Dave Kudzma
United States
Gumboro
Delaware
Muffins.
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MAGNET (2008)
Matt Calkins
Z-Man Games
2 Players
30+ Minutes
Category: Abstract Strategy
Magnet is one of those games that has no hype, and next to no information about it. Luckily it's from Z-Man games, from which I've bought 99% of their offerings since their inception; so this one will be a purchase in the near future.
The Goal
To capture your opponents king, or have your king occupy the central space on the board at the end of your turn.
Wood Lovers Rejoice
In the box is 24 chunky wood blocks (12 red, 12 blue) and a LARGE black hex-shaped pawn. Now if only the board had been wood J
This game seems like Stratego
The first thing you might think at first glance is how similar this game is to Stratego and in a faint way I suppose it is; they might be VERY distant cousins.
Here's why I felt that way:
Each piece starts with a value of one, but has a range of values; 1-4, 1-3, 1-2, and your king is a mere 1. After each piece moves it can increase its value by one, which in turn increases its movement.
“So special movement and the numbers seem familiar, but that still doesn’t sound like Stratego.”
Here’s the rub:
The “front” side of each piece shows a value of 1-4. The back shows it’s “true” value range as described above. They’re printed in the same orientation on each side, so as each piece is increased past it’s base value of one, your opponent gets a clue as to what piece it might be. For example, your king is only a value of 1, and can never be increased. This means that the more pieces you increase, the more exposed your king becomes.
How's this thing play?
1 - Place the Magnet
You've got this big black hex-shaped chunk of wood that they call the Magnet. You place it at any one intersection of the vectors.
2 - Move the Pieces
Move EVERY friendly piece that shares a vector with the magnet. You get to choose the order.
Each piece moves equal to its current value. Each piece starts at a value of one.
After moving you can/may increase it’s value by one; but you don’t have to.
That’s part of the strategy, and something I’ll explain in just a bit.
There are three more movement rules:
1. If the piece enters the space with the magnet it stops there regardless of the movement it had left.
2. Friendly pieces cannot share the same space, nor can they move through spaces occupied by friendly pieces.
3. If your piece moves into or through a space occupying an opponent’s piece, then the opposing piece is captured and removed form the board.
IT’S A TRAP!
There are two traps; one value range 1-2, and the other 1-3.
What the heck is a trap?
If your opponent captures your trap, then their piece is also removed from the board. This is a major strategic element. You might end up giving away a 4-move piece to a 1-2 value trap. Traps are a huge threat not to be overlooked. The flip side of this is that it’s VERY easy to be overly aggressive with traps since they take a piece with them when they go. You want them to last as long as possible, in my opinion.
Each in it’s own turn
You resolve the action of a given piece, including captures/counter-capture from traps, totally before the next piece would be moved. This means that you might either open spaces that weren’t available, or create a “road block” that limits the movement of another piece. In this way you might be able to move a piece less than it’s full value; another major strategic point. Combine that with the magnet movement rule (#1 above under Move the Pieces), and you have some high strategy.
Play Time
The box says 30 minutes. We played two games in just over an hour; the second of which was slightly longer than the first since we “understood” the game. Your experience might vary and I’m certain AP prone players WILL make this longer but it can easily be shorter if you catch someone’s king unaware.
Conclusion
There’s decent board and lots of wood. I do have concerns that the numbers on the blocks could potentially wear off over time.
I gave this one 8/10, and could easily see it climbing higher.
If you like abstracts, give this one a go, you won’t be disappointed.
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William Crispin
United States
Wilmington
Massachusetts
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Thanks, I was hoping some one would give this a review. It has had almost no hype so I was hesitant to order it blind.
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Dave Kudzma
United States
Gumboro
Delaware
Muffins.
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I'm gonna buy it, but I'm on a bit of a buying hold ATM. I'll hopefully play it more tomorrow.
There's still plently of A-HA! moments to be had.
I also forgot to mention the setup:
You place the pieces on the colored nodes; blue on blue, red on red with the white numbers facing your opponent. You can place them randomly or choose which positions each piece starts, which is more high strategy. This is the portion of the game that will most likely add the most depth.
Sorry for forgetting; that's a silly thing to forget, especially given the setup will be huge in this game. It's actually only my 7th review. I only try to do them if:
I have some poignant observations, or there's not one yet (truly rare).
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Matt Hulgan
United States
Norcross
Georgia
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I'm surprised there are no photos of the components anywhere, even on the Z-man site.
Also- I hope there's a perfect information variant in the works.
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Dave Kudzma
United States
Gumboro
Delaware
Muffins.
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I'll have to work on some pics once I have a copy.
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Zev Shlasinger
United States
Mahopac
New York
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locusshifter wrote: I'll have to work on some pics once I have a copy.
I put the board up on my website. Unfortunately I don't have a 3D pic of the pieces - I can only give the artwork that is on them - which is just numbers. It would be great if someone would do an in-game shot and post it.
And Dave, glad I didn't disappoint you.
Zev Shlasinger, President
Z-Man Games, Inc.
www.zmangames.com
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Dave Kudzma
United States
Gumboro
Delaware
Muffins.
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You never have Zev. Oh, and I'll be seeing you at Euroquest as usual
I'm gonna try and take some pics today at gaming. 
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Sue Hemberger
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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Pictures with the pieces on the board would be good. It took me a little while to realize that the pieces stand tall (on the blank sides) rather than lie flat. I felt like an idiot once I figured that out, but the packaging didn't show it and the instructions assumed rather than stated it.
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Dan Dolan
United States
Highland Lakes
New Jersey
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new buy
i got this game yesterday on my way to the hospital for rotator cuff surgery. looked it over and am ineterested in seeing how it plays.
i'm already trying to figure out some knd of opening strategy. it's tough though thru the pain and vicodin. 
looks like it'll be interesting addition to my abstract collection.
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Dave Kudzma
United States
Gumboro
Delaware
Muffins.
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Quote: Pictures with the pieces on the board would be good. It took me a little while to realize that the pieces stand tall (on the blank sides) rather than lie flat. I felt like an idiot once I figured that out, but the packaging didn't show it and the instructions assumed rather than stated it.
Yes. The packaging isn't very helpful.
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Behrooz Shahriari
United Kingdom
Glasgow
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How many games do you think it takes to 'get going' and properly enjoy its depth rather than feel overwhelmed?
I'm considering buying this but am worried that it may be a bit too complex for myself and JT. From what I understand, there's an awful lot to calculate in each move.
Is there any way to handicap the game if one player is better?
I may buy it at some point in any case, since I'm intrigued.
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Andrew Heath
China
Liaoning
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Bezman wrote:
Is there any way to handicap the game if one player is better?
Sure, make the better player play with X number of pieces face up (revealed). Adjust as necessary.
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Andrew Heath
China
Liaoning
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I have a question regarding the rules.
If I upgrade a piece from A movement to B - the next time it has to move it MUST move B vertices (unless it's blocked) - correct?
You hinted at this in the review but didn't explicitly say it.
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Matt Calkins
United States
Great Falls
Virginia
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Shad:
Yes, once a block is promoted, it always moves its new distance.
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Was George Orwell an Optimist?
Spain
Corvallis
Oregon
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Good review - I was attracted by the title.
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Andy
United States
Newark
Delaware
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Excellent review. Just received this today.
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