Linyo

• Designer: Florian and Steffen Benndorf 
• Publisher: Kendi
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 8+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Try to fill your game board as completely as you can in Linyo using only four lines.

Each player has a player sheet showing a grid of squares in three colors, some of which feature a star. The sheets are double sided, so make sure that players are all using the same side.  To set up, roll the four dice, which show the three colors equally across their faces. Place a circle on four squares in your grid that match the colors rolled.

On a turn, the active player rolls the four dice; if all dice show the same color, they can set three dice to the colors of their choice, but otherwise the dice lay untouched. Each player must then start one line (from a circle) or extend one line, passing through at least two squares that match the colors rolled. If the line hits a star, a player can extend that line one additional space.  Exactly one line will be extended, but it can turn as many times as needed, always going to an orthogonally adjacent space.  Players are not obligated to use all the dice that they can; they can choose to leave some unused.

If a player cannot extend a line by at least two spaces, they must cancel a line with an X. Additionally, they must X any line that cannot be extended. When one player has Xed all of their lines, the game ends, and whoever has marked off the most spaces wins.

My thoughts on the game

Linyo is a fairly old school roll-and-write.  Roll the dice, make a combo and then everyone does something with that exact same roll.  The sheets are identical as well; though players are free to choose their starting positions, so it’s likely that the boards will be non-identical within a turn or two.

As each player’s board branches off in a different direction, the relative value of each roll will change for each player.  Obviously, you’d like to draw through as many squares on your sheet as possible each turn because whenever the game ends, the player with the most squares crossed off will win.

Whether you start with your origins close together or far apart, it does not take long for you to get penned in.  Hard decisions will have to be made about which line to extend and which to sacrifice.  Again, the driving force behind most turns is what allows you to cross off the highest number of squares.  Sometimes, ending on a bonus square is the best option as you get an extra square  as well as more freedom in which direction you want your path to go.

The player sheets are double sided, so you have two different maps to explore.  That being said, each game has a fairly flat arc.  You roll the dice, draw your line, and then repeat.  There are no interval goals or races.  There are no bonuses for completely filling in lines or being the last person with all their lines still alive.  You just repeat until someone ends the game.  Everything in Linyo works fine, and it is an interesting puzzle for the first game or two, but there is nothing to set any game of Linyo apart from any other.  It has been a pleasant game to play as a filler, but I suspect we won’t finish the pad of score sheets provided either.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it.
• Neutral. Dale
• Not for me…