Solstis

• Designer: Bruno Cathala and Corentin Lebrat
• Publisher: Lumberjacks
• Players: 1-2
• Age: 8+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3Giom5O
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

PROVE YOUR WORTH AND EARN THE MOST ⭐️ POSSIBLE by traveling the mountain and assembling as many landscape tiles as possible, meeting the forest spirits and lighting fires on the peaks creating a path through the valley.

The tile capture mechanics are taken from the hanafuda mechanics. Collect a tile according to the column or row then place them in your landscape. The goal of the game will be to reconstruct a landscape by combining its tiles to score as many points as possible. You will have to be careful not to leave tiles to your opponent while optimizing your landscape according to your opponent’s choices. Also, create tile squares to collect spirits that will help you during or at the end of the game.The experience is… zen and very quick to set up! For adults and children!

To set up, the Land tiles are all shuffled and then a row of 6 two-tile stacks is made on the table, the bottom tile being face down and the top tile being face up.  Each player also draws 3 tiles for their initial hand.  The rest of the Land tiles are organized in a supply.  The Rainbow tiles are kept nearby, and the 15 Spirit tiles are shuffled into their own supply stack.  The player aid is placed nearby as this has a diagram on it showing the legal placements for the tiles.  Each tile also has its coordinates printed in the bottom left.

Players alternate turns.  On a turn, the active player chooses a tile from their hand, and then checks to see if they can capture a tile from the display – it must be a tile that matches the number or color from the chosen hand tile.  If so, both the hand tile and then any one of the eligible tiles from the board are collected and then placed in that person’s personal display – each tile going in their designated location.   If the tile taken from the board exposes a face down tile in the display, flip it over so that it can be captured on a later turn.

If you are unable to choose a tile from the display, you then add your hand tile to the display and then draw a random Land Tile and then see if you can capture a tile.  If so, take both tiles as above.  If you are still unable to match a tile, you place your Second Chance tile into the display and then take a Rainbow tile as your consolation.  This Rainbow Tile must be placed so that it is directly adjacent to any previously placed tile in your area.

If you are placing a tile into a space where you already have a Rainbow, you can replace the Rainbow if it is not covered by a Spirit.  You place the real tile in its space and then move the Rainbow to a different legal space in your area (one that is directly adjacent to a previously placed tile.

If you create at least one 2×2 group of tiles in your area on your turn, you get to add a Spirit tile to your mountain.   You can choose to take any previously exposed Spirit tiles that are in the draw area OR you can draw two tiles from the Spirit stack, choose one to place on your board and then place the unchosen one into said exposed Spirit tile area.   If you draw and get the Red Evil Spirit tile, you keep both tiles.  On a later turn where you get a new Spirit you give the Evil Spirit to your opponent.  At the end of the game, whoever holds the Evil Spirit will have to cover a Spirit on their board as directed by their opponent; thus nullifying the scoring for that spirit.

If the Spirit tile is Brown, you immediately apply its effect.  If it is blue, you will get an end-game bonus scoring ability.

To end the turn, draw a new land tile to your hand.  Continue playing until the draw pile is exhausted.  You continue to play, but you no longer can reveal a Second Chance tile nor draw a new tile at the end of your turn.  If you can capture a tile on your turn, you must do so.  If you cannot capture one, you skip your turn.  Play until both players are forced to skip their turn.

Now each player calculates their score:

• One VP for each non-rainbow tile in your largest contiguous group
• One VP for each lit fire icon – that is a fire icon that can trace a path back to a bottom row tile
• One VP per spirit tile
• VPs for each blue spirit tile based on the individual rules for each

The player with the most points wins.  There is no tiebreaker

My thoughts on the game

So 2p games are not normally my jam – mostly because I’m rarely playing games with only 2 players; so it took awhile to get this game to the table.   There is a nice back and forth between the players in Solstis – with players getting small advantages when they are able to play a card from their hand that captures one from the display.  If so, you’ll get two tiles, though you don’t have any choice on where to put them – they go into their appointed slot.   If not, you get a second chance!  If you still can’t match anything, take a rainbow tile… you’ll never walk away empty handed!

Slowly but steadily, the players build up their tableaus, hoping to build a nice 2×2 block so that a Spirit can be played. You can take one from the display or maybe hope to be lucky and draw a better one from the Deck.  

For us, it felt like the game pretty much played us.  The decisions, such as they were, were often obvious and straightforward.  Sometimes you only had one tile in your hand that made a match – so you ended up with no decisions.  Sometimes when you had two tiles that could match, the combinations were such that one set was obviously better than the other; thus you have no decision.  Sometimes, you didn’t make a match and simply drew a tile at random – you might still get a match, but again, you didn’t really have a decision.  

Sure sure, there is a bit more choice if you’re able to make a 2×2 area to get a Spirit, you could choose a face up tile or draw 2/choose 1.  Yes, those are all viable choices.  But, overall, a pretty low percentage of the game allows you to make such momentous decisions.  There are a few Spirits that allow you to disrupt your opponent, and of course, you will be always trying to pass the Evil Spirit to them so they take the penalty at the end of the game.

On the whole, it’s a pleasant diversion; you get to watch your colorful area build on the table, and you get satisfaction in small bursts when you get to add the perfect tile or perhaps from generating a Spirit.  But it’s not something that I would pull out again at my next rare 2p day.  My opponent liked it a lot more, and it will live on in his game collection.  

Until your next appointment

The Gaming Doctor

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3Giom5O