Hokkaido

Board Game Geek Reviews

1. 7 out of 10

   kystas

   Hokkaido make things better than Honshu in every way. Simplified card choosing mechanic works well and the scoring is more interesting. Really liked it!

2. 6 out of 10

   ajewo

   Hokkaido is the successor of Honshu by Kalle Malmioja. It is a tile (card) laying game in which cards overlay each other. Each card has different fields in a 2x3 grid. Each field give victory points in a certain way. Some fields also produce goods that can be used by other fields to score victory points. The cards are distributed by card drafting: pick one card and pass the remaining cards to your neighboring player (like in 7 Wonders). [b]What makes it special?[/b] * Overlapping cards to create your landscape combined with simultaneously card drafting * Mountains split up the player's map [b]Pros:[/b] + Artwork Snow themed. The art on the cards is not that detailed but solid. + Components Decent cards and standard colored wooden cubes. + Multiple paths to victory Each card has 6 fields that score differently. Players try to focus on some of these fields. Production fields produce colored cubes (products) that are consumed by Factory fields on other cards and score victory points at the end of the game. + Combined decision-making: card drafting with spatial puzzle Puzzly decision-making with a lot of options: which card to pick and how to integrate to my existing cards? At least one of the six fields must cover another card. Lakes and Mountains cannot be overbuilt. However, it may cause some analysis paralysis especially for people who have difficulty in visualizing the potential placed cards and tiles in their mind. There are some restrictions that make placing harder: Lakes only score points if there are at least two adjacent. Mountains must be built adjacent and will split your area into two halves: the half with the least number of towns scores victory points. + Terraforming tiles By spending two cubes of the same color, players can place a 1x1 Terraforming tile of a certain color on a Desert field to make up for missing tiles in their map (flexibility, some luck mitigation). + Optional goal cards These are public to all players and grant extra points for the first player who accomplishes one of them (race, indirect competition). They are different each game (variability). + Player scaling Cards are played simultaneously. The number of rounds and cards are always the same which ensures a constant playing time. Each player plays 12 cards over the course of the game. [edited: thanks to Brodie17] + Easy to teach and learn The gameplay is not that complex. There are a few exception how cards are allowed to be placed. The hardest part is how the different tiles are scored, especially each town divided by the mountains. There are also player aids for each player. + Quick playing time Filler game, about 30 minutes + Well written rules 7 pages, okay formatted, has enough examples and pictures. + Compact game box Portable, good for travelling. [b]Neutrals:[/b] # Abstract theme Situated in Japan but could be any country / theme. The most thematic is how the mountains divide the landscape. # Language independent There is no text, just icons, colors, and cubes. # Indirect player interaction Players interact by drafting cards and racing for goal cards. # Requires some table space # More strategic with lower player counts Depending on the number of players, the game is less chaotic and it is easier to plan ahead: with 3 players it is more likely that certain cards will come back to you than in a 5 players game. # Two player variant Each player simultaneously picks a card and additionally discards a card. This makes it more cutthroat because you can get rid of a card that may be beneficial for the other player (no hate drafting but discarding). # May lack of strategic options May lack some depth and strategic options for gamers. There are not much options except for card drafting and racing for the public goal cards. # Puzzle does not change much Your landscape will always differ in shape and field distribution but the overall gameplay and feel of the game is always the same. The goal cards mix things slightly up. # Trick-Taking variant (Honshu integration) You can play with the trick-taking mechanic from Honshu. You may also play Honshu with the card drafting mechanic. [b]Cons:[/b] - Potential for analysis paralysis for some players - Cluttered maps Some fields are similar green colored and all of them have white snow spots making them not that easy to distinguish. You may overlook some fields because of that. Moreover, it makes it harder to see what other players are going for in order to adjust your own strategy. You may try to avoid the same strategy if two other players already are focusing on production (for example). [b]Thoughts:[/b] Hokkaido is a good tile laying game that offers a good puzzle combined with card drafting in a quick playing time. I like the drafting more than the trick-taking in Honshu because it is faster and more interesting in terms of decision-making. However, I like the artwork better in Honshu. The puzzle element, how to place the cards, is fun like it already was in Honshu. Hokkaido points with more interesting restrictions in form of mountains and lakes. Except for the mountains, Hokkaido does not really offer anything new or special (stand out), but it still offers a very solid, portable tile laying game. However, some gamers may miss the trick here and may take a look in other tile laying games like Vadoran Gardens, Carson City: The Card Game, or Circle the Wagons, [b]Similar games:[/b] * Honshu (predecessor, cards distributed via trick-taking, does not work that well with 2 players) * Carson City: The Card Game (blind bidding auction, simple dummy players, simplistic art work) * Circle the Wagons (2 players only, quick filler game, card selection similar like in Patchwork, artwork is okay) * Vadoran Gardens (creating pathways with overlapping cards, special scoring objectives, forecast of the next available cards) * The Hanging Gardens (works well with 2 players, longer playing time, artwork is okay, less analysis paralysis) * Samurai Gardener (simple, quick tile laying filler game)

3. ct5150

   unplayed Japanese City Building Card game - Territory Building, Card Draft, Hand Mgmt, Layering, Map Addition, Melding and Splaying (2-5, [b]best w/ 3-4[/b]) _Weight 2.12 ♥ 40 min