Door 2

What’s behind Door 2 of our MechanXmas advent calendar? It’s 🗿 Tobago!
I am a bit at a loss trying to categorize this game, but we really wanted to include it. So let’s call it the Wild Card of our calendar. 😅 Tobago is one of our cherished ‘hidden gem’ games. It has hex-grid based movement, modular boards, hand management and some push-your-luck. Also deduction, but you don’t really deduce anything... 🤔 Let’s see what I mean by that.

During the game you are always tracking 4 treasures simultaneously (each with their own cubes to mark on the map). On your turn you can play a clue card to a treasure, to constrict the possible places it could be. A clue card shows a logical statement like “on grasslands” or “next to palm tree” or “not next to ocean”. Your goal is to play cards, so that only one possible space on the map remains, then you can go and claim it. ⛏️

You are all gunning for the same treasures though so positioning is essential. On your turn you either play a clue card 🔍, or drive your ATV 🚙. If someone digs up a treasure then you distribute gold among players who played clue cards for it, in a kind of push-your-luck way. The goal of the game is to have the most coins at the end. There are also amulets that spawn on the map each time a treasure is collected, which can be used for special actions that shake up the game.

With the expansion a volcano 🌋 is added to the map! During the game you will be able to place lava-hexes - either to strategically cut off opponents, or to influence some of the clues. For example if a clue says “on the largest forest” and lave cuts the largest forest in half, then the whereabouts of the treasure could change. 🧐

The components are really amazing, especially the statues. It’s impressive for a game in this price category. Tobago is a family weight game with a fair bit of randomness and it might not be the most balanced. But we can whole-heartedly recommend it to everyone 😍 It’s such a cool experience as you drive around your jeep looking for treasure, like some Indiana Jones movie. I also absolutely adore hexagonal grids and modular boards - both of which this game uses.😁