Rick Struve
United States
Cedar Rapids
Iowa
-
Average Joe reviews are aimed at the average gamer. You know who you are!
Those of us who:
1) Know what ‘Eurogame’ and ‘Ameritrash’ means.
2) Know that enjoying the game is more important than winning.
3) Don’t own more than 100 games.
4) Don’t consider their FLGS a second home (maybe a 3rd or 4th though).
5) Like to read a review without being overloaded with information.
Goal of Game:
Tonga, the island you call home, is overcrowded. Maybe if you sail a few tribe members out to sea, a current will carry them to another island to inhabit. Of course you won’t be telling them that same current just might place them in a watery grave. Inhabit better islands than your neighboring tribes to win the game.
Components:
Excellent. Nice wooden sea-worthy boats. Strong cardboard island and sea tiles.
The Rules:
Decent. Luckily, the game is not overly hard - otherwise the rules might have been hard to understand. But they have photo examples of how to play the game, and you shouldn’t need any reminders after you get the game up and running.
The Game:
This is a tile laying game. When a dock on any given island is filled with boats, off those boats sail into the great unknown. You draw a tile and lay it down in front of the sailing boats. If it’s a water tile, they continue to sail on until an island tile is drawn. When an island tile is drawn, those boats disembark on the beach.
The water tiles have currents to follow, and sometimes those currents are too strong for your group of boats - and they capsize. The way to make your exploring party stronger is by having your opponent’s boats join in. The more different tribes in each party the better.
When the game is done, each tribe scores points for each island they have at least one boat on (islands are worth different values). High score wins.
Downtime:
Minimal. Since your opponent may be grabbing your boats to join them on a sea-cruise, you will be involved in the game even when it’s not your turn.
Analysis Paralysis:
Medium. There are times when a chain-reaction occurs, which can totally change the playing field. You may have to play those potential changes out in your head before making your move - and that takes delicate planning.
Game Length:
Very good. Games run 20-40 minutes, so it works as a good filler or a game you can play multiple times in a row.
Finish:
Ok. You should be able to tell who is winning before game ends. The game is a little anti-climatic. You don’t build up to a big finish with that one mind-blowing, high-scoring, face-melting final move.
Replay-ability:
Decent. It’s quick and easy enough to throw on the table, but the variety just isn’t there. It a good group game, especially with new people - but just not the type of game you spend the rest of the day thinking about.
Pros:
Quick set-up and take down.
Easy to explain.
Excellent family game.
Colorful pieces with fun theme.
Cons:
Not a lot of choices each turn.
Has a ‘mean’ factor - you can purposely send your opponent to their deaths on the water.
Finish is blah.
Overall:
While this is a decent game, it’s not great. It is fun, and new players enjoy learning the game. But they tend to grow tired of playing after 4 or 5 games (I wouldn’t do more than 2 in a row).
I do enjoy sailing into the unknown - never knowing when a safe island will pop up or a perilous current will sink the boats. It seems to be the favorite thing to do in the game. While some luck is involved, it fits the theme well - those guys just launched into the sea without a clue where they were headed!
The tiles are a very wild, unique shape... and they fit together very cool. It makes for a good tile-laying game. Good to see someone thinking outside the box (or square tile).
I give Tongiaki a 6 out of 10.
-
Burster of Bubbles, Destroyer of Dreams.
United States
Sunnyvale
California
Just imagine the red offboard up here. I'll create it Real Soon Now...
Yes, I know a proper 18XX tile should have a tile number.
-
The chain reactions are the point of the game -- whoever controls the resulting chaos best will win.
This game is much more fun than its BGG rating gives it credit for.
-
Gerald McDaniel
United States
Lakewood
Colorado
-
Morganza wrote: The chain reactions are the point of the game -- whoever controls the resulting chaos best will win.
This game is much more fun than its BGG rating gives it credit for.
I agree. It is chaotic, which turns off many people.
Our finishes have generally been close, so it was not clear who would be the winner. The final play of the game can determine the outcome, if a good chain reaction can be set off.
Although we don't play it often, I enjoy this game.
-
-
This game is very light, but man, is it chaotic and fun. BGG really under credits it.
-
|
|
