As a tight-knit team in Menara, players use pillars and wondrously-shaped temple floors to build a spectacularly soaring structure full of nooks and crannies. Cooperation and static skills are in demand since for each mistake in construction, you have to add another floor to the temple.
A steady hand, an alert mind, and mutual assistance can help you successfully complete what seems to top out at dizzy heights…
AmandaDesignsGames
A gripping coop stacking game. The color restrictions and different card actions require some planning and strategizing, which work well as a coop, and the stacking gives everyone their chance to shine. The emotional impacts of a stacking game, mixed with the shared experience of a coop, also make for an intense experience.
ajewo
Menara is a cooperative dexterity stacking up game. Each turn, a player draws a plan card that tells the condition how the next pillars must be placed. If one of the floors (boards) has been filled up with pillars, a new floor must be placed on top of the pillars. Players constantly build up the tower (temple) until it collapses or it reaches a certain level. [b]What makes it special?[/b] * Cooperative stacking game (most are competitive) * Stacking game that offers a lot of strategic decision-making [b]Pros:[/b] + Artwork is nice and colorful + Components (wooden pillars, double-sided unusual shaped floors, table presence, draw bag, 3D cardboard camp) + Pillar management: players randomly draw up to a certain number of colored pillars. They can exchange them in the camp (flexibility, luck mitigation, odds management). Players should also watch what pillars other players own + Strategic plan selection: a player picks a plan from one of three decks: easy, medium, or difficult (push your luck). The plan describes what the player has to do (e.g., how many pillars to place, how they must be placed, or move placed pillars) + Game ends if pillars, floors, or any plan deck is depleted (timer and pressure: players cannot just play safe). Players may have to maintain a certain level until one of these conditions is met (they do not win just by reaching the level which creates more tension) + If a plan cannot be fulfilled, it becomes another (tower) level required to end the game (which makes the game harder and longer) + Strategic pillar placement: depending on the available spots, the pillars of the other players, and the next available floor + Floors are double-sided and have different colored spots for pillars. Sometimes players can choose the side (additional decision-making depending on the available colored spots and colored pillars) + Floors have unique and unusual shapes (some also contain holes). The different shapes makes it very interesting to place them on top of any pillars (tense, decision-making). Floors can touch but not stack each other + Several different plans and floors. Different order each game (replayability) + Tense game ending even if the tower collapses + Different difficulty levels (replayability) + Scales well with all player counts + Easy to teach and play (draw a plan and resolve it, family-friendly) + Well written rules (however, some ambiguities) [b]Neutrals:[/b] # Theme (jungle, temple, glyphs, pasted on) # Language independent # No hidden information # A little luck of the draw for plans (players decide the difficulty, push your luck) # Only indirect in-game player interaction through the pillar camp # Varying playing time # The game can be quite long compared to other stacking games (still okay) # Potential for alpha players # Family and solo game [b]Cons:[/b] - More floor tiles would have been great (there are enough, but could be more for long-term variability) - ... especially since the game box is way too big for its content (Catan / Ticket to Ride size) - Draw bag for pillars could have been bigger (just big enough) [b]Thoughts:[/b] Menara is a tense tactile dexterity game that has an unusual amount of strategic decision-making for a stacking game due to pillar management, plan selection, unique floor shapes, and pillar/floor placement. It is very tense because players eventually have to pick one of the more difficult plans that create challenging moments. Even if the game ends in a collapse, it is still fun. [b]Similar games:[/b] * For Science: cooperative dexterity game with building blocks and real-time. * Villa Paletti (competitive stacking game) * Rhino Hero (simple, good for kids) * Men at Work * Junk Art (a lot of different game modes) * Meeple Circus (also a bit thinky) * Animal Upon Animal * Jenga (pulling tiles out of a tower)
bnordeng
An interesting twist on a stacking game using a cooperative approach that I think really works well for this type of game. There are thoughtful decisions to make throughout the game along with some dexterity to make it all work. The appearance of the game reminds me of Villa Paletti. While I liked the look of the wood bits in VP, the Menara components (wood pillars and carboard tiles) actually work better and look pretty good too.