You are in a race against time. The others, like you, have a secret objective to fulfill on an uncharted island. The captivating host at the large mansion gave you all a heavy box with the assurance that there would be only one winner. Enter: “Suwango”, a 1-4 player game that supports ages 10+ with an average play time of 15-20 minutes per player. It’s primarily a tile placement game that will task players with earning the most points. I’m told that “Suwango” will be entering the crowdfunding process at some point, so it’s important to stress that my copy is merely a prototype and everything that you read and see in this article is subject to change. I’m also required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all opinions are, as always, my own. The only thing being paid for here is my time.
My prototype copy came with 4 player / expedition boards, 80 objective tiles, 4 day / night markers, 20 action tokens, 4 objective cards, 24 bonus point tokens, 20 tools tokens, 3 groups of 20 numbered gems, 1 scoring board, 4 scoring markers, 1 action map split into 6 parts, 1 starting player marker, and 2 fabric bags. The rulebook is about 15-16 pages in length. I will quickly note that I really appreciated its layout. The components section, for example, has pictures of all the components with numbers next to them, corresponding to the numbered component list. The rulebook made it very easy to identify what was what…something us old people look for nowadays.
The game is setup different depending on the player count and there is even a section for solo rules. Rather than get into the nitty gritty details, opt to explain the overall premise. The game is full of magical creatures, each with a value on their tile. Regardless of whether you play the base game or opt to use the two provided expansion modules, all players will have to respect the Suwango code. The Suwango code stipulates that players cannot place a creature with a higher value above or to the left of another creature. Player boards themselves are broken up into rows and columns, so it is possible to have two of the same value creature on a single player board so as long as they are not in the same column or row.
At the beginning of a round, players will place their day/night markers on their day side. They then take objective tokens from the appropriate bag equal to the number of players plus one and place them face up. Leftover objective tiles from the previous round are discarded. The first player figure goes clockwise and player turns begin. On a typical turn, a player can perform different actions depending on the time of day.
Day:
– Take a face up objective tile from the table.
– Turn their day/night marker to the night side and take a hidden objective from the bag.
Night:
– Take a hidden objective from the bag.
– Place a tile respecting the Suwango code. It is possible to replace existing tiles.
– Take a bonus tile if applicable.
The end of a round is triggered when the last face-up tile from the table has been taken or when all players have their day / night markers on the night phase. The end of the game is triggered when a player fully completes their board. Typically, players earn points via bonus points and by placing secret objective tiles. Bonus points are earned when a player completely surrounds and area of the island with four tiles. The bonus point tiles themselves increase in value as they are taken, so there’s some strategy in waiting for a higher payout…though wait too long and you may earn nothing!
It’s important to stress that the above doesn’t cover all of the rules found in the manual, but should give you an idea as to how the game is played. To learn more about the rules and how to play, please check out the below video recently released by the developer:
“Suwango” is a very visually appealing game. I’ve played a lot of games in my day and very few have caused me to turn my head. I don’t know what it is about sharp, high-contrasting colors. The player boards themselves actually had grooves in them in which the creature tiles can fit and were very thick to boot. The developers of “Terraforming Mars” could stand to take notes on little things like that, what with their flat / paper-thin player boards. If the crowdfunded version actually improves upon the prototype I have…well, folks who potentially back this game will be very pleased indeed.
I appreciate that the game also comes with an advanced ruleset in the form of two modules: The Action Map and Tools. The Action Map is a bit chaotic in nature, adding a stock area and gemstone mine to the game. In summary, placing gems in an efficient way allows players to take actions from the action board. Some of these actions include picking and playing another tile from the center, theft protection, taking the starting player token, scoring two points, and so on. There’s quite a few. The second module introduces tools to the mix, allowing players to exhaust them on their turns to do various things. The relocator tool, for example, allows you to relocate captured species. The flashlight, on the other hand, lets you capture creatures at night when typically you can only do so during the day. These extra modules are more for the advanced player, so I’d recommend sticking to the core game for a bit until you get the hang of the core rules.
I enjoyed my time with this one. I felt like it was borrowing a lot of concepts from “Sagrada”, what with the limited drafting and the sharp color schemes. I’m not complaining mind you…”Sagrada” is one of my favorite games. I typically refrain from any sort of opinions when I’m writing up previews, but I will say that I’m excited to see where this project is headed. I would love to see more in-depth English-speaking tutorial / gameplay tip videos on the developer’s YouTube channel. Hopefully this is something the developer can work on during their crowdfunding process. Speaking of which, as of this date (8/6/2022), the developer is thinking of either Gamefound or Kickstarter. For now, I’ll include a link to the developer’s official website and add a crowdfunding link at a later date.
Website: https://suwango.com/home.html
