Initially, Five Tribes piqued my interest with its colorful bits. I was coming back from board game retirement and this was one of the first games I read about. It's also one of those games that seems to draw varying reviews, sometimes even within the same group (The Dice Tower and SUSD a couple of examples.) After watching the gameplay overview, I bit the bullet and bought it. And played it. And decided that it deserves yet another written review (Originally I had thought about reviving my long-dead video review series, but it seems like everyone is doing video reviews these days, and there are more video reviews than written ones.)
So without further ado.. instead of going over the rules / how to play, I’ll go right into what I think about it:
Days of Wonder + Gamer's Game: WINNING
As mentioned pretty much everywhere, the game is gorgeous. DoW nails the production again as usual - Nice thick cardboard, gorgeous art, wonderful bright colors, and nicely laid out aids & rulebook. The insert - oh, the insert - it's perfect, and everything has been thought out - even the manual suggests that we use the punched out sheets as a base to keep the box snug. Mind blown. It's just a level of detail that separates DoW from many other publishers.
This might not apply to you, but I like my bling. I like my games to be shiny and pretty. In my opinion, a great production will elevate a game to the next level, while a bad (my opinion, of course) game will lower a game's standing in my own personal ranking.
Another point about good production value is that it makes it easy to hook more casual non-gamers (my group, basically) into playing. You hook them with the gorgeous components, amp the game up, and you'll have their full attention as you explain the game.
I have a soft spot in my heart for DoW.. since back when TTR first came out. Since then I've played most of their games.. and my only quibbles have been that sometimes there's not enough 'game' behind the shininess of the components. (<PERSON> came to mind) Well, Five Tribes definitely breaks the mold. It has depth, it's thought provoking, it's full of surprises. And it looks gorgeous.
It's Unlike Any Other Game I Own
"It kinda reminds me of 'Manila', in that I never played any other game like that one." - my friend <PERSON> noted as we played Five Tribes.
After getting tired of worker placement games (which is my favorite mechanic,) set in random medieval rural villages.. it's so good to have something so... 304
different. The Arabian Nights theme is something you don't see all that often, and it's nice to see it come to life here. The mechanics are so unique, I saw people's eyes lit-up as I demonstrate the movement mechanic. More minds were blown when I told them that Money = VP = how you bid for turns = resource. I've seen it described as a worker 'dis-placement’, but to me it definitely feels more like an abstract. With Camels. And Assassins. And Genies!
The Djinns (Genies) 'breaks' the game…. and makes it even more fun!
Speaking of Djinns in this game, they kick the fun level up another notch. Albeit on a smaller scale, they kinda reminds me of the Alien races in Cosmic Encounter. A more apt comparison might be the creatures in Kemet or the gods in Cyclades. Those things the cherry on top - it adds wonderful variability (or chaos, ha!) to what's already a rich and layered game to begin with.
However I will add, it's not fair to call them simply 'adding chaos' - because they do work in tandem with specific strategies you can pursue. A Djinn that grants you wonderful bonus if your mee-ssassins start killing people definitely would steer you down a path of unending violence.
With that in mind - a quick side note - here's how you explain Five Tribes to newcomers: Save the <PERSON> explanation last. Show them how important Money is. Show them how you move the pieces. Show them what the colors mean. Show them the actions of the tiles... and then take the stacks of <PERSON> cards and tell them that all those rules you just tell them? These Djinns break 'em. Watch their collective minds blown and start the game.
It's an Abstract... and that's perfectly fine.
Despite the crazy Djinns, the colorful pieces, the wonderful illustrations, and the immersive 'environment', make no mistake, at it's heart this game is an euro-abstract. 366