I don’t tend to write many reviews these days. In fact, I am fairly sure my fellow bloggers here at Zatu may think I have been swallowed by a dark abyss at some point. Life can be a struggle. It can be overwhelming. It can be dark, bleak, and full of horrors. (Do not panic, I am in the upswing of recovery). But there are things that help. Like cute little whimsical games like Pearladora! With its bright colours, simple gameplay, and charming aesthetics, it is easy to let out a smile or two whilst playing this game.
If the pictures have captured your eye, let me tell you a little about Pearladora.
The Game
Pearladora is a simple game of majority control. Your goal is simple. Capture the most pearls at the end of the game and spend your turns building areas and placing your divers in them to grow your influence. The catch is that you do not know what influence other people are adding to an area. And if you don’t remember what you have placed, you don’t know how much you have added either! The game adopts a memory mechanic on top of the majority influence mechanic wrapped around an area creation mechanic. It is simple in its delivery, yet I feel as though it delivers more weight than it gives itself credit for.
In Pearladora each character has control of one of the asymmetrical factions. The elders get to view placed influence, the children get to place extra divers (the tokens that make up the influence), the fishermen get to place extra pontoons (what is creating the areas) and the foragers get to influence other placed divers. The game can be played without these asymmetrical powers if you have younger or less experienced gamers, but none of them are especially complicated. On your turn you get to place a diver or place a pontoon. That is all there is to it. In a four-player game you work in teams with the player sitting opposite you and share the victory (or loss) at the end of the game.
What Works
The best part of Pearladora is for sure the tension that face down influence creates. If you have played any game with hidden information I am sure you know this feeling. You can out-bluff your opponents by having them think you are placing your larger influences in areas you are actually abandoning and they can do the same to you. I really enjoy that this game features asymmetric play too. There have been many games I have played that are on the same kind of scope to this one that I have wished had asymmetric play. Even as simple as it is here, it adds an extra element to the game. I think the game really shines in a 3-player game, where all of you are working against each other utilising individual powers.
I have played a lot of games in my time, and surprisingly, the mix of building out the areas that you are also secretly influencing is new to me. I am sure there are similar games out there on a scale far bigger than that in Pearladora, but I found myself pleasantly surprised at this unfamiliar mix of mechanics.
The rulebook is easy to read and the game itself is super easy to teach. I played it with my family who are not seasoned gamers. And they all enjoyed the game. Even if my mum was adamant she had the worst power, when in actuality, I think the power to play an extra diver is probably the most broken if used correctly.
I think a nod to the artwork and component quality is also merited. For such a small game, I think the game has been well produced. With charming artwork and little pearl components, I can see a world where these things were not included to save some pennies.
What Doesn’t Work
With every game, Pearladora is not perfect. But there is not much that pulls this one down. I think the main point of contention is the asymmetrical play itself. Not all factions are equal. And I feel as though the designer (Christwart Conrad) knew this. I believe this is why in a 4-player game, the table is divided into two teams. And also, why you can’t use your powers to the betterment of your ally. Even though it doesn’t make sense not to be able to do this. I also wish there were a few more factions. Considering there are only 4, it means that the replayability of this game is not what it could be. Even an extra 2 factions would go a long way here.
Final Thoughts
Pearladora is an interestingly quaint game. It delivers what it intends to and does not outstay its welcome. Whilst it doesn’t have the best replayability built into it, it still presents a fun, compact game. The mix of game mechanics was new to me and may very well be new to you to. This got me interested in the game and the fact that my family enjoyed it to means it will likely stick around in my collection. If you have young ones that you like playing games with or have some in your group that aren’t seasoned gamers, I think Pearladora is a decent little game.
