Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Torres is a great little game that is simple to learn and hard to master, but those who put the effort will gain a mountain of enjoyment. It's one of those games that will scratch your head at first since there isn't a lot to learn as far as rules go. Most people will look at it and think it's too simple and say, "that's all there is to it?" And yes they would be right, since it doesn't require a long rule book to explain its intricacies. Yet, after a couple of plays (or even just in the initial play, like it happened to me) you start to uncover a deep strategy game where every move you make will make a difference down the line. In short, this game is for those that like to think and show their mental dexterity. People should really give it a try.
COMPONENTS
The game brings a lot of little pieces. You get 92 little tower segments, 24 knights if four different colors, four scoring markers, one king, and a set of action, master and codex cards along with a rule book and game board. The knights, king and scoring markers are made of nice wood painted with a good shiny paint. The game board is nice and sturdy with beautiful artwork and the rule book is nicely made. There were a couple of misspelled words here and there, but that's the only drawback on that side. The tower pieces are made of good plastic, but it isn't the best plastic around. They'll last a while, but you won't be wowed by them. The worst aspect of the components is the action cards. They have nice art work, but they aren't made of the most sturdy of materials. It's very flimsy paper stock so after continuous play they will degrade. Try to touch them as little as possible so you don't end up with warped cards. If Rio Grande is reading this, hopefully they bring out better printing stock for the action cards in future editions.
Overall the components are nicely made and should last you a long time after your initial purchase. Needless to say, this isn't for young kids that have a death wish and want to swallow every little thing they can get their hands on.
GAME PLAY
The game is deceptively simple to understand, but implementation is where you'll notice a richness of play. Each player receives six knights and four stacks of towers. Each stack contains two tower levels, so you have eight tower levels in total in four stacks. The stacks represent the turns that you have in one round, and what you can actually put on the board. Each player uses a "turn" to extend one of the numerous predetermined towers already placed on the board. These predetermined towers act like foundations where players can create their towers from. The catch is that you can't combine towers that extend from two different foundations, and towers can't touch in any way or form, except at the corners.
The making of long and tall towers is important, but also where you place your knights. See, the way the game is scored is through simple multiplication. Your knights act as the factor that allows the multiplication to occur. The towers get bigger, and your knights then start to fight for the highest tower level available on the different tower sections being created. Placing your knight on the tallest and largest tower is key to winning. If your knight is on the fourth level and the tower area is 4, you score is 16 based out of the 4x4 equation.
Players have to move around the board to reach said areas, but it's tough to do when you only have a couple of limited options per turn. When doing anything in your turn, you only have 5 action points. Anything you do on the board, whether placing towers, moving knights and picking up action cards will cost some points. With only five points, every move you make is important. Any move can cost you the game, or give you the advantage.
These limitations actually make the game better, and your strategy then starts to develop. Do you focus on making a huge tower, or do you try and move your knights onto your opponents tower to smooch of their work? Do you corner their towers so they can't expand any more? A lot of strategy options begin to emerge, and this is when some real thinking is needed. A lot of fun for those that like exercises in thought.
In short, Torres is a game for those that don't mind a little thinking. It really is a thinking persons game. The more you understand the limitations, the better it plays. Every move counts and your actions always matter. I can't recommend this game for everyone, though. If you want something with more "flavor" to it as in Catan, then I suggest you go elsewhere. There isn't much to do here. There really isn't much of resource management or stock piling or other resource intense mechanics. It really boils down to placement of what you initially have and knight movement. But that's the beauty of it in my opinion. That you really don't have much to work with, but you have to make everything count to come up ahead.
There are a couple more things in the game to make it more interesting, but it always boils down to your placement of pieces. I think anyone that had a fascination with chess and strategy games will enjoy Torres. It really is a true gem.
Get it, you'll brain will thank you later.
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A series of devastating tornadoes, unleashed by enemy mages in the recent war has left the entire kings castles in ruin. Only the foundations of these once magnificent monuments remain. He has charged his sons with rebuilding his castles and promised the throne to the one who can rebuild the tallest and largest castles. Each prince has 6 knights to supervise the building. Two or more princes may work together on a castle with their knights competing to control the highest towers of the castle. Once each year, the king will tour the castles, to judge the progress of each son. After he finishes the third tour, he will choose his successor and the winner!
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