Well, in recent years, the genre of the Tableau Builder has been one of more popular ones. Two big hits of the past few years Faraway (2023) and Castle Combo (2024) have each recently had an expansion. Each comes in a little sachet that feels like an old-school pack of baseball cards.
If you’re unfamiliar with the base games – let me direct you to our reviews of those first:
Faraway: Under Starry Skies
- Designers: Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat
- Publisher: Pandasaurus/Catch Up Games
- Players: 2-6
- Age: 10+
- Time: 20-30 minutes
- Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4svYKWp
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
Meteorite season is now for Alula, and with it come meteor showers. This festive time attracts plenty of colorful visitors and excited pilgrims. Legends say these meteors change the physics of the continent in strange ways…
The 15 new Meteor cards are just shuffled with Region cards from the base game (and possibly from the first expansion). Some of the numbers will match those in the base deck, if they come out at the same time, treat the Meteor card as the higher one of them. They don’t have an effect during the game, but can dramatically change the scoring phase: All Meteor cards in front of you stay face up for scoring (just like Sanctuaries), as well as all your Region cards which share a last digit with them. They will all be taken into account when scoring each of your Region cards.
Meteor cards also feature new scoring requirements, like acquiring 4 cards of the same biome, or throwing away some of your Sanctuary cards.
So this expansion can be added in seamlessly to your base game of Faraway. You’ll be able to easily remove the cards later as they all have Meteor art on the cards as well as a pink fireball in the bottom left corner.
Adding these cards into the game drastically changes how you will approach the draft now. Getting a Meteor card early (preferably in the opening deal) can be a very important strategy as it can guide you in later drafts. Being able to keep a number of your cards face up through the entire scoring is very powerful, and knowing what digits will stay face up can be huge.
If you’re unable to get one early on but still want to play the percentages, it’s important to note that there are two cards of each odd final digit but only one card of each even final digit.
The big question for me is: is it possible to play with Meteors and win if you don’t get one? Thus far, the jury is out around here as to how useful the pink cards really are. In the right place, they can really be nice – but I would definitely not say that they are game-breaking or overpowered as compared to the “regular” cards. As with every card in Faraway, it has to be in the right place in your line.
Some of the Meteor cards score only if you discard Sanctuary cards, and this can lead to some interesting decisions – both as you are creating your card line and then later when you are scoring. You’ll have to weigh the options of discarding the Sanctuary cards (and losing both their icons and scoring formulas) versus the fairly good payoff from the Meteor cards that score them.
For anyone who already likes Faraway, this is a great addition to the game and one I’d be glad to recommend. It comes in a small booster packet and can easily be integrated and then later separated again if you like.
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4svYKWp
Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette!
- Designer: Gregory Grard, Mathieu Roussel
- Publisher: Pandasaurus / Catch Up Games!
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 10+
- Time: 20-30 minutes
- Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4bv9mij
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
The prison gates have just slammed shut… 12 outlaws are now serving their questionable sentences in the kingdom’s dungeons! Will you free them in time for the fiesta?” Out of the Oubliette! adds 12 new cards and a new rule: padlocks allow players to delay some card effects until a later turn, creating even greater combos!
The twelve cards (6 for each deck) are simply shuffled into the main decks. When they are purchased, you place a Key from the supply on top of the lock icon found on the card. Later in the game, you can discard said Key to activate the special effect on the card.
You can only use one Lock ability per turn – before using a Key to trigger the Messenger, after using a Key or at the very end of your turn after refilling the rows.
Many of the special abilities allow you to refresh one row of the display, and some of these pay out bonuses based on the icons found on the discarded cards. Other cards let you activate the ability of an adjacent card.
I find that this addition gives the game a bit more depth. In the base game, you’re really just hoping for the right card to be available when your turn comes around. Now, you have the chance to try to set things up for a big payday. The ability to delay actions for the right time can be a really powerful thing – though of course, the situation may never arise to allow you to really use the power well either! Your opponents will also be able to see what you have available to you, and this may change how they take cards as well. Some of the scoring conditions are unique, and this adds a bit more variety to how to approach your tableau.
The twelve expansion cards are easily integrated into the game, and I do like the additional options they give you when you play. Being able to delay the action on the card can be a very advantageous thing, but you will need to remember that you can only use one locked action per turn, so you can’t save them all for a hellacious final turn.
The game still chugs along quickly with each player only getting nine turns in the game. You still build just a 3×3 array in the game, but the new cards add more strategy and different interactions between the cards.
As there are only six new cards in each deck, it is actually quite possible to go through the whole game and never pick up or even be tempted to get one of the expansion cards. The game works just fine if you don’t – as the new cards are definitely not more powerful, just offering different ways to score and take actions.
For anyone who already likes Castle Combo, this is a great addition to the game and one I’d be glad to recommend. It comes in a small booster packet and can easily be integrated and then later separated again if you like.
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4bv9mij
