Tides of Time

Happy May!  Let's start the month off with a game review; today, I look at Tides of Time.

Overview

Tides of Time is a quick-playing (20-minute) game for two players only.  The game is played over three rounds; players earn Victory Points (VPs) in each round based on the kingdom they build (e.g. cards they play), and the VPs for each round are tallied at the end to determine the overall winner.

There are just 18 cards in Tides of Time, shown below.  Most cards have a suit and an ability.  The suits are palace, library, garden, temple, and stronghold.  The abilities are (normally) a scoring objective that provides VPs for certain conditions.  Most abilities give you VPs for other cards you have.  For example, one ability says "for each temple gain 3 VPs," but the card which has that ability is a stronghold card- so you get no points for that card unless your other cards are temples.

Simplified Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, all 18 cards are shuffled and placed face-down between the players.  Both are dealt 5 cards from the deck, and Round 1 begins.  Each player chooses a card, reveals it at the same time, then gives their remaining hand (now 4 cards) to the other player.  Cards are chosen again, revealed, then the 3-card hands are passed again.  Continue in this fashion until all cards have been chosen and are displayed in front of the players.  Going card by card, determine and record the victory points that specific card gives to your kingdom.  Round 1 is complete.

For a scoring example, let's say you have the below 5 cards in front of you at the end of Round 1.

Your VPs are determined going card by card.  The first card (top left) says if you have one of each suit, gain 13 VPs.  You do not have a stronghold card, so you get 0 VPs for that.  Moving clockwise, the next says for a majority of palaces, gain 7 VPs.  You have one palace card; let's say (for example) your opponent has one, too.  That means you do not have a majority of palaces, so you get 0 VPs for that.  The next card says for each library, gain 3 VPs.  You have one library, so you get 3 VPs.  The next says for each garden, gain 3 VPs.  You have two gardens, so you get 6 VPs.  The final card says for a majority of gardens, gain 7 VPs.  You have a majority (there are only three garden cards in the game, and you have two), so you get 7 VPs.  Adding these totals, for this round you get 0+0+3+6+7=16 VPs.

Now Round 2 begins.  Pick up your cards (you now have a hand of 5); choose one to keep (it will remain on your side for the rest of the game) and place it in front of you with a token indicating its permanence.  Choose another one to discard (nobody will get to use it for the rest of the game), and draw two.  Now your hand is back to 5, with one card on the table.  Now you choose one from your hand, reveal it, and pass your hand to the other player as in Round 1.  Play proceeds as before until all cards are on the table; note that each player will now have 6 cards total to score.  Score your VPs and go to Round 3.

In Round 3, pick up your cards (except for your permanent card).  Again, choose one to keep and place it in front of you with another token indicating permanence.  Choose another one to discard, draw two, and continue as you did for the other two rounds.  At the end of the round this time, each player will have 7 cards total to score.  Score your VPs, tally up all 3 Rounds for each player, and the winner is determined.

Review

I like this game.  It's short and simple, but interactive and interesting.  The hand passing mechanic means you have to choose between furthering your own strategy or denying your opponent key cards.  Injecting permanent cards and discards into each round helps the landscape shift a bit, but allows you to keep at least a small part of your 'kingdom' intact.  And finally, the artwork is breathtaking.  Overall, this is a solid game to play when you have only a few minutes to spare.

A 'how to play' video is shown here, and rules are here.

Rating: A-