Seth Brown
United States
North Adams
Massachusetts
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Spoiler: I like almost everything about this game. More importantly, my partner likes it, which is a rarity for a game that some would classify as an abstract and/or area control. But Aton manages to be a game with very simple rules that has a lot of depth, and provides a lot of room for clever play without the dreaded analysis paralysis that is often concordant.
COMPONENTS
image credit: Choubi
The coolest part about Aton is the board, which is composed of six pieces that you interlock together like a puzzle. This is a set configuration and not modular, but it's quick and easy to assemble and fits together seamlessly to make one board that stays together (unlike some modular boards that shift bits during play).
There are also a bunch of round wooden disc counters for each color, a deck of cards numbered 1-4 for each color, and two larger wooden exchange tokens.
GAMEPLAY
There are four temples on the board, with twelve spaces each. Each turn, both players simultaneously draw four cards from their deck, and place one on each of their four cartouches. Then cards are revealed.
Cartouche 1) Points. Whichever player played a higher number gains double the difference in points. If someone hits 40 points, game over.
Cartouche 2) Turn Order and Removal. Lower number plays the rest of their turn first. If you played a 3/4, remove an opposing disc/two from the board. If you played a 1, remove one of yours. Removed discs are set aside.
Cartouche 3) Temple Reach. The number you play here is the highest temple you can affect (add/remove discs from). 4 means you can play anywhere, 1 means you can only affect the first temple.
Cartouche 4) Add Discs. The number you play here is how many of your discs you get to add.
If there are 8 or more removed discs at the end of a round, scoring happens. Each temple uses a different method to determine how many points the majority presence is worth. Certain bonus squares are worth additional points. If someone hits 40 points, game over. Otherwise, players lose a disc from each temple, all removed discs are cleared, and play continues.
In addition to the 40 point victory condition, you also win if at the end of a round:
*You control all 12 squares in any one temple
*You control all 14 Yellow squares
*You control all 14 Green squares
image credit: greatsage
GOOD STUFF
Components get the job done - Putting the little puzzle-board together is just fun. And it's very aesthetically pleasing once it's all put together. The box insides look good too. It's not a lavish game, but I think it just plain looks good.
Simple rules - You draw four cards with numbers ranging from 1-4. You place them on four spots. You add and remove checkers from the board. Repeat. The scoring takes a little more thought (see below), but the gameplay itself is simple enough that anyone can pick it up.
Emergent complexity - Yes, yes, this is one of those annoying phrases that cloud-headed gamers use. Well, it fits. The incredibly simple rules lead you to some very tricky thinking with this game, and the many decisions over where to play your 4s or dump your 1s
Exchange token - Once per game, you can use up your exchange token to dump your hand and immediately draw a new one. I like this panic button for when you draw the three 1s and a 2 and can say, "NO, that is not an acceptable hand." (Sure, you may draw the same hand again, but then most of the 1s will be out of your deck.)
A non-painful abstract - My partner generally dislikes abstract games and will not play them, but Aton is just far enough removed from abstraction (with a combination of the theme, randomness of cards, and interesting scoring) that she really enjoys it.
Multiple paths to victory - Generally speaking, breaking 40 points is the way that someone will win Aton. But those other three win conditions are constant threats that players have to watch out for; I've certainly won with alternate win conditions in the past. They also provide a nice way for players who have fallen far behind in points to try to win anyway.
Limited decisions, great possibilities - You have numbers from 1-4 that you're arranging among these four cartouches. Simple stuff. You're balancing your need to go first with your need to remove opposing checkers with your need not to remove two checkers and trigger scoring before you regain a majority, and you'd like to drop your 4 on the first cartouche for points, but you need to be able to play into the fourth temple. Less simple stuff. You're adding and removing checkers. Simple stuff. You're balancing the value of taking over black squares for the 8 point bonus against those simple +1 bonus point squares, while being sure not to let the opponent have too many green squares, and you'd rather play into temple 4, but the last open black square is in temple 1, and right now there's a tie in temple 3 you'd like to break before scoring. Less simple stuff.
image credit: pizza the hutt
BAD STUFF
The cards are a little tiny - This is a minor gripe, and no doubt helps keep the cost in check, but it would not have been bad if the cards were just a slight bit larger.
Arcane scoring - Yes, the rules themselves are very easy, but the whole "each temple has its own scoring, and then bonus squares, and then 8 points for black squares, and also full green or yellow or temple is insta-win" thing makes this just complex enough that non-gamers don't always love it. Which is a shame, because it's so simple rules-wise, I'd otherwise want to use it as a perfect intro to boardgaming.
Egypt is a little dry - Aton is many things, but it is not a thematic game. The Egyptian theme is very pretty, and the cards make Aton more thematically interesting than a traditional abstract, but the fact remains that Aton is largely a game about placing and removing checkers on a board.
CONCLUSION
Aton is a little game that packs a big punch. I'm not sure whether to call it a Euro, an abstract, an area control game, or a combination of all three. But I'm also not sure it matters. Aton is a good-looking game that's quick to set up and has simple rules so anyone can play and make a go of it, but simultaneously can be deep and satisfying due to the many interlocking parts (by which I mean mechanics, not just the board).
IS IT FOR YOU?
Perhaps not if you demand highly thematic direct conflict. If you've been reading this review and the whole time have been thinking, "Placing checkers in temples sounds boring; I want interesting troops that move around a map and level up", then the abstraction of Aton may not be for you.
Otherwise, yes, you should at least try Aton. Especially if you have any inclination towards area control games, abstracts, or clever head-to-head 2 player games. Aton is one of the best, and more people should try it.
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Colorcrayons
United States
Maplewood
Minnesota
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Osirus wrote: Aton is one of the best, and more people should try it.
Agreed. One of te few games I own that the GF and I play really frequently compared to many other games in our collection. After 2 years it still hasnt lost its luster.
One suggestion to help with the fiddlyness of the cards is to use or make a card stand.
The card stand (the one that came in the older Ingenious works perfectly) allow you to set up your cards and when it is time to reveal them, you just knock the stand over instead of fiddling around with trying to pick each up and flip it over.
It vastly improved our Aton experience and we never play without card stands now.
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Paul DeStefano
United States
Long Island
New York
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The title of this review makes me long for that thumbs down button we used to have.
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Andy Andersen
United States
Newark
Delaware
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Excellent review of a fun game. Thanks ATON for this review.
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donald fast
Canada
Vancouver
BC
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I agree. The temple tactics were listed but not how they make the game fun.
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John Lyons Beck
United States
Olympia
Washington
Hey man-- smell my finger!
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I get a lot of mileage out of the "Bum Rush" strategy-- You forget about scoring. You concentrate on cartouches 2 & 4, putting your high cards on them, then on cartouche 1, always playing your lowest card on 3. The idea is to go last, remove as many of your opponents' pieces as possible while filling up the first temple as quickly as possible.
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Justus Pang
United States
Houston
Texas
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Count me as a fan of bad puns =)
Cheers for the review, I think this is a seriously underrated game...What I really like about the game is that it is really requires both players. The other 2P area majority game in my collection that comes to mind is Power & Weakness and even though its a good game, its doesn't have that tug of war struggle, battle of wits feel that Aton does.
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Seth Brown
United States
North Adams
Massachusetts
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don_f wrote: I agree. The temple tactics were listed but not how they make the game fun.
Well, mainly I was referring to stuff like this:
Osirus wrote: You're balancing your need to go first with your need to remove opposing checkers with your need not to remove two checkers and trigger scoring before you regain a majority, and you'd like to drop your 4 on the first cartouche for points, but you need to be able to play into the fourth temple... You're balancing the value of taking over black squares for the 8 point bonus against those simple +1 bonus point squares, while being sure not to let the opponent have too many green squares, and you'd rather play into temple 4, but the last open black square is in temple 1, and right now there's a tie in temple 3 you'd like to break before scoring.
I really enjoy that type of thing, although I realize that some people may find it too dry.
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Posted Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:12 pm
