Chris Norwood
United States
Graham
North Carolina
Come visit me at GamerChris.com for all sorts of chewy, gamery goodness!
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Taluva
Designer: Marcel-André Casasola Merkle (2006)
Publisher: Hans im Glück/ Rio Grande Games
# of Players: 2-4
Play Time: 40 minutes
BGG Rank/Rating: #167/7.0
Weight: Light Medium
(This review originally appeared on www.gamerchris.com)
Taluva is a wonderful abstract tile-laying game with an adequately supportive theme. Players presumably take on the roles of gods or tribal chieftains on an isolated volcanic island. The island grows through ever-constant eruptions, while the players seek to lead their chosen people to grow in numbers and influence. The game ends either when all tiles are placed or when one player manages to use all of two different kinds of their pieces.
As Game of the Month for the Hypermind BoardGamers in June, Taluva received a lot of play. It was simple for everyone to learn, and several people were able to develop a real understanding of and strategy for the game. Fifteen different people played it in 8 different games during the month, and they gave it an average rating of 7.67 on the BGG scale.
Components and Setup
The most striking feature of Taluva are the set of amazing tiles used to build the island. They are incredibly thick cardboard, and each one looks like three hexagons joined together in a way that resembles a "throwing star" (which, considering their weight, would probably hurt pretty bad if they were used as such). Each tile is beautifully illustrated, always displaying a volcano on one of the hexagonal regions and two terrain types on the other two fields.
There are 5 different terrain types (lake, grass, stone, sand, and jungle), and a tile may contain either two different types or two of the same type. And once the island begins to take shape, I personally think that Taluva is one of the most beautiful games that I've ever seen!
There are also 4 sets of playing pieces in slightly unusual colors: red, yellow, brown, and white. Each player receives 3 Temples, 2 Towers, and 20 Huts.
There is no real setup involved; players just take their pieces and make sure that the tiles are placed in a relatively convenient location.
Basic Gameplay
Each turn in Taluva is broken down into two steps:
1) Place a volcano tile, and
2) Place one or more building pieces.
Place a Volcano Tile
When it's our turn, you choose a random volcano tile and can place it either through expanding the landscape, where you place the tile flat on the table with at least one side adjacent to a previously placed tile, or through a volcanic eruption. Volcanic eruptions build on top of previously placed tiles and may even destroy huts, with placement following these rules:
- The volcano field on the new tile must be placed over the volcano field on a previously placed tile
- The lava must flow in a different direction than the volcano field below it (in other words, you can't place a tile directly on top of only one other tile, it has to cover part of at least two other tiles)
- No free space can be left under a tile
- While you can cover (and destroy) both your and your opponents' huts, you cannot crush towers or temples, and you cannot cover the last building in a settlement
Place Buildings
Buildings may be placed on any empty non-volcano field on the island. There are four basic ways to place new buildings:
1) Start a new settlement - build one hut on a level one terrain space.
2) Build a Tower - place a Tower on a level three space adjacent to one of your settlements. You may not build a Tower in a settlement that already contains a Tower!
3) Build a Temple - place a Temple in a field adjacent to a settlement that is at least three spaces large and which does not already contain a Temple.
4) Expand a settlement - Choose one of your settlements and then choose a terrain type. Place new Huts into every field of that type that is currently adjacent to the settlement. Place one Hut in every level 1 space, two in every level 2 space, and three in every level 3 space. You may not choose a terrain type if you do not have enough huts to fill every adjacent space of that type.
Players take turns in order until either someone manages to place all pieces of two of their building types (in which case they win a "premature victory") or until all of the tiles have been placed. When the island is "complete", the winner is the player who was able to place the most Temples. Ties are broken by who placed the most Towers and then the most Huts. Note that is also possible for a player to be eliminated if they are unable to place any more buildings (usually in the case that they run out of Huts before they are able to place all of their Temples or Towers).
What I think...
Taluva is extremely solid. It is a very attractive game with simple rules that appeals to lots of people. And even though it is extremely different than its distant tile-laying cousin, Carcassonne, I'm going to compare the two a little just to point the reasons why I like Taluva so much more!
First, and most obviously, both games involve tile placement. While the Carcassone tiles make a pretty little map, I much prefer the lush and multi-tiered landscape that you construct in Taluva. The thickness of the tiles truly simulates the 3D landscape of Taluva's volcanic island, which just feels far more "real" than the flat French countryside in Carcassone.
Also, the tiles are the only randomness factor in both games, and in Carcassone, which tile you pull can have a drastic effect on the game. Other than during the first couple of turns (when getting the right tile can get you to 3 spaces faster, thus allowing you to build a Temple sooner), that is not so much the case in Taluva. Because no "matching" of adjacent tiles is required and because you need not build on the tile you just placed, getting particular tiles in Taluva tends to be far less important. Most of the strategy involved in placing tiles has far more to do with how you use them rather than with which terrain is featured on them.
The biggest divergence between these two games comes in "scoring". In Carcassone, of course, the scoring is essentially a brutal area-majority affair where you have to calculate points awarded both as features are completed as well as at the end of the game (for the farmers). It is fiddly and can be quite confusing to new players. In Taluva, however, it is very simple to understand and intuitive. But that is not to say that Taluva's victory conditions are simplistic or one-dimensional, however, because having different numbers of three different buildings with three separate ways of placing creates a terrific wealth and depth of available strategy.
And in continuing to discuss strategy, I want to just take a few moments to point out a few of the different tactical and strategic options that make Taluva so challenging and so much fun. For instance, you always need to evaluate whether you need to use your tile to screw with your opponent or to help build your position. And if you use it to smash his settlement so that it is too small to build a Temple, you are also helping him get closer to a third level where he could build a Tower. You need to have a plan about which pieces you will try to get rid of, knowing that if you don't succeed before all tiles are placed you need to be leading in Temples in order to win. When do you back up and start a new settlement rather than investing in expanding one you already have in place? Do you start a new settlement to place another Temple, or do you just enlarge the one you have and then use a volcanic eruption to split it in two? There are just tons of both short- and long-term decisions that you have to make, as well as anticipating and countering the moves that your opponents will take.
The Verdict!
• Rules: Simple to teach and understand, intuitive yet deep.
• Downtime: Turns are short and the game moves quickly - very little downtime.
• Length: Very quick, ranging from about 5-10 minutes for two experiened players up to about 40-45 minutes for four relatively new players. Our average time was just over 20 minutes.
• Player Interaction: Lots of opportunity to block and interfere with other players. Interaction is extensive but there are also ways to protect yourself through tile and settlement placement.
• Weight: Light Medium - Simple rules but deep thinking.
• GamerChris' Rating: This is currently my favorite abstract strategy and tile placement game. It is fun, challenging, and accessible, and I rate it a solid 8.
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Wade
United States
Pueblo
Colorado
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I'm finding it falling totally flat with occassional gamer friends, and rarely requested at game nights??? Despite that I do think it's a neat little game.
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Come visit me at GamerChris.com for all sorts of chewy, gamery goodness!
