Tsuro of the Seas: A game of treacherous waters
Last week I gushed about what I think is probably the best board game out there: Tsuro. When I heard about it’s successor, (shamefully I wasn’t aware of the Kickstarter campaign that launched it), I was pretty jazzed to try Tsuro of the Seas: A game of treacherous waters. I admit that it is a fun game to play, built on the strength of Tsuro, but the additional elements detract from the simplicity of the fun that made Tsuro so perfect.
Much like Tsuro, in Tsuro of the Seas, your entire goal is to be the last man standing. You have a beautiful board with artwork reminiscent of Asian painted wood block art, player markers (this time they are little boats) and lovely painted tiles. Again, you start on the denoted starting points around the board – eldest starting first and going clockwise, where you place your path tile, and continue to the end. This much of the zen like simplicity and beautiful art has not changed in Tsuro of the Seas.
What has changed, is the added elements of rolling dice, and monsters (Daikaiju – which is worth mentioning are also beautifully painted!). Instead of the challenge being only running into other players or running yourself off the board, the Daikaiju are placed on the board dictated by the rolling of the two D6’s before the game starts. The squares are numbered so blue 4 and gold 6 will place one of the 3 Daikaiju in a specific square, and you repeat to have 3 Daikaiju on the board. Once game play starts, the player rolls the dice to see if they get a combined number of 7, 8, or 9. If they do, they roll again to see if or where the Daikaiju move. Each tile for a Daikaiju has numbers and arrows pointing what direction it will move or rotate if you roll that number. When the Daikaiju encounter a path tile by moving on top of that tile, it consumes that tile (the path tile is removed from the board). If a player happens to be on that tile, they are eliminated from play. The Daikaiju can move themselves off the board, but then next turn a player rolls the two dice to place a new one on the board.
When I first played Tsuro of the Seas, I was very disappointed. I walked in, expecting another Tsuro that was elegant, simple, and still amazing fun. I was comparing this game to something that I felt couldn’t be improved upon, and hoping for the same amazing fun experience while preparing to be disappointed. I didn’t allow myself to have fun – and that was totally my fault. If you walk into this game with a closed mind like mine was, you’re setting yourself for frustration and that isn’t fair to you, nor is it the intent of the game maker! So six months later, I had a night out at Card Kingdom and Cafe Mox with friends – half of which at the table had never played Tsuro of the Seas yet, and gave it another shot.
Drinks and dinner around a table of friends help improve any game, but I had fun when I wasn’t expecting it! My thoughts on this game though, are that it is unnecessarily complicated. There are too many steps between player one, and player two. Roll to see if the Daikaiju move. Yes? Roll a D6 to see if Daikaiju 1 moves, then roll for Daikaiju 2, then Daikaiju 3, and then place your path, and hope for the best. You no longer have a smooth game play experience. Strategy is also difficult with rotating and moving Daikaiju removing tiles from play (not to mention players).
While we all hooted when we we spared certain death by the well rolled dice moving the Daikaiju out of our path, and held our breath every time we had to roll the dice to place new tiles on the board, it still felt complicated. No longer could you explain the rules in the time it takes to go up 3 stories in an elevator. Why not simplify the game by rolling once for all Daikaiju, and try to restore some of the smooth path that Tsuro is known for? As it stands, a round of Tsuro of the Seas takes 45 minutes instead of the 10-15 that Tsuro does.
My take-away from the better play through of this game is that there is fun to be had in Tsuro of the Seas. It is worth playing with your friends, but be prepared the treacherous waters will complicate your zen path of Tsuro.
