Classics are here for a reason

How about some classics for today? Do you have an old favorite you can recommend?

Tikal was first published in 1999, and I have to say it really stood the test of time! It has a simple rule set that leads to interesting and complex decisions. As the game goes on, you have more and more to consider. I think the new Super Meeple edition makes this game perfect!

It is mainly an area majority game - you vye for control of the temples you excavate to score points. But if you are 2p gamers like us, don’t let this discourage you: it works amazingly! 🤩 And here’s why: when scoring is triggered, each player gets do a full turn and then score only for themselves, then the others in turn repeat this. This means that temples can potentially be scored by multiple players, as scoring isn’t simultaneous. I absolutely love this - it makes the game much less zero-sum.

On a turn you have to first place a tile down to extend the map, then get 10 action points to spend: you can bring in meeples, move them around, excavate new temple levels to raise their point value, unearth artifacts for set collection or create a new campsite where you can bring in meeples. Movement is also interesting: it could cost 1-6 AP, depending on icons between 2 tiles. So tile placement is very strategic. Placing useless or impassable tiles next to rival campsites is particularly useful (and nefarious). 😈

An interesting action is to place a guard: if you have majority on a tile, you can place a meeple on top of the temple to “lock” it in, so only you can score it. You lose all your other meeples on that tile forever though, so it can be a steep cost.

Every time a Volcano tile is drawn, play is paused and a scoring round begins - If you have more meeples on a tile, you score its temple’s value, plus each of your treasure-sets also earns you points. Then play continues with the placement of the volcano. At the end of the game there is a last scoring round.

As more pyramids and tiles come up during the game, so does manouvering get harder. You have to be really vigilant and cunning. Tikal is just an awesome easy-to-learn hard-to-master game that is really engaging up until the last point is earned.