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Game Info
Year
2014
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
Pagoda is a two-player only game in which players compete to build multiple layers of up to six pagodas. Each player has five face-up and two face-down colored cards, and they use these cards to build colored pillars and levels of the pagoda. Once a pillar has been placed on the ground floor, all other pillars placed must be of the same color. When someone places the fourth pillar on a level, he places a floor tile of the pillars' color on top, with this tile have colored dots to indicate which color of pillar can be placed on top.
Players score points each time they place a pillar, with a pillar on ground level being worth one point, a pillar on the second floor two points, and so on. When a player places a floor tile, he gains one point as well as two actions associated with that color on his individual action board. The fourth floor tile is placed upside-down to show only one colored dot. Two pillars can be placed on this dot, each worth five points, and once placed the pagoda is finished. After three pagodas are finished, players finish the round, then the player with the most points wins.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video TZcpLGXSOM8
Review at 0:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 68037 · mention_pk 164352
Click to watch at 0:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Very beautiful artwork, exquisite looking pictures of animals and landscapes.
- Light and fluffy, simple rules, simplistic scoring.
- Gorgeous components and overall look.
- Well-produced for the price point.
- Brilliant insert for storage and play.
- Screen printed wooden pieces are nice.
- Solo mode is good and offers challenges.
- Fast play time, around 60 minutes.
- Good for introducing new players to the hobby.
- Excellent gateway game.
Cons
- A fair few ways to score can take a little explaining.
- The way ladybugs work on plants isn't quite as intuitive.
- The score pad is way too small and will run out quickly.
- Not enough replayability for some players.
- Not for diehard heavy gamers or those seeking sole skill.
Thematic elements
- Building a garden with flowers and bugs
Comparison games
- Meadow
- Cascadia
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Point Salad — And it's just like I say, it's a bit of a point salad, but you play for 15 turns building up this very beautiful garden. [...] There's all sorts of different ways to score like having tallest plants, diverse bugs, diverse plants, you know, flipping all this stuff. And it's just like I say, it's a bit of a point salad.
- set collection — There's things like, you know, getting different color buttercups and loading bees on them, which let you uh flip honey jars to let you score more points elsewhere. You've got building like really tall mango plants. [...] You've got the different lanterns with abilities on them. There's all sorts of different ways to score like having tallest plants, diverse bugs, diverse plants.
- solo mode — You can play this solo, and solo is basically identical to multiplayer, except that when you take the tools from this board, when you take a tool, another tool goes away. So, you have to think, well, I need to I need this, but then that's going to go away. Other than that, though, it's 15 turns and you build up your garden.
- tool selection — Each turn, you are basically choosing one of four different tools. These tools are laid out above this little action board. You will choose one of the tools to take. You will get the bonuses that are on it and then you will do the action that was below the tool in question. Everything will slide down and there's basically a bunch more tools depending on the player count.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- But is it just going to be all pretty pictures and no substance? Or is there still a decent game here?
- This is gateway level light.
- This is basically kind of a light pallet cleanser.
- Everything about it screams light and fluffy.
- Her artwork is stellar. It really is beautiful.
- This is probably the lightest game I've done in a while.
- It ticks every box it needs to.
- It's light. It's fluffy. It's beautiful. It's gateway level.
- I dare say this is probably one of the better gateway games that there is, you know, to get people into the hobby.
- If you want a family weight game, something good with the kids, something that's just light and fluffy, or you just want to introduce your friends to the hobby, and you need something that will do the job nicely, then I can't recommend this one enough.
- So, until next time, regardless if it is the bees, it's still only a game. So, take care and bye for now.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video eElRrfWWXA4
Review at 0:22 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 67829 · mention_pk 164095
Click to watch at 0:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Enjoyable card system, planning three turns ahead.
- Slotting tiles on player board for bonuses is good and requires planning.
- Tightness of the game makes players think on their toes.
- Simple rules and straightforward operation.
- Good variability through different strategies and modules.
- Decent solo mode (if you don't mind the challenge).
- Appeals to many Eurogame fans.
Cons
- Every element has something that 'grates' a little bit.
- Flukiness of knight cards can be annoying and feels random.
- Favor track is punishing at the bottom.
- Tight resources can lead to situations where you can't perform necessary actions.
- Player interaction is limited.
- Playtime can be a bit long for its simplicity.
- Artwork and components are average, built to a budget.
- Solo bot is cheaty and punishing, making higher difficulties not fun for some.
Thematic elements
- None, just mechanics to turn out victory points.
Comparison games
- Adri's Dream
- Shackleton Base
- Vic Counts of the West Kingdom
- White Castle
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Actions are determined by symbols on cards, requiring a certain amount of symbols to perform actions like getting books, building, or contributing to the palace.
- Area Control/Movement — Vizier character moves around the map in quadrants to collect tiles. Boats move to various ports for multipliers.
- card drafting/hand management — Players start with starter cards and can get new day/night cards. Cards have effects when they fall off the board and are one-use only. The crux of the turn revolves around these cards.
- Resource management — Managing coins and other resources is crucial, as they are tight and needed for various actions like building and buying boats.
- Scoring Multipliers — Score points based on multipliers on palace and port boards for various categories like students, books, and artifacts.
- set collection — Collecting sets of tiles (e.g., students, artifacts) can provide end-game points based on multipliers.
- tile placement — Vizier circles the board collecting tiles that go on the player board for bonuses.
- Worker placement (implied) — Placing meeples/buildings on the map in certain quadrants triggers building effects.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's usually more ranting than it is raving.
- Fabio has done a few games which are kind of hit and miss for me.
- There isn't really any theme here to speak of. It's just a case of here's a bunch of mechanics and turn out some victory points.
- It's no good getting five students on your board and then the only multiplier you've got is a one victory point for your ship in port. No, you ideally want to get as high a multiplier as possible.
- This is not a quick 60minute light euro.
- The game will basically laugh at you.
- Definitely a designer who's makes games for the masochists behind us.
- I don't get lucky, I make my own luck.
- If you thought White Castle was a great solo mode because of how punishing that one was, then you're going to love the solo mode in this one.
- It's just a few things kind of just like grind away at me a little bit, which means it's not something I can really go higher than a seven for personally.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video t1kCOB7dpuU
Board Game Dad Top List at 17:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 42414 · mention_pk 128762
Click to watch at 17:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Decision tradeoffs between immediate needs and long-term goals
- Drafting new cards each turn creates evolving strategy
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card play with icons — Each turn you play a card, triggering its action by icons; bottom cards provide scoring of various kinds.
- sliding card rows — Played cards slide to the right; after three cards, the bottom triggers scoring or discard.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Everything about the design of this game is obvious. It's so intuitive how it works.
- Simultaneous worker placement. Simultaneous.
- I think that's a key identifier of a truly innovative game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3