This game is a simple twist on a Mancala Rondel that breaks it down to its simplest elements, using poker-esque set collection as its scoring method.
With a variable setup that makes every game unique (but not very luck-based) and a snappy playtime, this is a game that's easy to learn but hard to master. You quickly enter a flow state where you have your own little engine with branching game paths, and sometimes you need to rip the guts out of your engine just to lock down a certain card. The only RNG that comes into play is when revealing the newest card in the market, which is at least somewhat mitigated by the expensive cost of that card slot. If a game is very close and both players need a single card to win and have a large surplus of seeds, only then does topdecking become an issue. The game can create some crazy combo-chains, so don't be surprised if it ends in a small number of rounds.
However, the gameplay is pretty simple so you've really got to like mancala as a mechanic to dig this. It can be quite competitive, though there is a start-player advantage. Replay value is high if this is your jam.
If you like 2-player math-based games such as Go, Mancala, or Nim, I highly recommend trying it out!
With a variable setup that makes every game unique (but not very luck-based) and a snappy playtime, this is a game that's easy to learn but hard to master. You quickly enter a flow state where you have your own little engine with branching game paths, and sometimes you need to rip the guts out of your engine just to lock down a certain card. The only RNG that comes into play is when revealing the newest card in the market, which is at least somewhat mitigated by the expensive cost of that card slot. If a game is very close and both players need a single card to win and have a large surplus of seeds, only then does topdecking become an issue. The game can create some crazy combo-chains, so don't be surprised if it ends in a small number of rounds.
However, the gameplay is pretty simple so you've really got to like mancala as a mechanic to dig this. It can be quite competitive, though there is a start-player advantage. Replay value is high if this is your jam.
If you like 2-player math-based games such as Go, Mancala, or Nim, I highly recommend trying it out!