Karuba

Note: This is a short really early legacy review before I started posting longer form review in our Facebook Group.

Game 3 of my half term shopping spree is Karuba.

I played the game with Jack(6) but I reckon Toby(3) could have happily followed the rules if not totally got tactics.

Karuba is a game that sits in that odd section of non-kids games that Haba produces. I have been recommended it many times and finally took the plunge this week.

You each get an identical grid and agree to layout the people and temples again identically. One player acts as the expedition leader and randomly draws a tile (think Carcassonne). Everyone else picks the same tile and the turn begins.

Unlike Carcassonne tiles cannot be rotated and must always have the number in the top left. This makes laying tiles a LOT more restrictive and leaves you with some hard choices, especially at the start.

You can either lay your tile somewhere on your grid OR discard the tile and move an explorer the number of exits on the tile.

The idea is to get the coloured explorers to their coloured temple as quickly as possible collecting crystals and gold for extra points along the way.

I was a little unsure when we started but quickly the brilliance of the game took over. The decision making is devilish with the stack of tiles acting as a built-in timer. When the pile starts to empty things become frantic and you start to lament the wasted opportunities.

When the game ends most points wins. I was sure I had won our game but Jack managed to beat me. I was so focused on getting a fantastic and efficient map I didn’t leave enough time to get my people all home whereas Jack totally ignored one of the explorers and raced the other 3 back. In the end, he beat me by 4 points.

Karuba is a great game that I can best describe as Carcasonne crossed with Railroad Ink and one that is definitely going to stay in the collection.