Game Info
Year
2020
Players
2-4
Age
13+
Playtime
40 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
In HOLI: Festival of Colors, players gather to celebrate the end of winter as they spread colorful powder on each other, dancing and celebrating new beginnings.
Mechanisms & Features:
Area Control - Colored powder tokens spread across the board and onto other players, covering the board in the pattern selected.
3-Tier Board - Players ascend to have their powder fall from above, giving up victory points for better control.
Puzzle-like Action Selection - Color cards determine the pattern colored powder will fly in, giving players room to select the pattern that works best for them.
Variable Scoring Condition - Each game can have slightly different scoring conditions, adding depth and replayability.
Featured Videos
Review
Festival! (preview)
Rules Teach
Holi - Board Game Tutorial & Review
Ask a Rules Question
Images
GID0160069.jpg
GID0160069_thumb.jpg
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 9
This page: 9
Sentiment:
pos 8 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–9 of 9
Video wfpYc-RDxiE
Brains On Games Review at 0:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90715 · mention_pk 242652
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Family-friendly with broad player counts (3-7 players), suitable for families and casual gamers
- Encourages planning, memory, and hand-management skills in an accessible package
- Short playtime (approximately 30-45 minutes) makes it an ideal gateway title
- The festival phase adds tension and strategic positioning without heavy downtime
Cons
- Dragon penalties introduce randomness that can frustrate players who are otherwise ahead
- Movement and space-control feel somewhat constrained, which may reduce variety for some players
- Artwork and component quality may evolve before final release, so visuals could shift slightly
Thematic elements
- Music, choirs, and orchestration within a competitive and strategic festival environment.
- A festival circuit spanning village, city, and palace during a multi-stage musical festival.
- Expository with illustrative thematic descriptions; not a linear narrative-driven game.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dragon penalties — Dragon cards cause you to lose cards from your hand, adding risk and disruption to plan execution.
- End Game Bonuses — After a set number of festivals, finale cards grant end-game bonuses, shaping final scoring.
- end-game and finale cards — After a set number of festivals, finale cards grant end-game bonuses, shaping final scoring.
- festival phase and festival stages — At festival triggers, players race to available festival stages (musical chairs-like), with position affecting end-game bonuses.
- fixed-path movement with branching zones — Movement is constrained to move one space at a time through village, city, palace and festival stages; space access shifts with stages and number of players.
- Hand Management — A strict hand-size limit forces careful draw/discard decisions and planning.
- Multi-Use Cards — The minstrel acts as a flexible card that can substitute into several groups, aiding set completion but not guaranteeing a full set by itself.
- palace cards with special actions — Palace deck provides bonuses such as larger hand size, extra draws, or dragon removal via knight-like actions.
- scoring and set bonuses — Each card yields points; complete sets yield bonuses; symmetry bonuses and ensemble bonuses encourage diverse collection.
- Set Collection — Players collect cards representing instruments and choir members to form scoring sets.
- wild card usage — The minstrel acts as a flexible card that can substitute into several groups, aiding set completion but not guaranteeing a full set by itself.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- a quick family-friendly game that requires planning ahead and those working memory skills in order to manage your hand and to collect those sets of cards that are going to earn you points at the end of the game
- it's a little like musical chairs when a festival starts
- the hand limit in this game is what makes it more of a hand management game
- thanks to paul dirks at tameb's games for sending this over
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video y49ENEcOJPg
Watch It Played Top 10 List at 13:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90444 · mention_pk 241725
Click to watch at 13:46 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- distinctive three-tier board
- color-themed, festive presentation
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- color, celebration, end of winter
- festival of Holi
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — three-tier board with scoring variations across plays.
- area_control — three-tier board with scoring variations across plays.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- i'm looking forward to the weather machine's arrival
- it's a giant mess
- i love the command and color system
- this is the first in a planned series of games using a brand new system also called destinies
- you discover each clue fragment one at a time from a collection of face down cards on the table
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Brjz8khzww8
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 37:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90504 · mention_pk 241901
Click to watch at 37:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Visually striking with a unique 3D board
- Strategic depth in color placement
- Quick playtime
- Interactive element of throwing colors on opponents
- Adds a Z-axis mechanic to abstract games
Cons
- The falling mechanic can be tricky to manage.
- Requires careful planning to maximize points.
Thematic elements
- throwing colors
- India, during the Holi festival
- abstract strategy, color placement
Comparison games
- Sagrada
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Majority — Points are awarded for having the most tokens in certain areas or layers.
- Hand Management — Players manage a hand of cards dictating color placement patterns.
- Pattern Building — Players aim to create specific patterns with their colors.
- Stacking — Components are placed on different levels of the board.
- Tile Placement — Players place color tokens onto a multi-level board.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Southern rails is a fast playing game for three to five players in the tradition of simple but engaging rail games like transamerica and northern pacific
- it is a train game well it's not a pickup and delivery train game it is a stock game
- The initiative which is a cooperative deduction game
- this is a narrative game that you're basically going to play through just once it's just kind of a one and done
- Murder at the oakdale club you probably weren't very excited about it oh yeah you don't remember i said oh i i stink at these games
- we are the key to solving these murders
- excavation earth excavation earth excavation but the reason why i kept thinking evacuation is because nobody's on earth anymore we've evacuated it
- how much programming ahead do i have to do because these multi-use cards will determine which actions you take
- i typically like market games but in the games that we played i was always really struggling to get the right card that i wanted
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video QI5ZMAtW5ZY
Getting Games Top 33 List at 26:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89514 · mention_pk 237925
Click to watch at 26:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video XXuVjRZ_p7s
kovray Discussion at 25:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 87468 · mention_pk 228674
Click to watch at 25:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we will link the BGG preview list down below so you can also explore and read about all the different games
- you have to come in with an open mind
- we're excited and do a lot give us that pra to a lot of games
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video P0_7gluEIso
Our Family Plays Games Top 20 List at 1:11:43 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 82065 · mention_pk 205965
Click to watch at 1:11:43 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- easy to teach
- lightweight
Cons
- some players may want more depth
Thematic elements
- tile placement and pattern building
- festival-themed
- classic gateway game
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Tile Placement — pattern building on a grid
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We are AI police.
- SHACKLES OFF MY FEET, YEAH.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video mlXL1Ub-bW4
Review at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 79576 · mention_pk 193073
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Colorful
- Fun
- Great game to have with you
- Easy to teach
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Festivals with fireworks
Comparison games
- Sky Team
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Objective Cards — You either place a tile or you will take an objective card.
- Pattern Building — laying tiles to make patterns to score points.
- Set Collection — You complete objectives, you get points.
- Tile Placement — You are going to be laying tiles to make patterns to score points.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really enjoy Festival. I think it's colorful. I think it's fun. I think it's a great game to just have with you and that it's easy to teach.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Us-AJhkFQxI
kovray Top List at 7:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64588 · mention_pk 158072
Click to watch at 7:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- refreshing drafting style
- strong visual/art direction
- layered scoring from immediate and end-game points
Cons
- rules heavy may be challenging for new players
Thematic elements
- competition among cities
- firework festival drafting
Comparison games
- Sushi Go
- King Domino
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dual-pile drafting — each player has two piles of tiles; you choose from either on your turn
- personal board with color/pattern — your board and tiles create scoring opportunities as fireworks unfold
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we completed the 24 games of My Island the campaign
- end chapters felt like a lot
- this game you only have four turns
- it's basically a contract um fulfillment game where you're putting on a firework festival
- Spectacular would you call it spectacular of course it's my number one game of August
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TNT6mWAMYkI
Before You Play Rules Teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 691 · mention_pk 114919
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique 3D structure and flavorful theme tied to a cultural festival
- Accessible to newcomers while remaining crunchy for experienced players
- Short, quick-to-teach play sessions suitable for a 12 Days of Board Games format
- Variety in gameplay through rivalry cards
Cons
- Some rules are not exhaustively covered in the video discussion
- End-game scoring can be complex without full rulebook reference
Thematic elements
- color manipulation and celebration within a vertical, tower-like board
- Festival of Colors in India; color-throwing celebration derived from Holi; presented as an abstract strategy board game on a 3D structure
- abstract with cultural flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area interaction / direct hits — If an opponent's color token occupies one of the played squares, placement is blocked or rotated to avoid them; direct hits occur when you land on opponents' spaces, giving you points.
- color placement — Players place color tokens on a board pattern dictated by their cards.
- End Game Bonuses — Tokens on higher floors score more points (top floor worth more than lower floors); end-game scoring also rewards tokens left in opponents' supplies.
- end-game scoring by level — Tokens on higher floors score more points (top floor worth more than lower floors); end-game scoring also rewards tokens left in opponents' supplies.
- Pattern Building — Players place color tokens on a board pattern dictated by their cards.
- pattern matching — Cards show a 3x3 pattern; players must place tokens to match the pattern, with the chosen starting square representing their piece.
- rivalry cards — A deck of rivalry cards introduces special conditions that modify scoring or gameplay for variety between games.
- token collection via movement — Moving your piece to a square with tokens collects them into your supply, potentially taking from opponents.
- upward-only elevation — The board is multi-floor; you can move up to higher floors but cannot move back down.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is called holy festival of colors
- it's an abstract strategy game
- it's a 3D structure
- upward only elevator
- you cannot ever go back down once you progress upwards
- it's a rather light game
- for newer gamers but also crunchy enough for the experienced gamer
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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