Troyes

TroyesTroyes is a game that should get a lot more attention than it does. It is a bit of a more difficult game to teach but it is worth sticking with as some of the mechanics on display are excellent. Troyes is a dice placement game with some area control elements. Each round you will be allocated a number of dice depending on how much presence you have in three buildings. There are three colours of dice and each one leans in a certain direction more than

Troyes is a game that should get a lot more attention than it does. It is a bit of a more difficult game to teach but it is worth sticking with as some of the mechanics on display are excellent. Troyes is a dice placement game with some area control elements.

Each round you will be allocated a number of dice depending on how much presence you have in three buildings. There are three colours of dice and each one leans in a certain direction more than the others - yellow are generally better for earning coins, red for fighting of events and white for rebuilding the Cathedral.

Each turn you will choose between one and three dice and use them to score points, earn upgrades, fight off harsh events and so on. The slight snag is that you are free to use other people's dice, as long as you can afford to compensate them. This creates a feeling of smugness as you pluck the yellow six that your opponent was about to use away from them, followed by sulkiness as you pay them for the privilege. Dice can also be used to take a space in one of the three buildings mentioned earlier.

Although this might not get you points in the short term, it will give you a shed load of dice for the next round. Rolling eight dice to your friends, two will always bring a smile to your evil face. The clever design is not just limited to the dice though. At the start of Troyes each player is given a secret goal card. This will tell them how many points can be scored should they excel in an area of the game, but these goal cards will score for everyone.

This leads to trying to guess what the other players are heading for while shrouding in mystery your own goals. Although Troyes is competitive, there is some joint challenge to be faced in the event cards. These will come out in twos each round and cause some kind of limiting effect. There are points available for those who combat the events, but it does take a lot of dice to do so...

Troyes is a wonderful 'Euro' style game that is thoughtful, fast and engaging. Similarly to other Euro games the theme is a bit lost in the gameplay, but the game is never dry. The added level of player interaction makes for a tense game of timing your moves to perfection, and this game is highly recommended for anyone looking to take their gaming hobby to the next level or find a new 'medium weight' game for their collection.

Player Count: 2-4

Time: 90 minutes

Age: 12+