As I like to repeat everytime I have the occasion: I am a fan of Reiner Knizia. Simple, clever, delightful games that always provide their good share of fun.
I am also a fan of solo games. The thing is, the two don't mesh well together. He did some good puzzles (the Brain series) which are very much worthwhile if you're into this sort of things, but curiously few soloable games.
Well, Tajemnicze podziemia is one of the rare few.
It's actually a re-theme of Cucina Curiosa, a game so ugly that I couldn't consider it. It also happens to be in Polish, but the games of Dr Knizia are often language independent and this one is no exception. Lee Broderick had the good will to offer a personal translation of the rules in the files section (such a small world...), so there was really no barrier to try it out.
The game is super simple. You draw tiles and lay them one after the another on your personal maze board. Once it filled, you see what your path brings you. Treasures get you positive points, monsters negative points. Yes, it's that simple. Yet to me, it does look really fun.
It finally popped up on the BGG market, so I snatched the opportunity and should play it next week upon receiving it (with a weight of 1.17 and a duration of 15 mins, it's for once a safe bet)!
And I received it today!
The game is even faster than I thought, but I might have been too fast, as I scored a miserable 2, walling myself out of reach of the treasures.
Green dots (treasures) are worth 1VP, red dots (monsters) -2, hence the score of 2.
LOL That reminds me of my recent Dungeon Roll game, where that was my final score as well (at least we have dice/tiles to blame eh Zerbique?) LOL
Any idea what a good or average score is in that game? From the picture it looks like it may be a lower scoring game regardless?
@Derek Arsenault Here the max score would be 16 (it may very slightly vary from one game to the next depending on the tiles). I managed to score a 10 on my third game (better, but still some way to go). I have read from reviews that a skilled player manages to get the max almost every time. So I'm not skilled, but I am pleased with the game nonetheless!
(Also from playing the Brains series I know it takes some time to get accustomed to the different tiles in the game.)
At least the fast playing time means it may hit the table often. 🙂
Yes, I already played it a second time to take a break during work yesterday night. Even faster than Puzzle Dungeons, and easier to set-up (you don't have to sort cards into columns). But Puzzle Dungeons has much more variety and is more portable, so it's still the supreme leader of short break games.
With a BGG Complexity Rating of 1.17 (and Age: 6+), Mysterious Underworld is a candidate for my collection. 🙂