Yellowstone!! The very NAME itself conjures up images of Spanish galleons firing grapeshot across the faces of the helpless and praying English sailors, tangled inextricably in their own vessels' rigging.... What? What's that you say? Bison? Elk??? What do you MEAN this game is about getting herds of animals from one spot to another and back again? Food points??? What the HELL are food points?
There was a time when I would purchase every single Avalon Hill title that didn't have the word "Blitz" anywhere on the box, or a picture of somebody lying bleeding under a flag. Apparently, during a detour to Yellowstone that my wife and I took during our honeymoon trip from L.A. to D.C., I exercised that privilege at a Yellowstone Park gift store. I remember well how it went, that night, safely ensconced in our room at that lodge in Yellowstone, during the summer of 1988, as the park burned on three sides of us.... The smell of burning bison, elk, bighorn sheep, and mule deer could not keep us from either consummating our wedded bliss or playing our newly acquired board game.
Fast forward, fourteen years. We never played it again. I think that speaks VOLUMES for both the game, and our marriage. Not even as a sentimental attempt to rekindle our dwindling passion would I DREAM of trying to foist this game off on my wife, let alone an innocent human being. However, since this is ostensibly a game "review" and not a trip down my skewed version of memory lane, here we go:
There are a lot of hexes on the gameboard. Animals naturally move through hexes in the wilderness, so it's no stretch to assume they'd do it in this game. Each of the four herds you can control has its winter grazing area represented in the middle of one of the four edges of the board. 504
Did I mention that the board has a lot of hexes? Okay, hexes are good, so this game is probably good, too. The summer grazing areas for the herds are all adjacent to each other in the MIDDLE of the board! Neat. What sets this game apart from all other "get your animal to his various grazing areas and back" games is that in this one, you have to cross almost the entire board, regardless of which herd you choose! Talk about balance. Pretty impressive, really. Here's where it gets scary, and perhaps younger children shouldn't read much of this next bit: There are coyotes and bears parked near all the summer grazing areas. Yes, I warned you. It's NOT pretty when you've just watched your mule deers mate and have a baby, and then this little baby gets coyotified.
The game distinguishes between "food points" and "animal points", and thank goodness it does! If not, none of the other rules would make any sense. Unlike lots of the other "winter-summer-winter" games you've played, this one is played in turns. Each game of Yellowstone encompasses all four seasons, and even though you might feel like the game really does last a year, I assure you, it does not.
Bottom line on this game, before I wear out my brain trying to remember it any more: The rules ALL make sense in the context of what you are trying to achieve. The different movement allowances for both the herds and the predators make perfect sense, and are implemented well. There IS empathy involved in attempting to adopt a "hivemind" outlook (okay, "herdmind") as you try to guide your charges to their ranges and back. It's a very decent, enjoyable game for up to four players who are interested in trying a simulation of something that they will never, ever, ever be able to otherwise simulate in their lives.
All review ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being "Head of herd" and 1 being "runt of the litter left to be coyotified by its mother":
Playability--3
Replayability--1
Teachability--5 (easy to set up, explain, and play)
Enjoyability--2 (not exactly left to be devoured by coyotes, but damned close) 579