Every time I play this game, I hop on the geek to see if I can increase my rating. I can't, I've rated it 10 and that's the max. I tried to give it an 11, but apparently that's N/A. Needless to say, I think you should own and play this game. If you want to know more, read on.
Components:
I'm a visual gamer, it's true, and attractive components will really enhance a game for me. Consider the temples, huts, and villages. The towers are by far my favorite component, but they all look good, and have a nice shiny finish. The tiles are attractive, and substantially thick (Taluva tiles on the left). They're satisfying to hold and roll over in your hand as you contemplate placement. Each tile has a volcano hex, along with two other terrain hexes: lagoon, sand, grass, jungle, rock.
Concept:
I wouldn't normally comment on "concept" in a review, except in the case of Taluva it is so essential to my enjoyment of the game. Volcanic islands*, grow in two ways: upward as the volcano continues to spew lava, and outward as the tectonic plate (with island) shifts above the volcanic hotspot.
Brilliantly, this is exactly how tile placement works. You place a level 1 tile anywhere adjacent to the island, but each tile on a higher level must be placed with the volcano hex directly on top of a lower volcano hex. In this way the upward growth of the volcano is maintained. This results in beautiful, organic islands being formed, driven only by the game mechanics.
* Certain types of volcanic islands anyway, also I am not a geologist.
Rules:
Although the rules are simple, it did take one or two plays to to isolate all the details. Does a temple or tower count towards the size of a settlement? (It does. See the for more details.) However once I established the rules they were easy to convey to others. The turn summary is as follows:
1) Draw and place an island tile.
2) Build a building.
Draw and place an island tile: At first I wondered "where is my hand of tiles that I may select from?" but I quickly realized there was no need for that variety. It would over-complicate play, and it seldom matters which tile you have drawn. The volcano hex governs the majority of the game. The orientation of the volcano can block other players or control expansion of the island upwards. You'll want to do all those things. 349
The island needs to expand outwards to build villages, and create a base for upward growth. Upward growth is required to place towers. And everyone will constantly be destroying villages (never towers or temples) to do so, sometimes their own.
Build a building: This is not an optional step. If you can't build a structure on your turn, you are eliminated from the game. Normally I dislike games with player-ejecting mechanics, but here it works. You need to expand quickly to build temples and towers faster than your opponents... but not too quickly, lest you force yourself out of the game. Oh and did I mention the early win condition? If you use up all of two types of building, you auto win.
There are three types of building in Taluva: villages, temples, and towers. Villages can go on any level 1 hex, temples must be adjacent to a 3+ hex settlement, and towers must be adjacent to a 1+ hex settlement, but must be placed on level 3+. There is a fourth building mechanic called expansion, which allows you to place multiple villages in a turn. However, when you expand onto a level 2 hex you must place 2 villages. expand onto a level 3 hex? 3 villages. Expansion actions will burn through your villages very quickly.
Winning
The game ends when all tiles have been exhausted. There is also the early win condition, use all of two types of building. The more players, the less likely this is to happen.
The base win condition is whoever has the most temples, then the most towers, then the most villages. This is sensible, and in most cases directly reflects the difficulty in building those structures. Temples require spreading out, a dangerous proposition when every turn your village may get squashed by a volcano. Towers can be built more quickly, but require ground work, and villages of course can spread wildly.
Gameplay
Tile placement is considerably more complex than it appears at first. You are expanding outward, as well as upward, and constantly trying to find a tile rotation that will prevent your opponent from dropping a volcano on you, while creating a foundation that you can build on in future turns. Rotated the right way, you can create a safe zone. Rotated the wrong way you endanger your villages, or worse block your own tile placements in later turns. 349