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In remote times, King Gradlon had the magnificent city of Ys erected for his daughter Dahut. Gargantuan sea-walls protected the city from the violent waves. Dahut decided to make Ys the most powerful place in Brittany; thus, she dispatched dragons to seize merchant ships loaded with jewels which sailed on the open sea…
Each turn, ships filled with gems land in the city's ports. The players, embodying merchant-princes of Ys, set their team to work, two at a time, in the 4 neighborhoods of the city; deciding which area of each neighborhood to focus on. Controlling the port to claim special black jewels, the commercial area to gain a financial advantage or the palace to influence characters of influence. However it is the player who dominates the neighborhood as a whole who has the first choice of the precious stones carried in the hold of the ship docked there. Don't overlook the gem market as other players may send their brokers to influence the value of the different types of jewels, making your collection less valuable.
Each player has a team of 11 brokers of varying skill levels. These brokers are placed on the players turn, one face up and one face down. Bluff your opponents on where your intentions lie, misdirection is the key to victory.
At the end of the game, the winner is the player who has accumulated the most gold (represented by victory points).
- Engaging timing puzzle with evolving options per life stage
- Rich token and track-system with meaningful end-track bonuses
- Beautiful artwork and thematic cues around adolescence
- Positive interaction through friendships and shared objectives
- Thematic disconnect for some players; emotion/theme can feel abstract
- Low direct player interaction; often puzzle-focused on own board
- Limited dice pool can constrain decisions and slow pace
- Complex timing and scoring can be confusing
- Life progression, friendships, relationships, and self-discovery
- Adolescence, coming-of-age, life stages
- Personal-development puzzle with evolving mechanics across life stages
- Wingspan
- Dirt and Dust
- Civil
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Compound Scoring — Objective tiles and personal goals provide scoring variance; some scores depend on timing.
- dice action allocation — Each life stage adds dice and action options; you roll dice to determine viable actions.
- frustration resource — Frustration can block rewards or be converted into positive outcomes.
- interaction balance — Interaction exists primarily via relationships; overall gameplay leans toward multiplayer solitaire with occasional competition.
- location-based actions — Face-placement on spaces enables minor actions per round; spaces open up as the phase progresses.
- neighbor interaction — Form friendships with NPCs or other players to trigger bonuses and points.
- objectives and scoring tiles — Objective tiles and personal goals provide scoring variance; some scores depend on timing.
- relationship interactions — Form friendships with NPCs or other players to trigger bonuses and points.
- tokens and resources — Fitness tokens and memory tapes are spent to gain actions and adjust tracks.
- Track advancement — Five tracks on a player board advance or regress from actions; top ends grant passive bonuses.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This game probably didn't meet my expectations overall.
- If you like solo puzzle with your dice, although it's interactive, although it's multiplayer but a lot of these are done solo.
- Does it have positive player interaction? It does. Yes. A little bit.
- One of the main actions you can take is to put your face there permanently so that you can take minor actions there every round.
- You would roll both the dice and choose one of those, do actions there.
- There will be two additional actions added.