Skip to main content

Bonfire

Game ID: GID0050707
Collection Status
Description

The bonfires are sources of light, energy and warmth created by the guardians of light in order to brighten the cities on the otherwise dark planet. The residents of the cities, however, took the bonfires for granted and exploited them for their personal gain. Disappointed the guardians of light retreated and let the bonfires extinguish. The citizens could no longer live in the now dark cities and were forced to leave.

You are a group of gnomes living close to the cities and you also need the light of the bonfires. Missing it now, you try yourself to visit the cities and learn how to ignite the bonfires once again: You must visit the guardians of light on their holy islands and ask for tasks to prove your good will. For each completed task, they will re-ignite one extinguished bonfire. Whoever manages to earn the greatest trust from the guardians and manages to brighten their city the most will win the game.

The engine for Bonfire are the three-coloured tiles you will be puzzling onto your player board. When you manage to place the same colours adjacent to one another, you will receive more action tiles of that specific kind. This will allow you to specialize in certain types of actions and pursue different strategies.
You can use the tiles to perform the following actions:

Move your ship to an island
Receive a task from an island by spending two resources
Invite a guardian of light into your city
Trigger a procession of guardians through your city and gain resources.
Add a landscape tile to your city (this is where the processions take place)
Recruit a gnome gaining a special ability or victory points
Find support by the last bonfire, gaining portals, resources or action tiles

You will play in turn order until a fixed number of tasks has been solved, after which each player has 5 more turns. During final scoring, you will receive points for your completed tasks (the bonfires) and any improvements made there (portals, landscapes or guardians).

—description from the publisher

Year Published
2020
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment: pos 6 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Top
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video BW51GduhK_c Carbot Rhino game_review sentiment: positive
video_pk 13288 · mention_pk 38952
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • High replayability
  • Interconnected mechanisms
  • Mechanics that support theme
  • Rewards strategic thinking
Cons
  • Overwhelming for new players
  • Complex ruleset
  • Many symbols and components
Thematic elements
  • Reigniting magical light sources
  • Gnome cities with extinguished bonfires
  • Mystical ritual-based quest
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • action selection — Choosing and placing action tiles strategically
  • Path building — Creating paths for guardians and processions
  • Resource management — Collecting and spending specific resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Once you get the gist of it, you're gonna automatically try to locate the info for specific tactics
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video UnuS6U4y_DA Board Games Hitting My Table general_discussion at 0:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12231 · mention_pk 35710
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:35
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • fast and engaging two-player experience
  • engine-building via goblin characters
  • tight sequence of actions that lead to a win
Cons
  • some may find the esoteric mechanics opaque
  • not as scalable beyond 2 players
Thematic elements
  • esoteric mechanism-driven traversal and mission completion
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • engine-building — goblin characters and portals enable more efficient actions and point generation.
  • Mission-based scoring — complete missions on your personal board by utilizing the tile actions and engine to gain points.
  • tile placement — action tiles are placed to create an engine and pathway; involves building a personal board and missions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • this is bonfire... kind of one of his more recent ones
  • I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed this two-player game
  • it's remarkably fast as well I think I played it in about 75 minutes
  • I think it's absolutely fantastic and one of the best two-player games I've played this year
  • I love this game because the dice system in Bora Bora is great and the powers help balance outcomes
  • expansion Mekka & Bah definitely did make a big change in the gameplay
  • Caesar's Empire ... an evergreen feeling game that should be up there with Ticket to Ride
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 9f-aWsP9-vM The Dice Tower top_30_list at 13:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9061 · mention_pk 26742
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 13:02
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • unique chain-tile mechanism creates tense planning
  • highly satisfying when you execute complex task chains
  • fast variational play with clear decisions
Cons
  • theme may feel abstract to some players
  • the learning curve can be steep due to chain interactions
Thematic elements
  • task-driven coordination with resource management
  • gnomes rekindling magical bonfires in a mystical world
  • slot-and-chain planning with potential for misdirection
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • chain-based task completion — tasks require sequential planning; players race to complete feasible tasks before others
  • grid-based action chaining — placing a tile adjacent to an existing group creates repeated actions for that tile group
  • tile queue drafting and placement — each player chooses top or bottom tile from a queue and places it into a personal grid
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Players take on the role of farm managers who want to deliver the goods to the market stalls, local towns, and hopefully to the ports of Palma.
  • the same basic mechanisms as Lacrania, just kind of turned up to 11 essentially.
  • with the dice drafting mechanism, you're going to be drafting a die and taking out the inner and outer action.
  • One of the key other points I really enjoy about this one is the help your neighbor.
  • This is the engine building that I find so enjoyable.
  • You're working towards gaining the most prestige before the arrival of the Napoleonic forces.
  • The main mechanism in this one is kind of a common action selection.
  • There will be more workshops opening up along the way as where players can play their cards.
  • This is another Euro game that has some very intricate working cogs.
  • Trade with a noble action, cascades into more options depending on which noble you trade with.
  • Everything is tied together in interlocking cogs.
  • I love planning everything out and cursing the other players when they foil my perfectly laid plans.
  • It's a game of chains. I want to take this task because I think I can achieve it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 21bpf03VEaY Chairman of the Board top_100_list at 5:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4415 · mention_pk 12923
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 5:36
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Engaging planning with strong synergy between actions
  • Great balance of long-term and short-term objectives
Cons
  • Possibly a heavy game for some players; can require investment
Thematic elements
  • Objectives alignment with short- and long-term goals
  • Archipelago/island exploration and settlement
  • Strategy-forward with modular synergies
Comparison games
  • Istanbul
  • Bonfire
  • Aqua Sphere
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • action strip drafting — Actions are selected via strips and combined orthogonally for stronger results.
  • modularity — Modular components and synergy between actions.
  • Objective-driven play — Complete island/objective goals while balancing long- and short-term aims.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • What a Beautiful Design
  • it's criminal that this game isn't so widely accessible
  • one of the cleanest Euros I've played in quite some time
  • I am absolutely terrible at this game and despite that I love this one
  • this game is quite a polarizing game
  • it's a real Euro Gamers game
  • ton of planning and strategy here
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video pcBX9Jtrg-w Chairman of the Board general_discussion at 7:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1836 · mention_pk 5316
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 7:52
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Stefan Feld quality
  • engaging pacing and planning
Cons
  • heavy setup and rule depth
Thematic elements
  • resource engine-building and route management
  • Fantasized forge of projects and networks
  • elegant, clever design
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • engine-building — progress through a layered action economy with powerful cards
  • resource-management — collect and allocate resources to fulfill tasks and build routes
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • this is the best area control game out there
  • a perfect 10
  • I adore El Grande
  • really nice game I taught this to a complete non-gamer
  • I love Feld games this one is just an absolutely brilliant one
  • it's one of the best two-player games ever made
  • overproduced to say the least
  • one of my favorite dice games and it's actually just broken into my top 100 for the first time
  • the sudden death mechanism where if you are the first player to collect three buildings then you'll instantly win
  • really cool decisions
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SO2D8I0y2Wc Before You Play top_5_list at 12:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 92 · mention_pk 226
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 12:05
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Noted as one of Feld's heaviest titles
  • Compared to Bora Bora for potential tightness
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • Appeasing gods to rekindle fire in your territory
  • Mythical creatures / gods; central bonfire on the board
Comparison games
  • Bora Bora
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • heavy, tight euro — Described as one of Feld's heaviest, with tight decision-making
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • "it's kind of a weird year for board game releases"
  • "this is top five most anticipated essens digital releases"
  • "we are going to discuss our top five"
  • "there's 500 coming out this year"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Top
Showing 1–6 of 6
View on BoardGameGeek