Lesezeit: 4 Minuten Spotlights on: The Tsukuyumi Special is coming. Friends of good board game entertainment and cultivated exchange. I am – to put it mildly – quite excited, enthusiastic, hyped and in eager anticipation. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, Tsukuyumi. This game is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of homage in our board game group, but more on that later. The second reason is that since my Terraforming Mars special, I am once again doing something about a game over several reviews. The third reason is the chosen format, but more on that later. I hope you are now as curious as I am. Seriously. My fingers can’t type fast enough.

Once again briefly about Tsukuyumi

Christian wrote the review of Tsukuyumi back in September 2018 and already celebrated the game. In my group, Tsukuyumi quickly moved in with Uwe and found a very loving home there. Tsukuyumi is area control and wacky asymmetric factions at it’s best. A pearl. Maybe it’s only in Cthulhu Wars that I get so lost in studying the individual factions, because knowledge is power. However, Tsukuyumi is not as easy to get into as Cthulhu Wars. As a result, the game feels a little top-heavy at the beginning and produces downtime. Friends, honestly. At this point, I am very grateful to the game for this, because it allows me to tactic and think.

Publishing work

The basic game alone is a blast and depending on the constellation of the now 16 factions, different games result. At Racoon Days ’22, Marco, Uwe and I played a round of Tsukuyumi with the new factions together with Stefan. Reef Collective, Sisters of Seven, Portals, Events, First Guardians and the Chronomasters were among those at the table. What was inspiring was Felix Mertikat’s vision for this game, the insights and the stories behind it. Yes, you can call me a fan. The collaboration between Racoon, Felix and Brett&Pad as media creators is characterized by friendly respect and esteem for each other’s work. But this special is not because of Felix or King Racoon, but because of Tsukuyumi.

 

The essence of the game

After the Racoon Days, Tsukuyumi disappeared from the table for a while. Why? The hobby with four enthusiasts means that the same game cannot be played every week. And the abundance of good games is so brutal. Plus, in my opinion, the game needs players who are able to play and penetrate Tsukuyumi. Sounds terribly pompous, but it’s not. Tsukuyumi is demanding. You have to keep an eye on many things, know and play factions and their characteristics. Choose from a variety of options. Tsukuyumi demands this of all players, because even the third-placed player can push forward in the last round, as the points are usually very close together. You have to like or love Area Control, the work of familiarizing yourself with all the factions and doing this over several games. Does everyone like it?

 

If you get involved, you will discover a game in which no two games are the same. How often have I thought „you’ll play that differently next time?“ One example: In the last game, I played the Chronomaster and Uwe played the Reef Collective. Uwe won with 19 points to 18. What didn’t I think about? The 2 points at the end of the game for 1st place in the turn order. And since I’m the only Chronomaster who can influence the turn order, I made a serious mistake. One that won’t happen again.

Special

Back to the special. With a consistent and strong playing group of Uwe, Marco, Marc and occasionally Alexandre or Alex, boards like Tsukuyumi, Black Rose Wars, Hybris: Disorderd Cosmos and Cthulhu Wars develop into epic evenings at a high fun level. And with the depth of Tsukuyumi, this game gets more epic and better with every game. At some point, the topic of expansions came up again. We already had the After the Moonfall expansion with Kampfgruppe 03 and the Children of the Lion, but we were still missing the Sunrise expansion. So I gave Felix a quick call and asked what he thought of this special and whether he could send me a review copy. What can I say? Felix was delighted and even sent a review copy to Hamburg for Christian. This is not an everyday occurrence and produces a big „thank you“ from me.

Tsukuyumi Special

Oh yes, the Tsukuyumi Special. What kind of special is that? Brett & Pad will be introducing you to factions from the Sunrise Expansion, the Chronomasters Expansion and the Dark Crusade Expansion over the next few weeks. But not in the usual format. We have assigned two fixed factions to each player in our round. Who plays what is still a bit of a surprise, but the first game alone was epic. My friends and fellow players will introduce you to the factions, and of course you’ll get to know the guys at the same time. So you can look forward to finding out what the people behind the factions think about them, their opinions on Tsukuyumi and a few private insights. After all, I often mention them in my reports. I’m really looking forward to your feedback and comments. About everything. On the game, the expansions and the format.