Make it quick, make it pretty, do something innovative, and add ALPACAS! That was clearly the brief for 12 Rivers, and when I saw it, I was all in.
Make it Quick
Gameplay (and learning time) ought easily to fall within the 45-75 minute estimate on the box. 12 Rivers plays over 5 rounds, with up to 4 players each placing 3 tokens each round (and occasionally a couple of camp cards and/or fairy tokens to spice things up). Scoring happens at the end and consists of adding up pearl values, values on alpaca bonus tokens and any villager combinations you might have. Even analysis paralysis players like me can move quite quickly.
Make it Pretty
When it comes to games, I am a magpie. The chunky board is a beautiful river system with waterfalls at the top. Tribe tokens are boldly coloured and decorated thematically in what feels an almost hand-painted fashion. The numerous pearls in this game are gorgeous. The colours are pretty and they look that little bit edible (they’re not. No, I mean it).
Do something innovative
This is the draw when you try to walk past this game. The board is segmented so that the waterfalls stand vertical, with the forked rivers on a decline leading down to a pool. The rivers are hollowed out channels and the pearls start at the top behind a removeable barrier. This clearly looks like some sort of marble run.
But it’s not.
You slot tribe tokens into any of multiple sections along the rivers, in the pool, or in the village below. The aim of the game is to score through gaining pearls of different values and in different combinations. When the barrier is released – my inner 6 year old approves massively – the tokens act as dams, trapping pearls as they fall down the river. The higher up the river your token, the more chance that you get the exact pearl that you want, but you will likely sacrifice camp cards to do so. Placement can also gain you fairy tokens or additional camp cards, which can provide extra abilities. Tokens in the village gain villagers, which provide bonuses for pearl combinations. Turn order changes according to how high up the river players have placed their tokens, adding further tactics to token placement.
Add Alpacas
Arguably not necessary. But also, definitely necessary. Your alpaca – which cunningly shares a pack and headdress colour with your tribe tokens – stores any pearls you gather on a round, before you distribute them amongst any villagers that you have. Alpacas prevent you from gathering more than 6 pearls per round, and provide a moment to work out how best to distribute pearls amongst your villagers. If you plan well, you might get additional alpaca bonuses for collecting enough pearls of the same colour on your alpaca. Risky strategy, but you do you.
Also, alpacas are cute.
In Summary
12 Rivers is a beautiful game with quality components which make this a satisfying play. There are multiple interlinking strategies which can be sabotaged by other players, but nothing overly complex. Whilst I suspect that seasoned players will quickly identify a preferred golden path, the choice of villagers, turn order, fairy tokens, camp cards and unpredictability of other players are likely to provide variation.
This game blends strategy and tactile beauty in a light and entertaining manner that adults and children can both enjoy. Short, pretty, and enhanced by alpacas, 12 Rivers is a welcome addition to my collection.
