If you’ve read any of my other reviews you probably know that I like starting off my reviews with a bit of a story or perhaps a pondering on game design. But I won’t do that here. I’m going straight to the point. And I’ll try and explain why as I go.
So to stop any beating around the bush, I’m just going to say it: I really like this game.
And to stop any beating back around the bush a second time, I’m just going to say it: I didn’t like it the first time I played.
Let’s dive in. Statement #1: Strange World Above the Clouds is a great game.
It’s really grown on me. The card-drafting mechanism is fun and the numerous ways you can play out and adapt your turn adds a lot of meat to the game. There really is a lot there.
But how is it played?
Before I move on to Statement #2 I want to talk a bit about how the game plays and what makes it unique in a sea of card-drafting games.
Each game begins with every player placing one of the four starting cards in front of them. Players then draft three cards and place these cards in front of them, slowing building out the strange world above the clouds (get it?).
Card-drafting here though is slightly different (for three to four player games). Instead of just passing the cards around, you have a sun card (acting as a first player token and rotating each round) which dictated which way the cards are passed. It isn’t much on the surface but it creates a nice bit of player interaction. Because everybody knows what everybody is playing, players can try to mess up their opponents by passing them cards that are purposefully bad. But with the first player dictating direction of the draft, any act of malice risks rebuttal. It’s a small thing but a nice touch.
Then, once the draft is finished, you build your world. Now, I won’t bore you with what each card does but let’s just say your goal is to build out a 4×4 grid of cards in front of you that will garner you the most points. Different cards positioned in different ways trigger either good conditions (like the introduction of traveller creatures who grant you more points) or bad conditions (like the introduction of world eaters who gobble up your cards and provide no points at the end of the game).
After five rounds, you add up the scores. That’s the game.
Statement #2: Strange World Above the Clouds is a game that takes time.
Right, now is probably the right time to explain why I didn’t at first enjoy this game. And there are a few things going on in this statement.
Firstly
Strange World Above the Clouds takes time to understand. It looks and feels like a pick-up-and-play game but unless you’re a little more familiar with similar games, it’s going to take time to familiarise yourself with the rules and what each card does. Because there’s a surprising amount of strategy packed into this little game.
Secondly
The game is going to feel luck-based at first. It isn’t (at least not primarily), but it will feel that way. And part of this comes down to how long it takes you to familiarise yourself with the cards. Even in that luck, however, the game is very well balanced. My partner and I ended our first game with only one point difference despite both going for different strategies. That’s good, at the beginning. But taking this game to new players when you know it well is going to be a bit rough of those new players for the first two or three games.
And thirdly
I’m sorry but the rules. This is an actual gripe about the game. I understand they were limited on space and wanted to fit it all into a small box (which is brilliant, by the way. It fits in my jacket pocket). But the rules sheet is not easy to follow. Certain things at the beginning aren’t clarified and some of the terminology can be confusing for newer players. I had to google a couple times.
Once you play the game it starts to make sense and you start to see the flow. But for a game that’s actually really, really fun when you get into it, a rules sheet that isn’t good just makes that journey harder, especially for newer players.
Overall verdict
It’s a great game. And perhaps I’m harking on too long about the negatives but that’s just because I don’t want new players to give it up if they’re anything like me the first time I played. Give it a couple goes. Because there really is a lot there and once you understand the game, it flows very well. The little nuisances start to make sense and you develop that sense of satisfaction as you figure out how to optimise your board state. Once you get it, you get it, and the game becomes a puzzle. And the moment that happens is when you start to understand the tagline: a card game in which you have to do your best with the worst.
And once you get that, and you embrace that, then it gets really fun.
