10-17-2007, 09:00 PM
Isis and Osiris
ERIC RIDLEY looks at this boardgame from Gold Sieber Spiele ...
Based in mythical Egypt this is a tile-based game of memory and strategy. The idea is to accrue the most points by the time that all thirty-six spaces on the board have been filled. At the beginning of the game you are given out eight game stones and eleven playing tiles, or fewer depending the number of players. Each of the tiles is given out randomly and has a number on the face of between 4 and -4. When you are about to place a tile, turn it over to look at the face to let everyone see it, then place the tile on any of the free spaces on the board. At this point you would do well, and probably better than me, if you can remember where it is placed. The stones you have are your scoring pieces. On each space where there is a stone you score, at the end of the game, all the points on the tiles in orthogonally adjacent spaces.
It is a game of memory and a bit of thinking; the pieces are pretty and well made, and the concept is simple and easy to learn. I have played this game loads of times since I got it, and not one of the people I have played it with says anything bad about it. It is just as strategic in two-player as it is in three or four, but each game has its different nuances. Each game lasts about five-twenty minutes. The only criticism, which could be levelled at the game, is that it can sometimes become a test of memory more than skill, but not very often, and it should not put you off.
I got a German copy of the game with English photocopied rules. I don't think it has been released in this country yet, I may be wrong. Either way it is worth hunting down a copy.
ERIC RIDLEY looks at this boardgame from Gold Sieber Spiele ...
Based in mythical Egypt this is a tile-based game of memory and strategy. The idea is to accrue the most points by the time that all thirty-six spaces on the board have been filled. At the beginning of the game you are given out eight game stones and eleven playing tiles, or fewer depending the number of players. Each of the tiles is given out randomly and has a number on the face of between 4 and -4. When you are about to place a tile, turn it over to look at the face to let everyone see it, then place the tile on any of the free spaces on the board. At this point you would do well, and probably better than me, if you can remember where it is placed. The stones you have are your scoring pieces. On each space where there is a stone you score, at the end of the game, all the points on the tiles in orthogonally adjacent spaces.
It is a game of memory and a bit of thinking; the pieces are pretty and well made, and the concept is simple and easy to learn. I have played this game loads of times since I got it, and not one of the people I have played it with says anything bad about it. It is just as strategic in two-player as it is in three or four, but each game has its different nuances. Each game lasts about five-twenty minutes. The only criticism, which could be levelled at the game, is that it can sometimes become a test of memory more than skill, but not very often, and it should not put you off.
I got a German copy of the game with English photocopied rules. I don't think it has been released in this country yet, I may be wrong. Either way it is worth hunting down a copy.
Eric Ridley
2004-12-06
2004-12-06