Tile placing zen
BoardGameGeek posted a video recently about the best relaxing board games and it got me thinking about this often ignored side of the scene. Maybe it’s been a long day. Maybe you have a few friends who’ve never board gamed before and they’re nervous. Whatever the reason, relaxing board games are an important part of any players collection.
Segue to Rebirth
Rebirth is a tile-playing game which, if I’m being honest, means it snuck up on me. I saw the high ratings and the man in the shop said he liked it but I wasn’t holding out too much hope. I’m a little like that with tile placing games. They just don’t usually do it for me. But after I played it I realised there was something about this one. And I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until I saw that video. It was just… really relaxing.
And that made it really fun.
Tile placing zen
BoardGameGeek posted a video recently about the best relaxing board games and it got me thinking about this often ignored side of the scene. Maybe it’s been a long day. Maybe you have a few friends who’ve never board gamed before and they’re nervous. Whatever the reason, relaxing board games are an important part of any players collection.
Segue to Rebirth
Rebirth is a tile-playing game which, if I’m being honest, means it snuck up on me. I saw the high ratings and the man in the shop said he liked it but I wasn’t holding out too much hope. I’m a little like that with tile placing games. They just don’t usually do it for me. But after I played it I realised there was something about this one. And I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until I saw that video. It was just… really relaxing.
And that made it really fun.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
What is it?
Rebirth is a game about rebuilding Scotland (or Ireland, depending on which side of the board you play on) in the aftermath of a fill-in-the-blank catastrophe. This part, I’ll admit, is a little jarring as far as backstory goes but I understand it. It’s about rebirth after all. Except instead of dark broken streets and barren worlds you have lush forests and beautiful landscapes.
Perhaps Reclaim would have been a better title. Because that’s essentially what you’re doing here. You’re reclaiming the land. On your turn you place a single tile (energy, food, or city) on the board to claim a specific hexagon of land. That land then gives you points. Either immediately through energy and food farming or in the future through staking a claim to a city.
And that’s kind of it. There’s no cutthroat game play. There’s no mind-breaking strategy. You pick up and you place. There are Cathedrals you can place a tile next to in order to receive secret objectives to help you win. And there is a little contention around bigger cities as each player tried to gain the most influence. But in turns of actual game play it’s really quick, really simple, and ‘oh look, it’s my turn again.’
And that’s the genius here. It lets you concentrate enough to engage you but not to overload your mind. Oh, and you know the next tile you’re going to place at the end of your current turn which means you have time to think as the other players take their turn. No analysis paralysis when it gets to you again.
In short, it’s relaxing.
And it’s really, really fun.
There’s not much more to say to be honest. As the game goes, the potential land to reclaim dwindles and you do find yourself crunching a few more numbers as you try and find the best use of your shrinking pile of tiles. But even with this tightening as the game goes on it never seems to tip into being too much and, more importantly, it never really seems like you can’t win. Because only you know your objectives and there’s always the thought that you could all be playing to completely different win conditions that will only be revealed at the very end.
And for players who do find it on the simpler side, Ireland gives a little more complexity to the game, changing some of the player dynamics with open objectives and doing away with the use of cathedrals.
Ok that’s the good. But what’s the bad?
Honestly, the thing that makes Rebirth fun is also its biggest con. It’s a nice, relaxing game. That’s it. It’s a great entry into more complicated board games, especially for gaming newbies, but it doesn’t hold real meat for players looking for a more engaging session. You don’t get the silence of calculated thought or the spontaneous rage of another player blocking your main win strategy. It’s just a solid game. That’s it. Nothing especially new or innovative. If you want a great tile placement game, something you fill a spot on your shelf, then this is a contender. If you want something with more tenacity, maybe not.
But that seems a little unfair to this game. It can’t be what it isn’t, right? Nobody faults Twilight Imperium for not being beginning friendly so why should I fault a beginner friendly game for not being more complex. No, that’s unfair. I’ll give one more criticism.
You don’t have a choice of tiles. You pick one up at random and you place that one on the board. Which means if you want an energy farm to continue your chain but you draw a series of cities then that chain of yours might get closed off by another player. And that can be frustrating. But again, it keeps the game moving quickly and it does force players to adapt. It also means there’s no one win condition and that is important. Your gloriously large energy farm that you imagined might not come to fruition but you still might be able to sneak enough points at that city over in the corner nobody has noticed.
Essentially, you play the hand you’re dealt… or the tile. You play the tile you’re dealt. That’s it. Bosh.
Simple.
Now go buy this game.
Or not. It’s up to you.
