Alderac Entertainment Group, Cascadia, Board Game, Multicoloured, Ages 10+, 1-4 Players, 45+ Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

Cascadia is a tile and token drafting game for 1-4 players. It involves a dual-layer puzzle that progresses over time as more habitats and wildlife are added to each player’s individual ecosystem. Players score points by creating the most harmonious spatial arrangements of wildlife, and also by creating the largest contiguous habitat corridors. Cascadia is a puzzly tile-laying and token-drafting game featuring the habitats and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.

Cascadia is an accessible game that offers challenges suitable for all gamers, with approachable gameplay and strategic depth. It’s a great choice whether you’re searching for gateway games or in-depth strategy. You will find a great mix of long-term strategy and short-term tactics available as you work to solve each new puzzle. The team behind Cascadia knows that gamers love sharing their hobby and have worked hard to make Cascadia the perfect game to do just that.If you are playing with children, or you wish to simplify the gameplay for yourself or other players, the game includes variant scoring. There are two extra options, presented as an easy mode and an intermediate mode. The easy mode makes each animal score in a similar way, reducing the number of scoring conditions the player must learn. Intermediate mode increases the challenge of the spatial puzzle, without adding complex scoring conditions. Cascadia runs very smoothly with little conflict as playing competitively will prevent you from scoring big. If you play only to stop someone else from getting a scoring group, you are more likely to lose as you will likely place hexes that do not add value to your own board. Replayability If that all seems a little overwhelming, fear not. There are family and intermediate variants that narrow down the scoring objectives. Animal Achievements And Rule Restrictions

The graphic design on the tiles, cards and discs is very attractive. The animal photos are gorgeous, the terrain tiles are bright, bold and very clear and the animal discs are also very bold and clean looking. Cascadia leaves no option for confusion in the components with very little symbology, clear, precise art and high-quality design. It’s all rather elegant, in a classically simple way. Note: Achievements and Rule Restrictions aren’t intended for solo play, but I can’t see why not and I use them for added crunch sometimes! Final Thoughts Cascadia is a puzzly tile-laying game featuring the habitats and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest! In Cascadia, players take turns building their terrain and populating it with wildlife. Players must create a diverse and harmonious ecosystem - each animal species has a different spatial preference and each habitat must be placed to reduce fragmentation and create wildlife corridors.Then select your Wildlife Scoring Cards. There are 4 sets marked A, B, C, and D. Each one includes the 5 animals in the game: Bears, Elk, Salmon, Hawk, and Fox. They are spatially based, placement optimisation goals and you can play with a single set or mix and match (so long as you have one of each species). A is the simplest set which is good for your first few games. There’s also a Family variant Wildlife Scoring Card which replaces all 5 individual animal goals with a single objective which is great for younger or less experienced gamers. If, however, you want the most relaxing and accessible version of the game, a family variant is included which simplifies the scoring to just groups of animals. This is a great addition for young children and non-gamers playing for the first time who want a gentle introduction to Cascadia. What’s even better about this: some players can play the family rule alongside the normal game to allow people of different abilities to play together and still be complex enough for everyone to enjoy. I think this is such a good idea as it really makes the game suitable for every type of group. Design & Components Note that if 4 Wildlife Tokens are all the same, this is known as “ overpopulation“, and they are removed and replaced with 4 new randomly selected ones. It can also happen when there are 3 matching animals on offer. But in that case, it is the active player’s choice (aka yours in solo mode) as to whether those 3 are replaced or not. You can collect special pinecone tokens by placing an animal on its own hex, called a ‘keystone’ tile, which allows you to change the sets drawn, but these aren’t common and still require a blind draw from the bag. Otherwise, if there are three or more of one animal type you can swap them. You can never change the drawn hex tiles, which can prevent you from continuing a terrain. I sit and look at the row of pairs, sometimes for a really long time. And a series of trade-offs and options run through my head. A Chinook Salmon swims around my brain suggesting this tile and pondering that objective. Everything about Cascadia feels calm. Methodical. Meditative. I almost feel like I am breathing in the fresh mountain air when playing.