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Ahoy, adventurer! The Arctic is merciless: Your expedition team has to endure the unforgiving wilderness, the unexpected weather and the other fame hungry teams. Only one will be remembered as the conqueror of the North Pole. If you think you can adapt the ever-changing harsh conditions better than the others, start gearing up — the race is on!
In Race to the North Pole each player has an expedition team which they have to navigate to the North Pole on the middle of the game board. The first player to get all of his or her pawns there wins the game. Game is played by moving with cards that are in front of you. Some cards allow movement while others also ambushing other players. But ambushing has a price! When ever you tackle another player you have to grab an "Ice Mask Tile", which include equipment and some nasty hazards that might ruin your well planned schemes.
Race to the North Pole also features a unique rotating board that simulates the Arctic weather. When a storm hits the board, everything changes! Your movement cards travel on the board and you receive a new set, the arctic maze that is formed out of cracks changes completely and the players travel around the board with the weather. This design has deep strategical elements that make every playthrough exciting and challenging to the very end.
The game includes a free app Dized that gives players loads of new content, localizations, and mechanisms to use with the game through their smart devices.
Ages | 7+ |
---|---|
Players | 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players |
Play Time | 45m – 45m |
Designer | Jouni Jussila, Tomi Vainikka |
Mechanics | Push Your Luck, Grid Movement, Variable Player Powers |
Theme | Racing, Adventure, Exploration |
Publisher | Cosmic Games, FoxGames, Playmore Games Inc. (Finnish Publisher) |
Walt Mulder
Good race with a lot of "take that" which is not uncommon in a race game, especially if you want to win. Good family fun when you don't think everyone needs to be a winner.
jouni_playmoregms
I'm the designer, have played well over a hundred games (not counting playtesting during design), and am always happy to play again! On surface the rotational board can feel chaotic but there is a lot of strategy when one learns all the mechanics in play. The core idea for the game was "a changing chess board". The grid is 8x8 squares, and the "changing" part was done with a rotational board which alters the game situation with each rotation (or, "storm changes the landscape and requires players to adapt to the new situation"). Some chess principles still apply, like protecting your game pieces with others and it being beneficial to control the center. A few designer tips: Try to get a good selection of equipment for the late game (visit the corners and ambush a lot early on). Try to control the center. Protect paws with other paws so that when you are ambushed, you can ambush back. When Ice Mask tiles start to run out, make sure you will be in good position to do the final push! The game works REALLY well as 2vs2 team play!
jatang
Fits right into my love of holiday games. Plus there's a neat gimmick. Nice production. There's some strategy.