News and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainment
  • Home
  • board Games
    • News
    • Board game reviews
    • Crowdfunding
    • top list
    • Inside
  • video Games
    • News
    • games scene
    • Gaming tests
    • Game tips
    • Gaming accessories
    • Hardware tests
  • films and series
    • News
    • Movie review
  • Books
    • News
    • Book review
  • Gaming events
    • Fair reports
      • News
      • GAME in Essen
      • Play!
      • Toy fair in Nuremberg
      • Gamescom in Cologne
      • CCXP Cologne
  • Buy games
    • Top 50: board games
    • Offers
    • Popular board games
    • Games Dealer
    • Games: tests and reviews
  • Read ad-free?Exclusive
  • de
    • en
    • de
  • warcraft rumble
  • Disney Lorcan
  • Star Wars
  • Star Wars Unlimited
  • Asmodee
  • Ravensburger
  • Kosmos
  • Pegasus Spiele
  • Home
  • board Games
  • video Games
  • films and series
  • Books
  • Gaming events
  • Buy games
  • Read ad-free?Exclusive
Reading: Review of "Maji" by Spieltrieb: Fast Two-Player Secret Tip
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font resizerAa
Font resizerAa
News and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainment
  • Home
  • board Games
  • video Games
  • films and series
  • Books
  • Gaming events
  • Buy games
  • Read ad-free?Exclusive
  • Home
  • board Games
    • News
    • Board game reviews
    • Crowdfunding
    • top list
    • Inside
  • video Games
    • News
    • games scene
    • Gaming tests
    • Game tips
    • Gaming accessories
    • Hardware tests
  • films and series
    • News
    • Movie review
  • Books
    • News
    • Book review
  • Gaming events
    • Fair reports
  • Buy games
    • Top 50: board games
    • Offers
    • Popular board games
    • Games Dealer
    • Games: tests and reviews
  • Read ad-free?Exclusive
Have an existing account? Sign In
follow US
© 2023 - Spielpunkt - Games and Entertainment
News and tests about board games, games and entertainment > Article > Board and card games > Reviews > Review of "Maji" by Spieltrieb: Fast Two-Player Secret Tip
Board and card gamesNewsReviews

Review of "Maji" by Spieltrieb: Fast Two-Player Secret Tip

Editors Spielpunkt
Last updated: 2019/12/16 at 12:58 PM
By Editors Spielpunkt 7 MinRead
Share
Review of Maji, published by Spieltrieb. Photo: Nicole Zeller
Review of Maji, published by Spieltrieb. Photo: Nicole Zeller
SHARE

In today's fast-paced world, games are very well suited to take the pace out of everyday life and take time for each other again. This also seems to have recognized Till Mayer, who with Maji has brought a brisk but calm game onto the market. We reveal in our review what makes this title so special.


Till Meyer also sees games as an excellent means of having fun and spending time with the family during the Christmas season. For Till Meyer, games are not just a job, but a calling. Meyer & Stiehl GbR Spieltrieb was founded 21 years ago in Niedermeilingen by Till Meyer and Nicole Stiehl. Till Meyer and Nicole Stiehl produce advertising games as commissioned work, they develop educational games, lead seminars on game development, are game authors and publishers.

First work that can be seen

The range of products from Spieltrieb is wide. Till Meyer is currently working on a commissioned work for the Protestant regional church. A game for young pastors. The board game “Maji” was recently published by Spieltrieb. "Maji" is the first published game by author Marius Spix.

Maji is a game for two people, ages ten and up, and is set in the Serengeti, where water becomes scarce for people and animals in summer. It is therefore the players' task to build wells in order to survive the next dry season. You will need clay and water for this task. But wild buffalos also target the players' watering holes and trample the wells under construction.

The game consists of 25 Serengeti tiles, which are laid out in a square field in a 5 × 5 matrix. Blue crystals are placed on the water holes. The red crystals, the rubies, are laid out next to the playing field. Each player receives six well parts. The worker figure is placed either in the middle row or in the middle column, according to the choice of the starting player, and off you go.

May
Water buffalo - harmful enemy or useful helper? Photo: Nicole Zeller

The player whose turn it is must take a tile from the row or column in which the worker figure is located and then place the worker figure in the column or row from which the Serengeti tile was taken. There is therefore always a change between row and column. If a player takes adobe bricks, he may build well parts according to the number of adobe bricks shown. No adobe bricks are allowed to decay.

If the player takes a water crystal from a water point, he may place it in his well. When taking water buffalo tiles, the player must remove well parts from his well corresponding to the number of water buffalo. So the water buffalo destroy parts of the well. This doesn't always have to be negative for the player. Every now and then it is also helpful to reduce the parts of the well first.

The round ends as soon as a well has been completed. The player who has finished building it receives a ruby, but only if the well also contains water. If this is not the case, the opponent receives the ruby. The round is also ended if the worker piece has to be placed in front of an empty column or row. Rounds are played until a player has collected four rubies.

Simple game with tactical depth

It all sounds like a simple and easy game. Easy catchy rules. Manageable game material. Short playing time. However, one should not underestimate Maji. Maji is not a game of chance, it is more of a strategy game. The moves should be carefully considered. It is best to plan several moves in advance. This is a great way to annoy your teammate. You can thus force tiles on your fellow players that do not fit into your concept at the moment.

Then he may have to leave part of his well again, or he has to close his well even though it does not contain any water. The latter gives you a ruby ​​yourself. You can also get a ruby ​​if you manage to collect all five water crystals. With cunning, planning and sometimes a bluff you can corner and defeat your opponent in Maji. Due to the short playing time of approx. 10 minutes, Maji invites you to the next game.

If you have two copies of Maji, you can play it with four people. Then a Serengeti tile has to be sorted out and a 7 × 7 matrix is ​​placed. In addition, some rule adjustments are necessary for four people. But with four people the character of the game also changes. The moves can no longer be planned so far in advance, the whole game becomes more random. Still, it's still a lot of fun.

Infobox

Number of players: 2 players
Age: from 10 years
Playing time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Long-term motivation: medium

Publisher: Spieltrieb
Author: Marius Spix
Illustration: Nicole Pustelny
Desktop graphics / typography: Achim Schule
Year of publication: 2019
Language: German, English
Cost: 17 euros

Conclusion

The game material is valuable and the game is graphically beautifully illustrated. German and English instructions are included with the game. Marius Spix has released a great first work with Maji. And it gets even better: He already has new ideas and so his next work will probably follow soon.

Next year the Spieltrieb Verlag plans to publish a strategic expert game by the author Predrag Lazović with the current working title “Flying Saucers”. Flying Saucers is about eliminating the opposing spaceship fleet, it has a modular structure and thus the size of the game board can be adjusted and there are other game scenarios.

We can therefore look forward to 2020 and the games that Spieltrieb 2020 will bring us.

You Might Also Like

Advent Calendar 2023 - Competition: Take part every day

Sniper Elite VR for Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro

Mixture of visual novel and JRPG: Noctuary

Gamescom is expanding into Brazil with a branch

German version of Blood on the Clocktower available for pre-order

Tagged: board Games, Family games, placement game
Previous Article Slash'n loot: Gearbox is developing Godfall for Playstation 5 and PC. Image: Gearbox With Godfall, the Playstation 5 has its first officially announced game
Next Article Makes for astonished faces: The surprisingly released teaser for Gothic. Image: THQ (Youtube) Gothic remake: surprise demo decides the fate of the game
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe
- Advertisement -
Image adImage ad

Latest News

The Quiz Advent Calendar 2023 runs from December 1st to 24th.
Advent Calendar 2023 - Competition: Take part every day
Board and card games Editor's Choice News TOP video Games
Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior is available for €14.99 on the Meta Quest Store. Image: Rebellion
Sniper Elite VR for Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro
News video Games
Noctuary, a hybrid visual novel and JRPG from Chinese studio Gratesca, is now available on Steam for PC. Image: Gratesca
Mixture of visual novel and JRPG: Noctuary
News video Games
Gamescom and Big Festival start Gamescom latam in Brazil. Logo: Gamescom
Gamescom is expanding into Brazil with a branch
Gamescom in Cologne News video Games
Blood on the Clocktower is scheduled to be released in summer 2024. Picture. Funtails
German version of Blood on the Clocktower available for pre-order
Board and card games News
Free newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

customer

PackagesBestseller no. 1 Pegasus Spiele 56300G - Tainted Grail (German Edition) 1-4... Pegasus Spiele 56300G - Tainted Grail (German... 107,47 EUR
Bestseller no. 2 Awaken Realms | The Great Wall | base game | Expert Game |... Awaken Realms | The Great Wall | Basic game |... 67,99 EUR
Bestseller no. 3 Pegasus Games 57317G - Clash of Cultures (Frosted Games) Pegasus Spiele 57317G - Clash of Cultures (Frosted... 114,99 EUR

Already read?

The Quiz Advent Calendar 2023 runs from December 1st to 24th.
Board and card gamesEditor's ChoiceNewsTOPvideo Games

Advent Calendar 2023 - Competition: Take part every day

Andre Volkman Andre Volkman 30 November 2023
Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior is available for €14.99 on the Meta Quest Store. Image: Rebellion
Newsvideo Games

Sniper Elite VR for Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro

Andre Volkman Andre Volkman 30 November 2023
Noctuary, a hybrid visual novel and JRPG from Chinese studio Gratesca, is now available on Steam for PC. Image: Gratesca
Newsvideo Games

Mixture of visual novel and JRPG: Noctuary

Andre Volkman Andre Volkman 29 November 2023
Show More
© Spielpunkt. All Rights Reserved.
  • Contact
  • The game editors
  • Media-Kit.
  • Imprint
  • Data protection
  • Contest Rules
  • We're looking for you
Welcome back!

Login

Lost your password?