Fairy Tile

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Fairy Tile.  For 2-4 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview
Everyone has a story; in Fairy Tile, your job is to tell it.  You'll move characters (knight, princess, dragon) around an ever-growing board (map tiles consisting of mountains, rivers, forests, and castles) to do so.  Guiding you is your 'book'- a draw deck where each 'page' (card) has an objective, outlining conditions for completion.  Example: "the princess and knight meet in the forest."  If that's your objective, you must use your turns to maneuver those characters into that situation; once met, you complete that page and draw another.  First to complete all their objectives wins!

On your turn, you'll either develop your story or turn a page.
Develop your story: move a character (according to movement rules; see below) OR add a land tile to the map.  If your action completed an objective, 'recount your adventure' (read it out loud) and draw a new card. [Cards are kept secret until they're completed, so opponents don't know what you're trying to achieve.]

Turn a page: put your card on the bottom of your deck and draw another, giving you another objective in case the one you had was difficult (or impossible) to achieve.

some game components; image from here

Character movement is a key strategic element.  The princess can move only 1 space in any direction, but she can also 'jump' from castle to castle (like warping).  The knight moves exactly 2 spaces.  The dragon moves in a straight line, ending at the edge of the kingdom.


Review
I'm a sucker for modular boards- I love the variation it provides- but this game didn't do it for me.  The art is great, some mechanics are good, and the rules are simple, but it felt unsatisfying.  It may be due to:
- The 'tug-of-war' situations that can arise.  On your turn, you can move only one character, and each other player can do the same on their turns.  Thus, you may find yourself fighting over the same character in a rather annoying way until one person yields by 'turning a page' and trying another objective. 
- The different movement abilities. Two were good, but the dragon's "must end at edge of board" restriction got annoying fast, especially as the map grew. 

My kids enjoyed this, sort of, but they (and I) prefer other offerings.

Rating: C