Syzygy

• Designer: Asuka, IKE
• Publisher: EmperorS4
• Players: 3-6
• Age: 6+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

The solar system we live in exists thanks to a miraculous arrangement of planets.
Even for a god, recreating the same miracle twice would be impossible… right?

…Huh? You say it’s easy?

You “gods” must work together to return the scattered planets to their proper order.
The only hint is the involuntary phrase that slips from your lips: “OH MY GOD.”

To start, the nine planet cards are shuffled and then placed in a face down row on the table.  Each player gets a player aid card in their color with the four God Chips placed on it.  The players will work together to arrange these planet cards in a row, either 1-9 or 9-1. 

Beginning with the start player and then going clockwise, turns are taken.  There are only two options:

Play – select a Planet card which does not already have your token on it and secretly look at it. As you look at it, you must say “Oh My God” – with whatever inflection, emotion, etc you want.  These are the only words that you are able to use.   Then move the Planet card to a new location that is between two other cards.  That is, you cannot return it to the same place nor can you put it on either extreme end.  Put your lowest numbered token on the card.

Pass – Do nothing, and flip the lowest numbered token on your player aid card.

When all players have taken four actions, the game is over.  Flip the cards over.  The players win if the cards are in perfect sequence.

Once you have mastered this version, you can move onto the advanced game – the Trial for the Gods.  In this version, you only use Planets 1-7.  The Black Hole card is placed face down on the table.  Shuffle the Planet cards and place 3 on each side of the Black Hole, the remaining card is placed off to the side.

Again, you can either Play or Pass on your turn.  If you play, you are not allowed to choose either card closest to the Black Hole to look at.  At the end of the game, place the set aside card into the location of the Black Hole card.  You win if the cards are in order.

The final challenge is to play with the Black Hole and all 9 planet cards – this time placing 4 cards on each side of the Black Hole in setup.

My thoughts on the game

Oh My God!  What a fascinating game.  I had first played this a few years back at a convention, and while it was a super interesting game, it was one that could only be obtained at Tokyo Game Market, and I knew that I had no chance at acquiring one.  I was therefore super excited when EmperorS4 announced that they were reprinting it.

The rules are dead simple.  You can set up the board, show an example turn, and get started in about a minute.  The only question that I have with the rules is whether or not the players are allowed to discuss which way they want to order the cards before play starts.   That is, can it be predetermined which direction the numbers will flow.  I personally think the group should not communicate it – and there are actual game reasons why I don’t want the order fixed.

There is a lot of nuance in the saying of “Oh My God”.  Maybe the player is surprised?  Maybe he is super confident?  Maybe he is confused?  Maybe he is very disappointed?  In any event, you’ll have to try to convey your information based on inflection and facial expression as you say the only allowed thing.

There is a bit of a logic puzzle that you can work out as you trace the path of the player’s God markers.  They are numbered with 1, 2, 3 or 4 marks, so you can trace the path of a player’s moves.  By knowing which cards players saw in which order – you can hopefully figure out what they are thinking.

Though the rules are simple, the restriction of where you can replace a card is the biggest factor in deciding whether the team wins or loses.  As you can never put a card on the end, if you draw the 1 or 9, you’ll never be able to put it in the “right” position – you’ll have to put it next to the end, and then somehow convince the other players to choose the card on the extreme end to get those cards in the correct order.  Of course, if the next player looks at the same card, it cannot be placed back into the same slot – and then now you have to place it at least two slots away…. Or alternatively, place it at the other end of the line and then switch the proposed order of the cards entirely!

Syzygy is a wonderful, quick-playing limited communication game though impossible to spell.  The game is a wonderful little logic puzzle that will surely make you say “oh my god!” when you reveal the cards at the end.

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Joe Huber (3 plays): I think Dale’s conclusions are spot on.  I rarely want to play cooperative games over and over, so while I’d be happy to play this more, I had no inclination to pick up a copy.  For those more fond of such games, I definitely would recommend this one.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Dale Y, John P, Jonathan F.
• Neutral. Joe H.
• Not for me…