YORKTON - When you have played as many games as we ‘Meeple Guilders’ it can be difficult for a game to really ‘Wow!’ us.
We have seen so many that truly fresh and surprising games have become rare. That is not to say great games don’t come across the table for the first time these days, but rare is the one that actually blows us away.
Well, a solo print and play game is among the ‘wow!’
For Northwood is a game that initially I wondered whether it was worth the effort to print the cards and do the cutting.
To start the artwork by game designer Wilhelm Su took a bit to appreciate. The cute animals look like they are from a book for five-year-olds, and as a 64-year-old with a bit of curmudgeonly reputation, the art didn’t sync well. But, in time the pure whimsy of the critters on the cards won me over.
Next was the mechanic.
For Northwood is a solo trick-taking game.
Now I love trick takers going back to whist with my grandparents, and up to the very recent introduction to the excellent Canadian Salad card game, but I really wasn’t expecting it to work well as a core mechanic of a solo game.
Well, I was wrong.
Su has come up with a really straightforward, but effective way for trick taking in this one that works very well.
In the game – played over eight rounds, you must visit eight ‘animal fiefs’ and “engage their rulers in dialogue (tricks),” notes the designer. “Each ruler's suit represents the trump for that fief. Each ruler also requires you to win an exact number of tricks to join your alliance, so the game gets harder as your options dwindle.”
So you may need to win one trick, harder to accomplish than you think, etc.
Neatly you do have access ‘four allies’, each with an ability that you can use once per ‘round’. The abilities can make you draw, discard, or otherwise manipulate your hand to help you hit the target score. Since there are a variety of ‘allies’ you can draw from each game, there is good variability and replay – and of course in a solitaire card game you want to play again and again.
In the end the effort to print / cut / sleeve for Northwoods was time very well spent. This game is not complicated to play, nor is it easy to top out score wise, and there are even scenarios to expand the play experience.
The art work will grow on you, and the simple rules will make you a quick fan. Most certainly a ‘Wow!’ from me.
