Not the usual game we play

We went into Setup with pretty low expectations, but were quickly surprised how much we enjoyed playing it. 🙃 It’s an abstract strategic tile placement game, where you place numbered tiles ♣️ on the board trying to score sets for points, in an effort to race to the end of the score track! 🏃 It’s easy to learn and plays lightning fast!

There are 50 tiles in the game, numbered 1 to 10 in 5 different suits. ♦️ Everyone has 4 tiles in front of them, plus there is a common supply of 4 tiles that anyone can use. These always get replenished after use.

🧐 On your turn you can place one or more tiles to create a set - either the same number in different suits, or consecutive numbers of the same suit. You can also extend things already on the board - so e.g. play a 3 and a 5 next to an existing 4 to make the set. ☝️ And that’s not all: even though you can only contribute tiles to 1 set, you could additionally trigger bonus points by creating other sets at the same time. Like playing 3-4-5, but having your 5 land next to another 5. 😮

See, the game starts out very simple, but as you play you start to see more and more combo opportunities. 😊 As tiles can be stacked on each other, the board state always changes, and it’s important to realize when to try to block your opponent too. Like if there are four 7s down, placing a fifth 7 next to them could score 5 points, so you might as well cover up some with your set. You also have 2 personal spaces that only you can place tiles onto, that can score you points outside of your turn if the opponent uses them for their sets! 😉

💬 The unassuming box of Setup holds a pretty nice abstract game. I like the look and tactility of the tiles, and especially the fact that they stack! 🤩 The racing aspect on the score track is also pretty exciting, though I find it weird that the game ends immediately if someone crosses the line, even if not everyone had the same number of turns. You really have to make the best of every turn, so you are not left in the dust! Though that's easier said than done: there is also some luck involved in drawing the tiles, so I’d suggest playing a best-of-three.