Thoughts from the Yellow Meeple:- Tsuro of the Seas

Game Title: Tsuro of the Seas

Designer: Tom McMurchie & Jordan Weisman

Manufacturer: Calliope Games

Year: 2012


 

Tsuro was one of the first games we tried when we got into gaming. To be honest it was a little bit too simple for our tastes, even at that time and we decided not to add it to our collection. However, when I noticed Tsuro of the Seas, it seemed to have a bit more going on and we decided to give it a go!

 Tsuro of the Seas is a tile laying game for 2-8 players, although it is much better at its higher player counts. Each player takes a boat and the aim is to sail around the board, without sailing over the edge, without crashing into other boats and without being eaten by the hungry dragons.

In the set-up of the game you use the dice to roll co-ordinates for the placement of 6 dragon tiles. Each player then picks a starting location for their boat. On your turn you first roll the two dice and a total result of a 6,7 or 8 will activate the dragons. You then roll a single dice for each dragon which will determine its movement around the board. You then select a tile from a hand of three, place it in front of your boat and follow the line on the tile. That is all there is to the game!

Unless the dice force the white dragon to move in the 1, 3 or 4 direction before white takes their next turn the the boat will be eaten! If someone moves the dice with a '2' roll then the white boat is also destroyed as the dragon tile moves left and replaces the sea tile.

 It’s certainly not a strategic game, but it can be a lot of fun when the chaos ensues with the higher player counts. With lower player counts there is not enough interaction between the boats on the board. This problem can also occur as you get towards the end of the game – when there are 2 players remaining at the end of the game, it can really start to drag on because the two players are not near each other and also there tend to be only 3 dragons left on the board.

Really nice artwork with the manuals and inserts as well as the board!

  

Tsuro of the Seas is not our choice on a typical game night, but when we have 5-8 players or when we’re introducing non-gamers to our world of board games, it can certainly be fun and looks great on the table too, which can help draw non-gamers into trying some meatier games. The Yellow Meeple rates Tsuro of the Seas a 6/10.