The “roll and write” genre, where players roll dice and write the results on a scorepad, continues to gain momentum. This is especially true for print-and-play games. With standard dice, all players need is a printed copy of the scorepad. Over the years, many variations have emerged, including using a deck of playing cards to create a “flip and write” game. Around the World in 10-15 Minutes eliminates both dice and cards, and instead lets the active player choose the outcome of his turn, essentially creating a “choose and write” game. The game sheet consists of a world map connected by lines with two icons per continent and two icons per city. The active player chooses whether everyone moves, marks a continent icon, or marks a city icon. The active player earns two benefits for their choice. All three choices lead to scoring opportunities, and the game continues until one player has visited each continent and returned to the starting city. Points are added up and a winner is determined. The game doesn’t use dice or cards, so you only need one marker and one scorecard per player, making it perfect for traveling. Around the World in 10-15 Minutes is a print-and-play game that’s currently up for funding on Kickstarter until May 30th.
Around the World in 10 to 15 Minutes
Publisher: No Box Games
Players: 2-6
Age: 14+
Time: 10-15 minutes (surprise!)
(Preview provided by the publisher)
Game Flow
The game begins with each player choosing their home city. The active player chooses one of three options: move around the map, collect souvenirs from the current continent, or explore the ruins of the current city. The active player can perform the selected option one more time (2 moves, 2 souvenirs, 2 explorations). At the end of the game, points are awarded for each of the three categories.
Movement – When moving, players draw a line from their current city to an adjacent city. (Two lines for the active player) Players can move along routes previously marked, but must make sure to record their new location. There are two ways that moves can earn points: Once a player has visited each continent and returned to their starting city, the end of the game is triggered. The round ends (everyone gets the same number of turns as the active player), and players who return to their starting city earn bonus points. At the end of the game, players earn points based on how many continents they have fully explored. Each continent has three cities, and a continent is considered explored when all three have been visited. Souvenirs – If souvenirs are selected, each player marks one of the souvenirs displayed on their current continent (two for the active player). These are displayed in a 3×4 grid consisting of three copies of four different souvenirs. Players earn points for completely filling rows (6 points) and columns (4 points) at the end of the game. Explore – When choosing to explore, the player checks one (or two) checkboxes that correspond to the exploration icons for the city they are in. At the end of the game, the player will receive one set of each of the four icons (worth 5 points) and a scaled score for each type (1, 2, 4, 6, 9 points for each exploration type, which is 1-5).
The game ends when someone has traveled to every continent and returned home, and all players have played the same number of active turns. All players who complete a full circuit receive bonus points (even if they later move away from their starting city). The points are added up to determine a winner. In the event of a tie, the player closest to the starting city wins.
In addition to the World Map, there are score pads for the USA and Europe, which have the same scoring as the World Map, but with some additional scoring options. The USA map has four special locations (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC) that are a bit more difficult to visit, and points are awarded based on how many of these special cities are visited. The Europe map has regions with either four or five cities. No points are awarded for visiting a region completely; instead, the player who has visited the most cities in a particular region scores a point. In the event of a tie, all tied players will receive a slightly lesser number of points.
verdict:
The innovation here is the elimination of any form of randomization. You can think of this as roll-and-write, where the active player determines the “roll” outcome. Your rating for the game depends on how well it works. No dice or cards are required for the roll/flip portion of this style of game, making this game very portable. Everyone wins something on each turn, so players stay engaged throughout the game. The active player benefits twice as much, so their choices become the primary way players differentiate their scores.
Scoring is what makes or breaks the game for most people. Scoring is set up to specialize in certain aspects of the game. In my experience, souvenirs and exploration generate more points than traveling to fully visit a continent. Of course, some travel is necessary, since staying in one place (or one continent) leaves you with only the same two options available. This favors exploration, but forces players chasing souvenirs to travel between continents. This works because getting all the souvenirs gives slightly more points than an equivalent amount of exploration. For a world travel game, you want the travel portion of the scoring to be the majority of the scoring. Unless multiple players insist on quick travel and a short game, players who focus on collecting souvenirs and exploring will usually score higher than players who focus on travel. It’s not game-breaking, but it’s something to be aware of for beginners.
The game currently has three maps, which I like because they deliver on what you’d expect from an expansion/option. The other two maps have all the same mechanics, but they have some slight changes to the rules that will force players to make adjustments – you can’t just adopt the same strategies that worked on the World map.
My final opinion falls into two main points: It’s roll-and-write, and I like that there’s no rolling. It’s very portable, so you can play it in the car, on a plane, or even while waiting in line somewhere. As long as everyone has a score pad and a pencil (or a laminating pad and a dry erase marker), you can get the game started right away. The second part of my rating is determined by the number of players. With a higher number of players, player agency is limited. It may take four or five actions before a player can take the double action of their choice. This means that players have to keep their options open as they progress through the game, but it also reduces the sense of control in the game. In some ways, it forces you to predict what other players will do and put yourself in a position to take advantage of it. Later in the game, it may be important to keep track of other players’ locations and see if they’ve used up all the souvenirs/explorations available at your current location. This is only a preview, and I haven’t played with the maximum number of people, but I am wary that it may feel less controllable. With two or three players, you can keep track of the other players’ game state and feel like you have a rough idea of what they’ll choose to do on their turn.
As mentioned above, Around the World in 10-15 Minutes is a print-and-play game that is currently available on Kickstarter until May 30. If you’re a fan of the genre, you should definitely check this game out – it’s well priced for a pretty unique example of the genre.
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About Matt J. Carlson
Dad, Gamer, Science Teacher, Youth Pastor… Oh, and I have green hair. To see me “in action” check out Dr. Carlson’s Science Theater on YouTube…
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