Posted on: April 7, 2023
Early Access review
mistycoven
Verified ownerGames: Reviews: 3
Cute but shallow
Since the game's screenshots might mislead some people, let me preface this review by saying this isn't a city building game. It's a puzzle/strategy game, where the puzzle pieces are themed after various constructs like farms, orchards, cottages, and such There are only two fundamental resources - points, and cards. Points are the win condition, as well as the means by which you obtain new cards. At preset levels of points you unlock new cards, as well as the ability to draw more cards into your hand. The game ends if you have no cards and cannot draw any more. Cards are split into decks, which are just pools of similarly themed cards that generally give bonuses when placed next to each other or otherwise have synergy. When you draw cards you will be given a choice of decks to draw from. You get points by placing cards on a hexagonal grid, which more points being awarded if the terrain or nearby constructs synergize with the card you are placing, and fewer points (or no points) if the cards conflict with the nearby tiles. Placing specific types of cards near each other may cause the tiles to merge into one, larger construct. There are various unlockable "maps" on which to build, which change the types of tiles you will encounter and thus favor different strategies. Maps are unlocked by playing earlier maps and meeting certain goals. There is also a puzzle mode in which you are given a fixed set of cards, an are asked to use those cards to reach a specific point goal. I purchased this game because I found the idea of building a village with random cards charming, however I must stress this is a puzzle game; you have no villagers, no resources other than points and cards, and each map is small and played only briefly before you move onto a new map, starting over from scratch. The entire gameplay loop is a series of brief puzzles themed around town building, nothing more or less.
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