Draco Studios has made a name for itself with its Creature Kingdoms series of games such as Was for Chicken Island, Dodos Riding Dinos and most recently the Kickstarter Party Panda Pirates attracted attention. The crazy illustrations by Iván "Gnomosapiens" Escalante with the lovingly designed but completely crazy animals particularly stand out. The Area Majority game Kiwi Chow Down is the third offshoot of this series and is also available in Germany thanks to Taverna Ludica Games. You can find out how the game performs in our review.
On a small island live swarms of voracious kiwis that fight for the best places to get fruit. It's a wild affair. They push and eat as much as they can. There's no regard for losses, because only the swarm that ultimately controls the most territory will be victorious.
Feeding, Moving, Building
Kiwi Chow Down is an area majority game in which we try to claim as many areas as possible for ourselves. We try to gain control of areas over four rounds or seasons and keep them until the end. A round runs over four phases: The Change of seasons, action phase, dealing with the seasonal menu, which gives us a special goal for each round and the area marking.
While the first phase is about preparing for the round, the action phase is about getting down to business. In turn order, each person plays a card from their hand and carries out the corresponding action. This phase continues until all three cards have been played. The selection of actions is quite clear. We can Feeding kiwis, moving kiwis or building a nestIn addition to the promotions, there are joker cards, with which we can perform any of the actions just mentioned or receive valuable bonuses that will help us in future moves.
During the action phase, we try to fulfill the conditions of the annual card or to gain dominance in areas. We do this by cleverly combining the various action options. For example, if we feed a kiwi, its strength increases. From now on, it can drive smaller kiwis away from areas as soon as it is moved to one. In addition, we receive a so-called area marker for feeding, which plays an important role in winning at the end of the game.
Feeding also has a special twist. We can also feed our opponents' kiwis. This not only gives us one more territory marker than if only ours were feeding, but also gives us the opportunity to burst the opponents' kiwis. This means that the opponent loses a strong ally in the fight for supremacy.
The leader has a special role among the Kiwis. This leader usually has the highest possible strength of 3 and can perform a movement that is linked to a special ability. He cannot be fed and therefore cannot burst.
Build nests for valuable bonuses
We can build nests if we have at least two kiwi pieces in an area and have dominance in the area where we want to build the nest. Dominance is determined by the strength of the kiwis in the area. The tribe with the greatest strength has dominance. If we meet the requirement, we have to pay resources in the form of fruit to build the nest, depending on its level.
The nest we build gives us instant bonuses as well as bonuses for each new season. These are divided into three different types of nest, each with two levels. The second level gives us better and better bonuses as well as a victory point at the end of the game.
After the action phase is complete, the player who best fulfills the current season card receives additional bonuses. Each player can then place one of their territory markers on the island. To do so, they must have dominance in an area that corresponds to the symbol on the territory marker and does not yet have a territory marker.
The last round is decisive
In the fourth and final round, you place not just one but all of the markers collected during the game at the territory marker. Since each territory marker on the game board is worth one point at the end, the last round is the most important in Kiwi Chow Down. Because one territory marker has already been placed in each of the previous rounds, there is a limited space here, and there is a lot of fighting over it.
At the end of the game, you receive points for all territory markers on the board, all level 2 nests and, if applicable, for season cards. Whoever has the most points wins.
Information about Kiwi Chow Down
| Number of players: 1 – 4 Age: from 14 years Playing time: 60 - 90 minutes Difficulty: higher family game Long-term motivation: medium Classification: Area Majority Author: Pepe Macba Illustrations: Ivan Escalante Publisher: Taverna Ludica Games, Draco Studios, detestable games Official Website: Link Year of publication: 2024 Language: German Cost: 61,99 Euro |
Conclusion
Kiwi Chow Down has a lot of tactical depth for a game with fairly simple rules. While I was quite skeptical about whether the game would work when I read the rules, I was really excited about it by the end. The idea that you play with a deck of 9 cards, which you play through once up until the third round and then play again works brilliantly. Especially because you know which cards are still hidden in the deck and can plan your moves a little in advance, but you still have to be constantly on your guard and not plan too precisely. This keeps the game exciting throughout, as you have to think about lots of little things in order to be successful.
Kiwi Chow Down also has a lot of interaction, which can be nasty, but is never too nasty. The Take That elements are very limited, as you always have an overview of what could happen. For example, you can make a kiwi that is about to burst burst yourself. If you place it cleverly, all the kiwis in the area where the kiwi burst are moved to neighboring areas and you can create a little order in a field, which may be important for you.
Pushing Kiwis of a lower strength when moving to another area can also be used tactically. There was never a situation that you couldn't have foreseen. Whenever you saw a nasty move, you always thought: "Oh damn, he's really doing it! I should have prepared and protected myself better!" That's exactly why the nasty things in Kiwi Chow Down don't hurt, because you can stop everything if you want to.
Kiwi Chow Down also impresses with its funny, but also cute illustrations. This makes the whole game really harmonious. Nothing takes itself too seriously, but the game is still serious enough to be a good game.
What you might not like is the fact that everything in the game depends on the last round. During the game you try to collect enough area markers and secure the areas with the symbols of the collected markers, but if the last round goes badly, then the whole game is over, even if things went really well at the beginning. Because the game remains so clear despite the many game pieces and you have a good amount of control over what is happening on the board, I think the idea of making the last round the decisive one is quite successful.
Kiwi Chow Down is definitely not the best game, but it is one that has a lot of charm and a simple rule set with enough tactical options. It is therefore easier to bring to the table and is unlikely to leave anyone completely disappointed.
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Kosmos 697945 Dodo - Save the wobbly egg, fast-paced board game... * |
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