REEF ENCOUNTER

Luminous Worlds of Corals

Dear Reader! Immerse yourself into the underwater world of Richard Breese! In this seeming paradise permanent battles or fought for the scarce space, continually on the move. “To feed and to be food” is the eternal motto of life, to which all inmates are subjugated; be they corals, crabs, algae or the incredibly voracious parrot fish! In an unexpected setting for a game Richard Breese simulates the circle of life in the colorful Coral Sea. Reef Encounter is not an extension for the Key-Series, really not, not a Key West or something. And yet, here we have another masterpiece designed by the British creative artist from Stratford-upon Avon. In the Austrian Games Museum in Leopoldsdorf you, too, can enjoy this colorful water world. Well, the only prerequisite for this is your demand for 90 minutes or two hours of unused-to depths in the underwater world of Coral reefs. (from WIN April 2005). www.spielen.at

The light of our lamp lights up purple, orange, yellow, white and grey corals, which are using two, three or four plain rocks as anchors. What could a reasonable game in the depths of the turbulent sea be like, when all is said and done? Very simple, as preordained by Mother Nature, we must develop the biggest possible coral reefs and feed them to your own parrot fish. This sounds as if it was feasible, but in reality is a rather difficult undertaking due to the different strengths of corals. The coverage of the rocks is continually changing, there is always a lack of protective crabs and the ranking of the five kinds of corals keeps changing. As soon that you think you be about to achieve your goal one of your pillars of hope is disappearing from view. It borders cruelty how like a kaleidoscope the rocky surrounding is adapting to new conditions. In the end it’s the number of eaten polyp tiles (they make up corals) and the strength of the respective coral variety that counts. It is exactly this correlation of power and matter that contributes the deciding thrill factor to the game. We have enjoyed immersing ourselves into the bizarre coral world of Richard Breese. Due to the multitude of permanently changing mechanisms for a turn no game is similar to another. Reef Encounter, furthermore, allows for different strategies which need to be planned from the first moment of the game. And you also need great adaptability due to the permanent disruptive actions of others. So take care: When you read the rules for the first time you probably will have a feeling that you do not really understand what to do with your polyps, crabs, algae, larvae and parrot fish. Too unusual is the vocabulary; too manifold are the actions, too intermeshed the interaction patterns. But already at your second try Reef Encounter provides unforgettable enchantment. Thanks, Richard!

Comments to: hugo.kastner@chello.at

Homepage: www.hugo-kastner.at

RECOMMENDATION # 86

Players: 2-4

Age: 10+

Designer: Richard Breese

Art: Juliet Breese

Time: 120+

Price: ca. 40 Euro

Year: 2004

Publisher: R & D Games

Keine website

Tactic: 5 von 9

Info±: 3 von 9

Chance: 1 von 9

Only with a second dive Reef Encounter provides the full experience, despite or even because of the incredible possibilities to influence the growth of the coral reefs, to place the the algae rocks and finally on the feeding of the parrot fish. The game provides a number of winning strategies, which even provide active or passive, constructive and destructive moves. No advantage without a disadvantage seems to be the suggestion for the maritime law. If you choose the best spots for your coral reefs early you will soon be the victim of greedy neighbors who craftily pull surprising creatures out of the proverbial hat. If you wait a long time to establish a coral colony you might be surprised by a sudden end of the reef encounters. You need little luck, but a keen consideration of the permanently changing scenarios.

Hugos EXPERT TIP

A few tips for a quick immersion into the reef: (1) A first early harvest assists in placing the algae stone. (2) The most advantageous breeding sites are the edge sites, as they are easier to protect by crabs than the center, which (3) on the other hand delivers extra polyps to the rocks. (4) Polyp tiles should always wait for their assignment in sufficient numbers. (5) In extreme cases it can happen that you let an opposing coral grow to gobble up part of it in the same turn.

Hugos FLASHLIGHT

Reef Encounter for me was a real find! After quite some time I was sent into wonderful daydreaming at the end of a games evening. This surely was resulting from the detailed and loving design of the game by Juliet Breese; okay, admittedly, the pale pastels (of the first edition, HK), especially the nearness of the colors “white” and “gray” might have been a very idiosyncratic decision of the artist. I, personally, believe this “through a frosted-glass” view of the coral underwater world to be extremely felicitous, and even after the first game I could not get the myriads of tactical and strategic possibilities out of my head. Can there be a better compliment to a designer from a fan of expert games?

PREVIEW

CAYLUS

For the King’s Favor