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Collection Status
Your Rating
Description
Take a hike in TRAILS, exploring iconic sites and national parks across the U.S., gathering resources, observing wildlife, and earning wilderness badges. TRAILS is a standalone adventure in the PARKS series with artwork from the Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series.
In TRAILS, players hike back and forth along the trail, collecting rocks, acorns and leaves; taking pictures; and encountering wildlife to gain bonuses. At trailhead and trail end, you can turn in resources to earn badges, after which you start back in the other direction.
As players visit the trail end, the sun sets over the trail. As night falls, trail sites grant more powerful actions, but they won't last forever. When the sun leaves the trail, the last round of play takes place, then the player with the most points from collected badges, photos taken, and bird sightings wins.
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2021
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment:
pos 7 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–8 of 8
Video 8puwhjZWDrw
Port Game Reviews game_review at 0:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62279 · mention_pk 154790
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong nature theme and art tied to National Parks
- Easy to learn with clear iconography and a streamlined rulebook
- Compact, portable footprint suitable for casual play
- Sunset ramp-up creates tension and pacing
- Canteen and bird mechanics add meaningful choices
- Rulebook credits artists with websites for discovery
Cons
- Limited board tile variety; only five trails present
- Replayability relies on cards; board itself is fairly fixed
- Birds can dominate scoring if not managed carefully
Thematic elements
- Nature exploration, wildlife observation, and conservation
- A national park landscape; hiking from trail head to trail end as the sun moves across the sky
- educational, light-hearted travelogue of a hike
Comparison games
- Parks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Badges and abilities — Spend resources to earn badges that grant abilities and points
- Bird scoring — Bird symbols on cards determine a tiebreaker and potential additional points
- Canteen token — Canteen allows teleporting to any space in a single direction; needs refilling at trail head
- Movement — Players move 1 or 2 spaces along the hiking path in the direction of their hiker
- Picture deck and image scoring — Spend a resource to draw the top card of the picture deck; pictures yield points
- resource collection — Collect tokens (leaves, acorns, stones) and manage a hand limit of 8 resources
- Sunset/end of day — Sun token advances; when it reaches the trail head the round ends and the sun sets, flipping tiles to night and increasing tile strength
- Wildlife/die-driven action — Rolling a die moves a wildlife bear token and unlocks actions on the land spot
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I like how the pacing of this game went
- iconography was done really well
- don't ignore the birds the birds are a big deal or do ignore the birds
- there's a donation made to the National Park Service
- this is a cool game
- I love the theme
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video OcdlXaOM2QQ
The Dice Tower game_review at 0:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10797 · mention_pk 31875
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Aesthetic and component quality are solid for a light game
- Wildlife token and die add meaningful variance and strategy
- Fast and easy to teach, good for quick game nights
- Nighttime side increases value and adds tension toward the endgame
Cons
- The picture-taking mechanic feels more fringe than core in practice
- May invite comparison to Parks and leave players wanting Parks for deeper complexity
Thematic elements
- Nature exploration, badge collection, photography as a scoring element
- Hiking within a single national park, following trails and earning badges
- light, accessible, breezy outdoor adventure
Comparison games
- Parks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Canteen resources and movement — Canteens can be flipped to move further in the facing direction; refilled at the trail head to continue taking actions
- Endgame trigger and sun track — As sun moves along a track, trail sites flip to nighttime for higher yields; reaching certain sun positions can end the game and award sun-related actions
- Photography action — Spending a resource enables drawing two photos, choosing one and discarding the other; some photos grant points and trigger endgame considerations
- resource exchange — On-space actions allow turning acorn, stone, or leaf into other resources; day side requires matching resources, night side requires two different resources
- Resource management — On-space actions allow turning acorn, stone, or leaf into other resources; day side requires matching resources, night side requires two different resources
- Token Pairing — Landing on the wildlife bear space lets players roll a die to move the bear and take corresponding actions, introducing variability and strategic choices
- Trail movement — Players move a hiker token along a linear trail (one to two spaces) and trigger the action at the space they land on
- Wildlife token and die — Landing on the wildlife bear space lets players roll a die to move the bear and take corresponding actions, introducing variability and strategic choices
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is Parks Light. Two to four players, about 30 to 40 minutes of game time.
- It's easier to teach, easier to follow, and it plays faster than Parks.
- Trails is a streamlined, lighter cousin of Parks with resource management at its core.
- I really did enjoy the wildlife die mechanism and its strategic implications.
- I'm going to give it a strong 7 out of 10.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 8oJT0pFAml0
One Family Plays Games (OFPG) top_10_list at 20:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10382 · mention_pk 30566
Click to watch at 20:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful looking game
- Relaxing theme and aesthetics
- Easy to learn gateway game
- Brings people into the hobby
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Relaxing nature walk
- Pacific Northwest trail/hiking
- Abstract with thematic elements
Comparison games
- Parks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- contract fulfillment — Completing specific objectives
- point-to-point movement — Moving along trail routes
- set collection — Collecting matching items
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- do those things that's going to keep us safe yeah so that we don't get overcome again
- the games from 2021 that we loved and we picked our top 10 games from that
- board games that bring the fun to the table
- i used to read yes you did when we first got married i would read yes i loved uh books
- i can do so much more yeah with board gaming than with golf
- they want to be known as the steam platform for board gaming
- embracer is becoming that you know so big that they're gonna be so diversified for geek culture
- we want to be that one-stop shop where if you're looking for people of color you want to hear what they have to say
- diversity inclusion that's what we're shooting for
- it's a beautiful game and you know the market you know because you gotta always look at the market
- i ain't mad at you
- the dice ain't nice
- we love you guys we we we're just glad you're still with us and keep on coming back
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video A8g_J9GdDgQ
The Western Contingent general_discussion at 10:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8079 · mention_pk 23766
Click to watch at 10:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- shorter than Parks (about 30 minutes)
- easy to teach
- retains Parks aesthetics and motif
- appealing artwork
Cons
- less depth than Parks
Thematic elements
- Badge collection and bird symbol scoring
- National parks / nature exploration
- Nature-themed, exploratory
Comparison games
- Parks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- end-game scoring via bird symbols — Bird symbol collection drives final points.
- set collection — Collect badges representing achievements.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- tournaments is a whole other different sort of genre.
- Foundations of Rome on my top 10 games that I'm going to be playing in 10 years.
- I want to kind of push back against that whole trap that you can get stuck in about always only ever playing new stuff.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TS5odCxnOJw
The Brothers Murf top_10_list at 0:54 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7722 · mention_pk 22785
Click to watch at 0:54 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Streamlined compared to Parks
- Free-flowing gameplay without rigid round structure
- Good ramping aspect that times out the game
- Much smaller package than Parks
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Nature and outdoor exploration
- Hiking on trails
- Abstract resource gathering
Comparison games
- Parks
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource gathering — Collecting resources and trading them for cards
- Space flipping — Spaces flip to their nighttime side as the game progresses, becoming more powerful
- Worker placement / Path traversal — Players move back and forth on a trail, gaining resources and collecting merit badges
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Look, we're not size queens. No, you know, sometimes smaller is better.
- This is something that happens a lot in board games where there will be a game and then there it's kind of like a spin-off, like a TV show
- Combo Womos. Love the wombo combo.
- I will always basically just play Trails
- Fleet the Dice game is so successful that there's now been a bunch of games that are like 80% the same
- It's honestly better than the original
- I would never suggest anyone start anywhere in this universe other than Jaws of the Lion
- This is the poster child for these kinds of games
- I never need to play Maraco again
- Sometimes when you're a trendsetter, you got to get the love and get the number one spot
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video P9zZvuyYDis
Dice Tower library_tour at 8:15 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 4840 · mention_pk 14328
Click to watch at 8:15 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Shelf 16 is kind of a an odd mix here
- This shelf has twice as many games as most shelves
- one of my favorite two-player games, but it's very difficult to learn and play
- Fantastic abstract strategy game
- Such a classic game and I like it a lot
- I don't know why I like it so much, but I do
- one of the most beautiful dexterity/party games there are
- There are so many games on the shelf
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video b23wBzKOhS4
Our First Place top_12_list at 22:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4287 · mention_pk 12472
Click to watch at 22:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Gateway engine-building with park design
- Parks-like, nature-themed gateway
- Cooperative-feel, family-friendly
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 want to play them and share these hot games with you
- we love this community that we're building
- we're going to try to play them too
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video T1fZ-fq8Rck
Our Family Plays Games general_discussion at 6:38 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2053 · mention_pk 5892
Click to watch at 6:38 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Family-friendly weight
- Accessible gateway for new players
Cons
- Limited depth for experienced gamers
Thematic elements
- natural exploration and light strategy
- outdoor trail-themed exploration
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand management — manage cards for actions and scoring
- set collection — collect trail cards to build routes
- tile placement — place tiles to build trail networks
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the gateway is open up and we're welcoming new players
- we've gotta spread the gospel
- be that opening to something new and wonderful
- gatekeepers into the hobby
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–8 of 8