Review - Tsuro: The Game Of The Path

Players: 2-8
Playing Time: 10 - 20 Minutes
Age: 8+
Suggested Retail: $29.99

Create your own journey with Tsuro, the Game of the Path.  Prevent your opponents from steering you in the wrong direction—or off the board! Tsuro is the quick-playing game in which directions can change as easily as the game plays.

The rules are simple: You place your stones, select your tiles, and attempt to build a safe Path for your journey. The Paths of other players cross and connect, so the choices you make affect all the journeys across the board. Stay on the right Path -- your journey begins here.

The Goal:

Be the last player with a marker on the board.

The Setup:

Each player chooses a marker stone, shuffle the tiles, and deal three tiles to each player.  Place remaining tiles in a draw pile.

The Play:

The game board is made up of a 6x6 grid where the game tiles are played.

First, each player chooses a starting point along the outside of the playing area on the board.  Each turn involes three steps:

1. Play A Tile - The player chooses a tile from his hand and plays it in the vacant space next to their marker
2. Move Markers - All players whose marker touches the newly played tiles moves their marker along the new path segment.
3. Draw a New Tile - Player draws a new tile from the draw pile.

As the game progresses the markers will move all over the board.  You are trying to place tiles that will force your opponent's markers off the board while keeping you marker on the board.  You are not allowed to play a tile that forces your own marker off the board, unless there is no other choice.

Game End:

When only one marker is left on the board, that player wins!


Review:

Tsuro is another fun, short game to play.  I think this is a very good filler game and I really like that it supports up to 8 players.  I tried a 2 player game and it went a little long before it got interesting towards the end of the game.  We also tried making the play area smaller (3x3 and 4x4) which was an interesting variation...the game is better with 4 or more players.

Considering this is the first published game from Calliope Games, it is a very pretty game.  I was surprised at the small touches that made opening the game fun.  The rules booklet is a tri-fold booklet that looks more like an invitation than a rules booklet. 

Overall, I give it a 8 out of 10...it will still be just a filler game, but it is a very good one.

You can buy Tsuro in our eBay store (www.howlingfungames.com) or Our Amazon Store or by contacting us directly.