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Cartouche box art

Cartouche

Game ID: GID0060852
Game Info
Year
2023
Players
1-4
Age
14+
Playtime
80 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Mechanic profile
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Description

An archaeological tile-laying game where players rebuild ancient Egyptian murals and restore Hatshepsut's legacy

Description

An archaeological tile-laying game where players rebuild ancient Egyptian murals and restore Hatshepsut's legacy

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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video qhs5ifk2AUg Board Games UnLocked Review at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 113706 · mention_pk 325512
Board Games UnLocked - Cartouche video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Surprisingly good
  • Different type of polyomino game
  • Best of both worlds (placement and connections)
  • Enough variety with different achievements
  • Not long
  • Reduces analysis paralysis
  • Solid gameplay
  • Fun facts in the rulebook
  • Enjoyed it quite a bit
  • Would play again
Cons
  • Not specified which board side is easy/beginner
  • Ambiguity on one of the story cards regarding token types needed
  • River objectives seem more restrictive
Thematic elements
  • Egyptian
Comparison games
  • Cats
  • Feast for Odin
  • Isle of Cats
  • Cascadia
  • Steam Up
  • Petrichor
  • Darwin's Journey
  • Massive Darkness
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Area Encasement — Encasement of certain symbols or hieroglyphs on the board grants points.
  • Drafting — Players draft tiles and objective cards, typically picking two items.
  • Objective Cards — Players have objective cards (called 'stories') that provide points when completed.
  • Objective/Achievement completion — Completing randomized achievements and objective cards for points or perks.
  • Polyomino — The game utilizes polyomino tiles for placement.
  • scoring — Points are scored through completing objectives, encasing symbols, and the river.
  • Set Collection — Collecting different types of story cards for points.
  • wilds — Cartouche tiles (purple) act as wilds.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • and surprisingly I think it's actually really good
  • it's kind of The Best of Both Worlds
  • the complaint was you're not it's not specified which one is the easy beginner side and which one is the advantage
  • I'm gonna go eight but I think with the repeated plays it might go higher
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hsOE7dRpfiQ kovray Kickstarter Preview at 0:34 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90298 · mention_pk 241106
kovray - Cartouche video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:34 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Neat take on the polyomino drafting mechanic
  • Strong historical theme around Hatshepsut
  • High replayability due to variable stories and achievements
  • Clear end condition with 10 rounds
  • Good table presence and accessible via Tabletop Simulator
Cons
  • Prototype version may change; components and rules could shift as development progresses
  • Potential complexity for new players and learning curve
Thematic elements
  • Uncovering the history of Hatshepsut; restoring murals and stories of the pharaoh's image
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Educational, history-driven with archaeological discovery
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Drafting — Players draft both tiles and story cards from a shared layout, balancing resource access and scoring potential.
  • End-game via ten rounds — Cartouche is played over 10 rounds with a fixed end condition.
  • Point Salad — Points come from completing token, chamber, and river stories and achieving board bonuses.
  • Reserve management — Drafted tiles go to reserve or board as appropriate, with a limit of four items per board.
  • Resource Management — Drafted tiles go to reserve or board as appropriate, with a limit of four items per board.
  • Story and achievement scoring — Points come from completing token, chamber, and river stories and achieving board bonuses.
  • Tile Placement — Placed tiles must touch reeds or be adjacent to existing tiles; matching animal colors yields tokens.
  • Wild tokens and cartouche tiles — Scarabs are wild tokens; cartouche tiles are wild but restricted to story completion.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Cartouche is played over 10 rounds, the goal of this game is to score points through completing stories and achievements
  • well i think it's a neat take on the polyamino theme of the game
  • the theme again is what really drew me into this game
  • the presentation of the game is quite great; it has a really good online table presence
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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