| Recommended Age: | 8+ |
| Cost: | $30 |
| Players: | 2-8 |
| Skills: | Strategy |
| Play Time: | 15-20 Minutes |
| Company Site: | www.calliopegames.com |
| Objective: | Be the last one on the board. |
| Official Site: | www.calliopegames.com/#!__tsuro |
| Contents: | 1 game board 35 path tiles 8 marker stones 1 Dragon tile |
No I didn’t come up with tagline…it was on the box and is AWESOME! It sounds very ZEN…like you’re about to meditate or something. I assure you that you will not be meditating during this game but you WILL be thinking. Tsuro (Pronounced Sir-o) is a surprisingly easy but VERY fun game for all ages.
Tsuro is a game that requires careful planning and a bit of luck. You can plan your moves but you are at the mercy of the tile you draw which makes this game great unless you are like me and have no luck with drawing tiles.
I will go over how to play and options for adjusting slightly for younger kids. You actually don’t have to adjust much in this game which is awesome! It still grows with my kids, is fun for everyone and is never the same game twice. I think the only negative is I can’t fit it in my pocket.
Setup:
- Lay out the game board.
- Everyone chooses a marker. They have dragons on them!
- Set aside the Dragon tile. It’s the one with the big Dragon on it.
- Shuffle the rest of the tiles and pass out three each player, face down.
- Stack the remaining path tiles face down. This stack is the draw pile.
Tiles:
Each tile has four paths that lead to 8 points on the tile’s edges. When they are set next to each other, they line up and the paths continue. Each tile is unique. The paths might cross each other, but they each continue uninterrupted and independently of the others.
Play:
- The oldest player goes first.
- The first player places their marker on any of the start marks (short beige marks) on the outside edge of the board. Continue clockwise until each player has chosen a start mark and placed their marker.
- Each turn has three parts:
- Play a path tile.
- Move the markers.
- Draw tiles.
Play A Path Tile
First player chooses one tile from their hand and places it on the open square next to his or her marker. You can place it in any direction. Once it has been placed it cannot be moved for the rest of the game. You can not connect your own path to the edge of the board (because you would lose) unless no other move is possible. Towards the end of the game this becomes possible…unfortunately.
Move The Markers
Once you have placed your tile you get to follow your new path with your Dragon Marker. Then all other markers that are now connected to the new tile are moved to the ends of their paths. A player is eliminated from the game if their path leads to the edge of the board. Tiles from eliminated players are shuffled into the draw pile.
Draw Tiles (See picture for information on the Dragon Tile.)
For the first few turns of the game (or throughout a two-player game), only the active player draws a path tile from the draw pile, replacing the one they played that turn. Later in the game, when players have fewer than three path tiles in their hands, all players will have the chance to draw tiles, even if it is not their turn. Starting with the active player and moving clockwise, each player with fewer than three path tiles draws a tile, continuing around the board until all players have three path tiles or the draw pile is empty. This rule changes slightly if a player has the Dragon Tile.
Once all the tiles are in players hands then play continues normally (minus the tile drawing part).
Winning:
Two men enter. One man leaves. Basically last man standing wins! Be the last person on the board.
The Gentleman LOVED this game from the first time he played it at Gen Con 2012 (of course!) A stranger was kind enough to play with him and I sat with him to help as needed. I wasn’t sure how hard it was going to be for him but he wanted to play and I wanted to let him try. Turns out Calliope has an amazing staff with lots of patience and that stranger was very kind and patient as well.
Since then we have taken that game to various conventions to play while we snack and have played on Family Game Night. It is a favorite since it is quick (or can be) but never boring. My 5 year old son still has to “try out” each path but is learning how to strategically place his tiles in order to stay on the board.
Honestly giving him that opportunity is the only adjustment you would need to make for younger kids. Well that and the confusing Dragon Tile. Trying to find new ways to “help” the other players off the board keeps this game entertaining for my husband and me and becomes a tad competitive as well.
My son LOVES teaching other people how to play and we are starting to show his 3 year old sister how to follow paths. For her if we hit the edge of the board we simply go back the way we came. Tsuro is a perfect family game and kids as young as 4 can learn and will love it!
