Designers: <PERSON> and <PERSON>
Publisher: Z-Man Games
Players: 2
Length: 30-45 minutes
Age: 13+
Akrotiriis a game about excavating ancient Greek temples around the island of Thera. It is a tile placement game that is a quite a bit more brain burning that I expected. The object of the game is to score the most victory points by excavating temples (completing map cards) and completing hidden goals.
Components
I would say the components are average. The wooden player boats, temples, and resource cubes are standard quality. I had two cubes (a red and gray) that were stuck together when I opened the box. Separating them caused a big chunk to come out of one of the cubes. Not a huge deal, just a pain. I guess the paint wasn't completely dry when the cubes were put into the bag. The player and resource boards are rather thin and flimsy. Not a big issue, but they are already showing some wear on the corners. The tiles on the other hand are a bit thicker and will probably hold up well. The cards are of average quality. I sleeve, so thinner cards don't bother me. The money is cardboard in denominations of 1 and 5 drachmas and I find the 1 coins to be rather small. People with larger fingers might have some trouble with these smaller pieces. 336
The art is good and the iconography is clear on the cards, the tiles, and the player boards. The rulebook is well done and follows the flow of play well. The goal cards are all explained in the appendix at the back of the rulebook which is something all rulebooks should have.
Gameplay
The game is played over several turns with each player placing a tile, seeding the tile with 2 resources (one mandatory type, one optional), and then performing actions. I won't go into all the rules or how the game is played, but know that the tile placement is really the heart of the game. Paying attention to what your map cards require, watching what your opponent is doing to take advantage of his tile placements, and working the resource market to make enough money to excavate are really key. Maintaining shipping lanes to minimize the number of move actions required is also important.
What do I think?
I have played this twice and really enjoy the game. It starts out a bit slow and feels like it might be longer than expected, but quickly ramps up and you find yourself placing temples (and getting more actions) almost every turn in the later part of the game. As I mentioned before, it is a bit more brain burning than I expected due to the spatial nature of the map cards. You want to place your tiles in such a way to maximize the benefit of your map cards, but doing that sometimes blocks your path to the island where you need to excavate. It took a few rounds to get my head around the map cards, but if you take them for exactly what they are thematically, it really makes sense. I like to think of the map cards as the old pirate maps you see in the movies. "X" marks the spot. The "X" was west of the volcano, south of the lake, and east of the mountains. In this case, the "X" is your excavation spot where you can place your temple.
If you enjoy 2-player games with tile placement, hidden goals, some pick-up and deliver elements, and spatial awareness, Akrotiri might be for you. I give it a strong 7.5 out of 10. 349