Useful Game Rebview
Written by wangmin on January 18, 2010 14:34
As in many German style games, one is faced with wanting to do more on your turn than allowed by the limited number of action points availableThus, each turn is one tough decision after anotherI've made it no secret that I love this "limited actions" mechanism in games and the agonizing decisions it forces upon the playersIt is used to full effect in Torres
Each turn / phase is played in 3 to 4 rounds and once a turn is completed, positions are scoredPlayers get points for the position of their knights (as described above) in addition to a bonus of 5, 10, or 15 points if they have a knight in the same castle as the kingHowever, the knight must be located in the proper position to earn this bonus: level one following turn one, level two following turn two and level three following turn three
The Master version introduces special scoring cards which award copious points for achieving certain conditionsThese include aligning your knights in a row following certain phases, positioning them on the edges, corners or diagonals of the board, maneuvering them onto different levels of castles, etcThe use of these Master cards adds even more spice and decision making to the game as players must now decide on whether to pursue the traditional scoring methods or seek to obtain these special bonusesAgain, more tough decisionsDelicious
Scoring is marked on a track which surrounds the edge of the boardYet another game is borrowed from in this regard, that being UrsuppeNo two scoring markers can occupy the same space, so if a player's marker was moved to a space which is occupied by an opponent, his marker leap-frogs ahead to the next available spaceThis mechanism does give an incentive to players to use an action point from time to time to move their marker ahead on the scoring track and take advantage of this "leaping" feature
At a turn's conclusion, the player currently in last place on the scoring track then has the opportunity to relocate the king to any castleThis is a superb "equalizing" feature as it allows that player to position the king to a castle which is closer to his knights and further away from his opponents, giving him the edge on capturing the king's scoring bonus for that roundClever and very effective
Following the third turn / phase, final scores are tallied to determine the victor
My games are tending to clock in at about 1 1/2 hours, a bit less with three players, but there is considerable pondering before each moveIf you are involved in a match with players who tend to slowly and carefully ponder each and every movement and placement possibility, Torres has the potential to bog down and create interminable "dead time," a problem many have hurled at TikalI have found, however, as in Tikal, a simple advance warning to the players that this potential exists, along with an urging to them to keep things moving along, works quite wellIf the problem persists, a timer is always an option
Contrary to my high praise of the game, a few in our group were not as impressedI queried them as to why and received several responsesOne claimed he had difficulty grasping the strategyAdmittedly, this is a game which rewards repeated playings, but I don't think that's a reason to dislike a gameThe strategy in many, many games only becomes clearer with repeated playingsHeck, I've played many a game wherein I had no idea of what to do until the latter stagesThat doesn't make it a bad game, just one in which your understanding and skills improve with further playings
Another player felt that one's options become more and more limited as the game progressesI can see that this is definitely the case in the final few rounds of the final turn / phase, but I don't see this as too constrictingFurther, I don't think it is present at all in the first two turnsUse of the Master scoring cards, which provide more scoring opportunities and options, certainly helps alleviate this problem
Is Torres perfect? Well, no..but it comes awfully closeThose who disdain luck in a game would be hard pressed to find fault with it if they opt for the Master versionThis is certainly a matching of wits and optimizing the use of one's action pointsAnother big plus is that it plays splendidly with 3 or 4 players, and I've heard that it is equally enthralling as a 2 player gameOne certainly can't argue with this versatility!
I must say that Torres is a big, big, BIG surprise for meMy initial impressions at the Gathering weren't very favorable, but I'll chalk that up to not having a full understanding of the rules and the fact that we were playing with hastily assembled piecesI now consider this game to be fabulous and can't wait till I play againHighly recommended.