focus on a single piece if you wanted, but neglecting your other piece makes it an easy target for your opponent. The real benefit is that the board is more dynamic and you can easily use one piece very aggressively while focusing on keeping the other alive.

Quite a bit of fun! We both agreed the game was far more enjoyable this way for two players.

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

dogzard — 2008-05-19T06:52:16+00:00

Nice review! I've played it a few times. The rules are very simple, except where it comes to explaining the dragon tile. IMO, it's just not worth the effort. Just disregard it, and play. It's a very cool filler.

Thread: Re: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

volnon — 2008-05-19T01:02:25+00:00

I bought this game just for the oriental look...

...I have yet to play it!

Thread: Ancient Chinese Secret Board Game

VixenTorGames — 2008-05-18T02:24:04+00:00

Ancient China was steeped in tradition. One of those traditions was the Boys' Night Out, in which the emperor would gather a handful of cronies and call up a bunch of expensive hookers. Then everyone would hit the opium pipe, drink the rice wine and party all night. In those few hours before dawn, the security guys would pay the call girls to leave, and the emperor would roust out his loser buddies to play some games, just to while away the time until the cleanup staff hid the evidence from the emperor's 47 wives.

The emperor's favorite game was Tsuro. This game involved a bunch of silk carpets with paths painted on them, a stone platform 60 feet in the air, and slaves. The emperor and his cronies would take turns placing the carpets to make paths, and the slaves had to follow the paths. When a player's path led off the edge of the platform, the slave had to jump off, and the player had to drink. The last player with a slave on the platform won the game and got to go home, though just to be fair the players still threw the last slave over the edge when the game was over.

(Some of this story is unverified. Reliable counter-sources indicate the game was actually played using the hookers instead of slaves, to get out of having to pay them.)

Thousands of years later, archaeologists dug up a scroll depicting the game. It had been shoved up the ass of a terra cotta soldier, and still never would have been found if it hadn't been for a severely confused grad student who was, ironically, drunk as hell on rice wine.

At first, purists wanted to recreate Tsuro accurately, but while the Chinese government could readily find plenty of people they could spare as playing pieces, nobody really wanted to let them walk on silk carpets. Those things are expensive!

So instead, WizKids bought the rights from the grad student as he recovered in a Hong Kong emergency room. They reduced everything down so it would fit in a box, and mass-produced it for an American market. The greatest thing is that it's still made in China, as a nod to its roots. And occasionally, a small Chinese sweatshop worker will fall into the plastic vat and wind up baked right into the game. We call that history repeating itself.

When you buy a copy of Tsuro, you won't get any of the classy pieces the emperor used. Your silk carpets are replaced by heavy cards, and instead of being four feet across, they're about two inches square. The stone platform has been replaced with a foldout board, and instead of slaves (or hookers) the game comes with a bunch of plastic tokens that look like engraved stones.

Considering the fact that you can't get silk carpets at anything resembling a reasonable price, the pieces in Tsuro are actually really nice. Nice enough to leave out when company comes over. There's a cool picture of a dragon, some crazy phoenix thing on the board, and the colors of the player tokens complement all the art beautifully. All things considered, this is probably better for most homeowners than the enormous stone platform, and better for most married men than a box full of Oriental call girls.

Each player starts off with three cards. You place a card, then slide your token on the path you just made. These paths bend and cross each other and sometimes even just go in a straight line. As you build your own path, the other players are building theirs. And sooner or later, somebody is going off the edge of the board. Happily for American players who don't have time to hide bodies, the only thing that goes anywhere is the little plastic token. The last player with a token on the board is the winner.

Unlike the ancient Chinese version of this game, which could take hours to complete, what with all the carpet arranging and body removing, the American version of Tsuro can be finished in less than fifteen minutes. Lots of times the game is done in five minutes. So even if you get driven off the edge, you can just grab some pretzels and open another beer, and be back in for the next game.

Of course, American players and ancient Chinese players have different reasons for playing Tsuro. The cronies had to play Tsuro or the emperor would have them killed. Americans are just playing to kill five minutes while they wait for the last guy to show up. Very few players are going to break out Tsuro and expect anything like a strategic challenge. It's not a game that begs to be replayed, because you know how it's going to go - you play for five minutes, run out of options and die, and then two minutes later everyone is picking teams for Trivial Pursuit.

Tsuro is a very pretty game. It's not on the caliber of Front Porch Classics, with their metal figures and cloth game boards, but it's still nice enough to leave out when people come over (as opposed to gamers). It has all the depth of a puddle of parking-lot runoff after a five-minute rainstorm, but it's fun enough that you can blow through a couple games before everyone gets into some serious gaming.

Summary

Pros:
Sure is purty
Incredibly quick game
Easy, easy rules

Cons:
Almost no strategy to be had anywhere

Thread: Re: Tsuro puzzle

brdmartin — 2008-05-16T02:02:09+00:00

Another way to play solitaire with this one is to see how long you can keep all 8 stones alive. I don't typically force myself to play in any order on the stones, as long as each play moves at least 1 stone. A hand of 4 tiles seemed to work well for this. On first attempt I was able to get down to 4 tiles before there were no more moves.

Image

laiernie — 2008-05-12T18:48:42+00:00

game board

Thread: Re: The Game of the Path(s?)

Limey Sponge — 2008-04-21T03:52:42+00:00

This is a game my son (5-years old) loves, but also a great filler at game days where it always devolves into situations of "I will die regardless, but . . . if I do this, I can take you down with me!" And dragging others down to share your doom is always good fun.

Thread: Re: The Game of the Path(s?)

jadzianess — 2008-04-20T22:45:31+00:00

This game was discovered browsing BGG and I am very glad to have it in my collection. It is a fun little game for all ages, plays quick and you don't have to go over the rules all the time. Some games if you play infrequently, you almost have to relearn, this isn't one of them. Cool, little game. Keep reviewing OP!

Thread: Aggressive Variant

Ninjabob — 2008-04-20T20:34:12+00:00

After getting excited about RichardV's Assassin Variant and trying it several times, I came up with a new variant that uses just one set of the game.

Play starts and continues the same as any regular game except for this rule. If a piece is played that makes two players' paths collide, do the following:

If one of the pieces belongs to the player just played a tile, then his token remains in the game and he collects any token that he intentionally collided with. Then he picks up his marker and places it on any "path ending" on the board (either an as-of-yet-unplayed-on starting spot on edge of game board or at the end of any path in the middle of the board on which no token already resides).

If the two (or more?) pieces collide which do not belong to the player who just played down a tile, colliding tokens are eliminated and the tile player collects them to keep track of points scored.

*****

Game play ends as usual.

The player who eliminates and collects the most tokens from the board wins.

This variant changes the strategy of the game quite a bit as it's not enough any more just to survive, you must eliminate and collect the most opponents.

Thread: Re: The Game of the Path(s?)

Ward — 2008-04-20T17:14:27+00:00

Nice review. What I like most about Tsuro, and the primary reason I bought it, is that it can be played with folks of all ages. Like Hey! That's My Fish!, I can play this with my wife and young sons as well as with a group of adults.

The thing is, Tsuro is not an "eastern" game as you write, however. I am pretty sure the designer is a westerner and rethemed his original Squiggle Game with an intriguing back story from China. Although the story is fascinating, I'm not sure much of it is actually fact-based.

Thread: The Game of the Path(s?)

geschichte — 2008-04-20T14:31:25+00:00

This is my first review, any comments would be helpful. Thanks.

Tsuro is an incredibly simple tile-laying game where opponents take turns creating an ever growing path as they attempt to avoid hitting each other and the edge of the board.

Artwork
The first thing I noticed about this game is how nice the the board and the pieces look. The path times themselves aren't much to speak of, but the board looks very cool as does the dragon card and they even went all out for the English instructions...if I spoke one of the other languages, I'd probably be annoyed.

Game Play
This should be a very quick, light game and it is, but inevitably there is always someone at the table who takes way too long to strategize, but it's still quick. How many other 8-player games can you finish in 10 minutes? The only trouble with game play is that it's really not very much fun for two people, there simply isn't enough impending doom. It's also fun to refer to falling off the edge of the board as dying. The rules don't do this but it came naturally to my group.

Strategy
No matter how much time you spend thinking about what you're going to do next, you're always at the mercy of the cards you draw. This makes for a decent mix of luck and strategy.

Philosophy
The most interesting aspect of the game to me is that it gives us westerners a real glimpse into the eastern mind. It's quite a simplistic view, to be sure, but the basic differences between western and eastern philosophy are right here on display. In the west(we call it west, but it really came from Greece, go figure), philosophy is most interest in the end or the conclusion of a journey. As a result, western games declare winners who have achieved an end result. In the east, they are much more interested in the journey itself, so we see in Tsuro that the winner is the one who has nut reached the end, but continued the journey. This is not much more than a dime store philosophy lesson, but it is to me the most intriguing aspect of the game.

Overall
In my situation, I find it quite hard to get a lot of people to play a game together and this allows that more than others. It's great fun for people no matter their level of interest in gaming. It also allows a wide range of ages. (I have nephews that are 6 and 4 and they love it)

Thread: Re: Last player advantage ?

Urtur — 2008-04-16T09:33:49+00:00

Yep.
That's why for the first game the oldest player plays first. During subsequent ones the winner should play first.

Image

SurfinDecoy — 2008-04-14T18:38:34+00:00

End game - green plays

Image

dan4th — 2008-04-11T20:25:21+00:00

An aggressive start that ended quickly.

Image

dan4th — 2008-04-11T20:24:32+00:00

No way out: This player boxed himself in.