Sobek Das Duell

Based on the multi-player card game of the same name, published about ten years ago, the publisher has, suiting his own name, published a late successor, or, rather, relation of the game which originally was designed for several players. On the one hand, maybe the legendary range of two-player games from KOSMOS might have been an inspiration, on the other hand maybe also the mechanism which really suits two players better than several players.

A temple for the ancient Egyptian crocodile god Sobek must be built; Sobek represents water and fertility. A big chance for us traders and merchants, because if you secure the most variable utensils in the market, sell them clever and score points, you will win Sobek’s favor.

The market is the playing area, made up from a grid of 6x6 square tiles which we collect in turn and then sell as rewarding as possible as a set. Not really unusual as to to game mechanism, the collecting of the objects is the special feature. The collecting fun - free of charge - begins at one of the four tiles in the middle, which is replaced by the yellow 3D Ankh symbol. You need to take care that the symbol is placed according to the tile demand, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, because this is the direction in which you can then move it. How far it moves, depends on the readiness of the active player to bribe, or corrupt, which, later in the game, can have negative consequences for a player who was “forced” too often to resort to those means, because each tile that you move over lets your own corruption stack grow. Therefore, you concentrate foremost on the nearest tiles - if something suitable is available then all is clear. At first, at least, because the ankh is repositioned, too, which determines the options for the next player. Of course, you do not want to act too friendly towards your opponent and want to get the best tiles for your self, sometimes you need to consider options carefully, even the enhancing of the corruption stack. Planning ahead is necessary, sometimes over more than one turn, especially notable towards the end of the game but most important in the middle game. What does my opponent collect, where are my favored parts, because if you have three parts of a kind, you can sell - this gives you points and a so-called Pirogue tile which offers bonuses like an extra turn or extra points. The icing on the cake are the wittily illustrated character cards whose abilities need to be cleverly used by adapting your strategy to them, provided your opponent does not catch them first. Turn by turn, the market empties and the game end advances, which is reached when none of the players can buy or sell. Aggravating, if you could have sold sets, even more aggravating if the remaining tiles do not form a set, because this causes penalty points.

The less corrupt player receives bonus points, called Deben tokens, the more the more audacious the opponent has acted - and this can make the deciding difference!

Sobek is a simple, straightforward collecting and trading game for two, which can be played intuitively or with more or less planning and therefore a bit more ponderingly. Good timing, as in „how many rounds will it take until the end comes rather abruptly”, is also necessary, and there is the eternal dilemma “buy” or “sell” or “where to move”. Nice presentation, not much innovation, but a felicitous mix.

Thomas Bareder