/pic1229653.jpg)
From the back of the box:
You have 10 DAYS in ASIA - touring by train, airplane, ship, or on foot. Chart your course from start to finish using destination and transportation tiles. With a little luck and clever planning, you just might outmaneuver your fellow travelers. The first traveler to make connections for a ten day journey wins the game.
In this fourth installment of the 10 Days in series, the players are touring Asia, arranging their tiles on the ten days (open spots) of their trays to create a string of consecutive steps that, once completed, creates one consecutive journey. Tiles of neighboring countries may be placed side-by-side on the tray, with trains, ships and airplanes connecting distant countries depending on where they are located. Tiles cannot be rearranged in a tray, but must be replaced one at a time from the few face-up tiles available to all players, or from a random draw.
This installment introduces railroads which allow players to connect any countries that have stops along a selected rail line. These work in addition to the now-familiar airlines (connecting countries of the same color), and ocean liners (although now you have two oceans to contend with).
- strong afro-futurist theme and artwork
- ease of setup and teachability for new players
- innovative reinterpretation of mancala in a card/column form
- high production value: neoprene mat, well-designed cards, and a gorgeous box
- story and theme are tightly integrated with mechanics (masks, villages, sun/moon powers)
- take-that elements can be intense; some players may find it punishing
- defensive/shield options may slow some tables or reduce interactiveness for some players
- designer/year information not clearly established in transcript; may affect perceived provenance
- Afro-futurism with a tribal leadership narrative; masks as a scoring and identity mechanism
- An afrofuturistic civilization guided by sun and moon powers, focused on community-building and mythic heroes.
- mythic-heroic saga where players build a village and embody a tribe's destiny through symbolic sun/moon power
- mancala
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- attack/defense/shields — you can attack opponents' columns; defenses use shields to mitigate attacks
- card column mancala — seeds/tokens are moved across multiple columns; the landing column determines which actions you can activate on that turn
- council action — a council mechanic allows for a larger, potentially unlimited set of cards to draw from, expanding tactical options
- mask scoring — endgame scoring is driven by collected masks that attach narrativeal and strategic benefits to your village
- seeds as energy — energy seeds are spent to summon characters and acquire mask cards, fueling board development
- upgrading columns — columns can be upgraded with new abilities, enabling seeds/cards manipulation, movement, or blocking opponents
- village/market actions — the market area lets you buy/use cards, shaping your village for future turns
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I love a good mala mechanic and this is a little different take on it where instead of you moving stones around or whatever you're moving tokens or seeds and you're moving them from column to column and whatever column you land on, that's the one you can activate.
- The box is gorgeous.
- Oh my word. It's just beautiful.
- It's easy to set up so that way you can take it somewhere and it's easy to teach as well.
- The game ends when a player earns a fourth mask or reaches 18 cards in their play area at rounds end.
- Oh my word, the artwork on the cards is stunning and really ties the theme together.
References (from this video)
- gateway feel for travel-themed games
- nostalgic charm for long-time fans
- design feels dated to modern koi
- less spotlight compared with newer route games
- historical travel logistics and sightseeing
- United States travel planning across the continental expanse
- nostalgic, lighthearted
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Network/route building — Plan routes and travel itineraries across the USA using varied transport modes.
- Route planning — Plan routes and travel itineraries across the USA using varied transport modes.
- set collection — Acquire destinations or tickets to satisfy travel goals.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the minis are outstanding
- it's a fun fighting game
- it's kind of like a tableau building game and set collection game
- the box feels quality
- Ticket to Ride now they've got trains and then they have other Ticket to Ride with boats and all that stuff
- Lost Cities will make you mad all day long
- Salt and Sea is interesting
- the expedition system
- you kind of do cards and things
- circle the wagons... two-player game
- two-player game good
- Push... push your luck
- we're going to roll straight into the heart of this episode
- Terraforming Mars is the best game
- the art and packaging of Let's go to Japan is beautiful