Game: Psyche-Paths

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trioker — 2008-06-24T21:49:19+00:00

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trioker — 2008-06-24T21:47:24+00:00

homade box

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trioker — 2008-06-24T21:44:40+00:00

Homemade game

Thread: Re: Hey Aldie! Could you change back to Kaliko please?

twixter — 2008-04-13T03:14:16+00:00

In the wild? Kaliko is for sale at http://gamepuzzles.com/edgmtch3.htm#KO

At $115 plus S/H I definitely don't recommend it, though. You can see in the photo that the paths don't align very well in the wooden edition. The OOP lucite version was much better.

Be all that as it may, The name under which the game is currently sold is generally used on BGG is it not? The only policy reason I can find for not using Kaliko is the policy against using a foreign language title. Kaliko is a made up word! It's not a foreign language.

Thread: Re: Hey Aldie! Could you change back to Kaliko please?

playitsam — 2008-04-12T15:35:19+00:00

Psyche-Paths is probably the better choice of name/game edition...Most gamers have never (and probably will never) see of copy of Kaliko in the wild...It's a beautiful game and rare as an unopened copy of Advanced Civilization! I have 4 copies of Psyche-Paths that I've managed to find along the way. And only one copy of Kaliko, bought new when first published, and I've never seen it out there since!

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rseater — 2008-01-12T23:32:12+00:00

boxfront from the funtastic edition with cardboard tiles

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:46:53+00:00

All the tiles in the game: 5 of each mono-color, 33 of each dual color, 16 tri-color.

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:45:29+00:00

It's not just fun...it's funtastic! (tiles that aren't used in the game)

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:44:32+00:00

A completed game using all the tiles from the cardboard edition.

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:43:22+00:00

The topologies of the tiles that feature 1 color of path.

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:42:52+00:00

The topologies of the tiles that feature 3 colors of paths.

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rseater — 2008-01-12T20:34:00+00:00

The topologies of the tiles that feature 2 colors of paths.

Thread: Re: Hey Aldie! Could you change back to Kaliko please?

twixter — 2007-12-19T21:53:04+00:00

I meant Aldie, sorry. Submitting a correction seems like a rather pompous thing to do. I'm not saying that Kaliko is "correct" and Psyche-Paths is "incorrect." I'm merely expressing my opinion and wish. Also there appears no place on the "submit correction" page specifically for explaining my reasons for this "correction." I would rather engage in a discussion about BGG policy, and whether it is appropriate or not to change the name this game is listed under. I have contacted Aldie directly. I welcome any feedback.

So, what is the BGG policy about this sort of thing anyway? What criteria are considered when deciding what name to list a game under?

Thread: Re: Hey Arnie! Could you change back to Kaliko please?

tool — 2007-12-19T14:55:34+00:00

1. Who's Arnie?

2. Requests such as this should be submitted using the Submit Corrections link on each game page.

Thread: Hey Aldie! Could you change back to Kaliko please?

twixter — 2007-12-19T14:41:55+00:00

There are plenty of examples here on BGG of games listed under their more recent names. Conspiracy was originally The Sigma File. Hoity Toity was once Adel Verpflichtet, and was also Fair Means or Foul. Kahuna was originally Arabana-Ikibiti. In fact, listing a game under its most recent name seems to be the rule rather than the exception. So why not list Psyche-Paths as Kaliko? That's the name it is currently being sold as. Psyche-Paths is a horrible name. You once did list this game as Kaliko, but for some reason you changed it. Could you please change it back again? Thanks!

EDIT: I changed Arnie to Aldie, sorry.

Thread: Re: Psyche Paths vs Kaliko

mardeck — 2006-04-06T03:48:20+00:00

There's also a minor rules difference: the basic rules of Psyche-Paths allows tiles to be played without forming a scoring path. The suggested variation is to add the requirement that a single path passes through all the pieces played that turn, but it still doesn't require that it be a scoring path. Kaliko rules state that a scoring path must be played each turn, and also allows for "dumping" tiles in case no scoring path is possible.

Thread: Re: Psyche Paths vs Kaliko

twixter — 2005-12-27T14:06:26+00:00

Yeah, the Lucite tiles are great, or so I hear. The more recent wooden tiles are not so great. See the images gallery to see what I mean. A rare lapse in quality from Kadon...

Thread: Psyche Paths vs Kaliko

ddyer — 2005-12-27T08:25:12+00:00

Psyche-Paths and Kaliko may be the same game at the abstract level, but the lucite tiles and bamboo screens in Kaliko are beautiful and aestheticly pleasing to use, whereas psyche paths is made from very cheap cardboard.

Thread: Kaliko User Review

cokasaki — 2005-08-26T15:09:44+00:00

Kaliko was originally released in the 1960s, as Psyche-Paths, with cardboard pieces. It was re-issued in the 1980s, renamed as Kaliko and with upgraded gorgeous pieces made from silk-screened acrylic. The current version, distributed by Kadon (as of 2005), has very high quality (read expensive) wooden pieces, as gorgeous as the acrylic, but in a different way.

The Tiles:
Kaliko is an abstract tile-laying game. The tiles are hexagons, with three colored paths on each piece. The paths come in three different colors (red, blue, and white), and each path connects two of the six sides. Every possible combination of colors and connections is included exactly once, 85 tiles in all.

Rules:
Initially, all 85 tiles are placed in a (high quality) felt pouch. One tile is drawn from the pouch and placed in the middle of the table. Each player draws seven tiles from the pouch, and places them behind an individual (high quality) bamboo screen. (Are you detecting a theme here? There's a reason this game costs so much.)

On your turn, you play as many of your seven tiles as you want. All tiles must touch another tile on at least one side, and wherever two sides touch, the path colors must match. All the tiles you play on a given turn must extend the same path, touching pre-existing tiles in at least two places.

The scoring seems a little complicated at first, but you quickly get the hang of it. You get one point per segment in the path you extended, plus three points wherever your path crosses itself, and double the value of the path if you closed it into a continous loop. Note that a path can cross itself without making the whole path into a continuous loop. The difference is whether the path still has open ends or not. For example, the "loop" that you make in one shoelace when tying your shoes would count as a cross-over in Kaliko terms, not a continuous loop.

Although you only have one main scoring path per turn, it is possible to make incidental scoring paths in the process of constructing your main scoring path. Incidental scoring paths score in the same way as the main path.

After playing your tiles, you draw replacement tiles from the pouch. The game ends when somebody runs out of tiles in their hand and there are no replacement tiles. The highest cumulative score wins.

Strategy:
In your initial plays, you will be concentrating on getting the maximum score per turn. Obviously, you want to make long paths, but the major factors in your score will be cross-overs and loops.

As you continue to play, however, defensive considerations become apparent. In particular, making a high-scoring path can be very dangerous if you do not close the path into a loop, because your opponent(s) can build off your path. A key point in scoring is that, when you add to a path, you get points for the entire path, not just the parts that you added. So, if you create a high-scoring path, and your opponent can add even a single tile to the path, then they will get all the points you got, plus extra points for the tile or tiles that they added. Therefore, a key consideration in making a high-scoring path is whether or not your opponents are likely to be able to extend it. Looking even further ahead, it can be worthwhile to make a high-scoring path that your opponent can extend, if you think that you would then be able to extend it even further on your next turn.

Another defensive consideration involves holes in the tile layout. Sometimes you can tell that a hole will never be able to be filled, either because no tile exists with the relevant color combination or because the tile has already been played. Such holes can allow you to build a high-scoring unclosed path with confidence, knowing that your opponent will not be able to extend it. Even better is a hole that can only be filled by a single tile, when you already hold that tile.

Tantrix:
One of the most common questions about Kaliko is, if I already have Tantrix, should I still get Kaliko? The short answer is that if you like Tantrix, then yes, get Kaliko as well, but if you don't like Tantrix, then run far away from Kaliko. Since Tantrix is so much cheaper than Kaliko, it is worth trying Tantrix first as a litmus test to see whether Kaliko is worth the investment.

Like Kaliko, Tantrix has hexagonal tiles with three colored paths per tile. And, in both games, path colors must match wherever they touch, and in both you are trying to make long paths or loops of a single color.

However, several differences between the games make the gaming experiences very different. In Tantrix, each player "owns" a single color and only gets point for a path in that color, whereas in Kaliko, you can score paths in any color. In Tantrix, you get points for your single longest path at the end of the game, whereas in Kaliko, you get points every turn. In Tantrix, your tiles are exposed to other players, whereas in Kaliko, your tiles are hidden behind a screen. Most importantly, in Tantrix you play a single tile per turn, whereas in Kaliko, you can play as many tiles per turn as you want. (Actually, Tantrix has a notion of forced moves, in which you are forced to play certain tiles as part of your turn, and you can make multiple forced moves in the same turn, but you only get one free move per turn.)

So, yes, the two games are similar but their differences are also significant. As a comparison, think about Ticket To Ride versus TransAmerica: similar themes and certain similar mechanics, but different games.

Overall Impression:
Kaliko is one of the best games in the path-building genre. It accomodates 1-4 players, but plays best with 2. (The solitaire mode is ok, but I prefer Tantrix's.) The quality of the components puts other manufacturers to shame, but the corresponding high price is out of reach for most gamers. If you're the type who would consider dropping $200+ for a game like Roads and Boats, and you like abstract tile-laying games, you should strongly consider plunking down $100 or so for Kaliko instead.