Gameplay
Mandala Stones is a tileplacement game in which you take turns either scoring their playerboard or moving artists (the black pillars on the main board) onto a new location.
When moving an artist to a new location, the active player takes all tiles which match that pillars sign. This stack is then placed upon the playerboard in one of four spots, each eventually scoring the tiles in different ways.
When scoring, the active player takes all stacks of one colour, at has to be at least two stacks, and scores these on their own playerboard while placing the top tile on the board keeping track of the progression of the game.
When the end spot is reached, players calculate their final scores and the player with the most points wins the game.
Thoughts
I'm saying it once again; I love board games with a good tactile feel to them. The tiles in this game are very colourful and heavy, just the way I like them.
The gameplay is simple and solid. You move an artist, take the stones, couple of turns later you score them. It's up to you if you want to dive deep into strategic thinking. But because other players move artists as well, it gets a bit harder to foretell your next moves. As I like intuitive playing, that's a plus for me.
The overall looks of the game are saved by the stones as for my opinion. I don't really like the design of the playerboards. But overall, they do support the brightness of the stones, so overall it looks good.
If you like tileplacment games with beautiful heavy stones that are easy to teach and a bit harder to master, this might be up your alley..
A copy of this game was provided to me by White Goblin Games for the purpose of writing this review. My opinion however remains my own.
BGG
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