Anasazi (Phalanx and Mayfair Games, 2006 – Klaus-Jurgen Wrede) is a difficult game to quantify. It’s a game that has elements of dexterity, an unusual theme (the Anasazi Indians in the American Southwest), and mechanics unlike any other game that I’ve played. Coming from the man who designed Carcassonne, I was expecting something fairly interesting, especially considering the odd components.

And I found playing Anasazi a pleasant experience. It’s not a great game, or one that I would request often, but I’d not turn down a game. The odd mechanics are probably too odd for this to become a major hit, and the drab artwork on the box certainly doesn’t help matters! The game can have some heated interaction and allows players to really mess with each other during the quick games. It feels fairly random (and perhaps it is), and everyone had a good time; but it has a few flaws that keep me from wanting to play it more often.

A pile of mesa pieces is placed on the board in a pattern shown by the rulebook. Each of these mesas are large cardboard tokens with pueblos marked on them. Players place six start tiles in a circle around the outer mesas, and then sixteen small towers (each with a hidden color on the bottom – red, yellow, blue, or white) are placed on any pueblo that has a dividing line on it. On the other half, as well as non-divided pueblos, players place a random “treasure” (colored cubes). A bonus treasure of each type is placed near the board, as well as a scoring track for the different colors. A pile of mission cards (each denoting a different color) is shuffled, and each player randomly takes one. Players take seven “camp” tokens of their color and in turn order place two of them between the mesas. The spaces between the mesas are known as the valleys. A pile of expedition markers (long thin cardboard tokens showing a ladder and a little man on one end) is placed near the board. Players are allowed to secretly look at the base of any three of the towers at this point. Then, one player is chosen to go first, and then play passes clockwise around the table.

On a player’s turn, they may take two actions. There are two things that they may choose from, and they may do the same action twice.

• Set up another camp: The player may take one of their camps and place it in any valley on the board, as long as it sits flat on the table. The player may then look secretly at the base of any one tower.
• Take part in an expedition: The player takes an expedition marker and adds to the end of an expedition. They may place the tile any way they want, as long as the new tile covers up the little man on the preceding tile. The first marker must start on a start tile (one per tile), and after that, they may go in any direction – even crossing each other.

If a player places an expedition marker so that it is the first one to touch a mesa, the player may look at one of the towers on that mesa. When a player touches the line around a pueblo with an expedition marker, they receive the treasure in that space. If there is a tower, it is removed, revealed, and placed on the first available space on the corresponding color track. When a player touches one of their own camps with an expedition marker, they may take a treasure token from another player.

The game continues until either all the expedition markers have been placed, or when four towers of one color have been placed on the color track. When this happens, players score points for each of their treasures. Treasures are worth one point for each color dot VISIBLE (not covered by a tower) on their color track – there are five spaces to start with. If the player has a bonus card for a specific color, those treasures are worth double points. The player with the most points is the winner!

Some comments on the game…

1. Components: Setting up this game requires more table space than you might think, and it’s a bit of a chore as you have to make sure the mesas are at least similarly laid out as shown in the rulebook. The towers are white blocks onto which you must affix stickers to the bottom – a bit crude, but it works. The mesas themselves are nice, with easily defined pueblos and nice scenery. I do have one large problem with the mesas, however. Unless you play the game on a tablecloth, they slide around too easily; and in a game that requires skillful placement of tiles, this can be a liability. The cubes and start tiles are nice; the base camps are okay, although the colored tents on them can be difficult to see in poor lighting. Everything has a bit of a dull overtone, because of the desert theme, I suppose, but it just isn’t very exciting. The name and box are just vastly uninspiring, and I had to talk one group into playing the game, as they thought it looked horrifically boring.
   
   
2. Rules: The rulebook explains everything fairly clearly, although the strange naming doesn’t help too much. People understood the game easily – although the scoring takes a bit to understand, as it seems a bit reversed to some.
   
   
3. Arguing: One of the major faults I would have with the game is what I call the “debate” factor. With the possibility of the mesas sliding around, it’s sometimes a close call as to whether an expedition tile actually makes it onto a mesa or pueblo or not. In every game, I have seen this hotly contested, and it takes some of the joy out of the game. Now you might exclaim that the problem lies with the players, not the game, but I would contest that we are working with tiles so small that too many close calls happen for me to be comfortable.
   
   
4. Bonus cards: This is another problem I have with the game, as players are seeking to get cubes of a specific color. First of all, there is no reason at all that these should be secret – the first time a player has a chance to steal a color, everyone knows what their card is. Secondly, there are TWO cards of each color. If two players get the same color bonus, they will be fighting over it, while the other players are laughing as they go their merry ways. I really didn’t understand why there are two of each card, especially in a game that only supports four players.
   
   
5. Strategy: Lest this sound like I hate the game, it actually has some fun ideas. You want to extend the expeditions, but not too far, because then another person will get the benefits. Players also want to force the expeditions towards towers/cubes that they want, and it’s a neat idea to be able to place base camps. Camps don’t seem to help much, but having a knowledge of which tower is where is critical – I’ve seen people lose because they extended into a tower that devalued the color they had the most cubes from. Know which towers are which, and remember where they are! (something I had a lot of trouble with)
   
   
6. Fun Factor: Taking away the arguing and piece shuffling, the game is fairly fun. For one thing, it’s fast, and it’s an enjoyable thing to watch the expeditions trail around the board. I like the idea of making other players’ treasures worthless and steering the expeditions to the places I want. Anasazi won’t win any points for deep strategy, but it is entertaining for a short while.
   
   

I wouldn’t recommend that people pick up Anasazi without giving it a try first, as it certainly is unusual and may surprise people expecting a “normal” game. The arguing and physical laying of the pieces may annoy some, and I don’t like the current bonus card situation. However, changing that to just one card per player, and playing this game on occasion with people who don’t take life so seriously, I have a little fun but not enough to want to do it twice in a row.

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”

Design by: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Published by: Phalanx & Mayfair
2 – 4 Players, 30 minutes
Review by: Greg J. Schloesser

The ancient Native Americans who lived and prospered for hundreds of years in the early 1000s are a fascinating people. Their legacy includes a litany of intriguing buildings constructed in the deserts and on precipitous cliffs of the American southwest. After flourishing for centuries, the civilization vanished rather suddenly, leaving a mystery that endures to this day. This mystery is the stuff of legend and makes for a wonderful story, and perhaps even an outstanding board game. Sadly, Anasazi by Klaus-Jurgen Wrede, is not that game.

As I learned on my recent vacation to the area, there is no recorded record of the actual name of this group of Native Americans. Modern historians initially adopted the term Anasazi for the group, but this name is now out-of-favor, as apparently it can mean “enemy” in modern Hopi dialect. The name is still used, however, and was even adopted by Wrede for his game.

Over two dozen mesa tiles are arranged on the table in concentric circles. Treasures of four different colors are placed on the pueblos depicted on the mesas. In addition, sixteen towers are placed on pre- designed mesas. Each tower depicts one of the same four colors as the treasures, but the identity of each is initially concealed. Towers serve both as a trigger to ending the game, as well as the determining factor for the ultimate value of the treasures collected by the players.

Each player receives seven campsites, of which two will be placed onto the table between the mesa tiles to begin the game. Six base camps are also placed along the perimeter of the mesas. Expeditions will begin from these base camps, and meander their way to the various mesas. Players also each receive one secret goal card, which indicates the color of treasure that will be doubled in value for that player.

Game play is quite simple. Each turn, a player perform two actions, including, if desired, performing the same action twice.

Build a campsite. A campsite is placed onto the table between mesas. After placing a campsite, the player may secretly look at the color of one of the towers. This information can be quite useful when playing expedition tiles.

Guide an Expedition. The player takes one expedition tile and places it onto the table. Expeditions begin at the base camps, and extend from there. The slender, rectangular tiles are laid end-to-end, with each one slightly overlapping the previous tile. The tiles may be turned at various angles, allowing the path of the expedition to be redirected at the whim of the players. The idea is to reach pueblos and collect the treasures – and perhaps towers – located thereupon. A treasure and/or tower are taken if the expedition tile touches the pueblo. Treasures are kept by the players, while towers are revealed and placed upon the scoring tile.

If an expedition tile touches a mesa for the first time, the player may secretly look at the tower on that mesa, noting its color. It is important to remember the identity of the towers, as players will want to avoid collecting towers that match the color of their “goal” card. Having as few of these colored towers placed to the scoring tile as possible is highly desirable, as it will increase the value of that treasure.

When a player places an expedition tile that touches one of his own campsites, he may steal a treasure of his choice from an opponent. This is the major incentive to placing new campsites, as this theft can deny several points to an opponent and increase your own victory point tally. There is a rule that prevents the placing of an expedition tile over a campsite that was just placed on the same turn. Otherwise, this would be too easy of a task, and would not allow opponents the opportunity to attempt to divert the expedition away from a campsite.

The scoring tile depicts four tracks with five spaces each, one for each color. The game ends either when all expedition tiles have been placed, or when one track has four towers upon it, at which point the value of each treasure is determined. The value of a treasure is equal to the number of uncovered spaces upon its corresponding track. For example, if two yellow towers have been placed upon the track when the game ends, there will be three uncovered yellow spaces. This means each yellow treasure is worth 3 points.

Each player tallies the value of his captured treasures, doubling the value of the treasures that match his goal card. The wealthiest player is victorious. They also gain the ignominious distinction of being the most prolific looter of ancient treasures.

In spite of its appealing subject matter, Anasazi falls flat on several levels. First, it fails to evoke the rich mystery of the culture. There really isn’t much atmosphere here. Further, it is difficult to balance the slim expedition tiles when overlapping them. They constantly slide off, causing the tiles to move and shift. In a game where centimeters are critical, this is quite problematic. The art on some of the tiles is also difficult to discern. Expedition tiles depict a tiny human figure atop a ladder, but it is a bit too diminutive for my aging eyes. The color of the base camps is also difficult to discern. Brighter colors would certainly have been easier.

Unfortunately, game play is also lacking. Players are hesitant to move an expedition close to a treasure lest an opponent use his turn to reach and claim the prize. Sadly, there really aren’t many alternatives, as inevitably someone will eventually begin moving the expedition towards the treasures. More often than not, being able to grab a treasure is due to the tile placement of the player immediately preceding your turn. There is no disincentive to collecting treasures, so players will grab any treasure within reach. Perhaps if certain treasures were harmful to a player, then there would be an incentive to exercise other options. As is, there aren’t any.

Fortunately, Anasazi plays to completion in 30 minutes or so. Its short duration, however, cannot overcome its flaws and general blasé feel. There simply isn’t anything exciting here. It is truly disappointing that the game couldn’t have done more justice to such a fascinating culture and subject.