Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: minimal

Illimat is a card game that feels old, yet has some modern mechanics. Can you collect more cards than your opponents as the Illimat spins and changes the board?

Illimat Rules Description:

Illimat ends when the first player gets to 17 victory points (VPs). Each round you’ll gain cards or okus tokens that score you VPs at the end of the round (when all cards are played). The board is divided into four sections, called fields. Each field has three cards and a facedown Luminary card in it at the start of the game. The first player gets three cards. Everyone else starts with four.

There are five card suits matching the seasons plus stars. Each suit has one card that ranks from two to thirteen. There is also a fool card that can be used as a one or fourteen.

On your turn you can take one of three actions; harvest, sow, or stockpile. You can take (harvest) a card from one field if you have a matching card in your hand. You can also harvest cards that equal the total value of a card in your hand. Harvested cards and the card used to harvest them are added to your bumper crop pile.

If you ever harvest all the cards from a field you take an okus token and the Luminary in that field is turned face-up. When flipped over Luminaries have a variety of effects. Some effects resolve immediately while others resolve after they are claimed. You then refill the field with three new cards. When a field is cleared a second time you take its Luminary card.

With the sow action you add a card from your hand into a field. This creates a new independent card for players to harvest or stockpile.

Stockpiling is adding a card to a field in a way that adds to a card or cards already there. In order to stockpile a card you must have a card in your hand that matches the card or value of the cards you are stockpiling. You can stockpile cards of the same value or pile cards together to create a new value. But remember you can only play one card and in order to stockpile you must have a card in your hand matching the new value.

The bottom of the box is called the Illimat and is used in the game to control the seasons. It has an arrow that points to the starting player and sets the season in each field. A field’s season may limit hat you can do there. You may not sow into the Autumn field, stockpile in the Spring field, or harvest in the Winter field. The Summer field is unaffected and you may always take all three actions there. Anytime someone plays a face card in a field the Illimat turns to match the season of the card played. If a star face card is played, you may choose which way to turn the Illimat.

At the end of your turn you draw back up to four cards. The round ends once there are no cards in the draw pile. Then you look through your harvested cards. The player with the most cards gains four VPs. Having the most Summer cards gets you two VPs. The player with the most Winter cards loses two VPs. Each okus token, fool card or Luminary you collected this round gains you one VP. If someone has scored seventeen VPs they win. If not, you continue with another round.

Quick Review of Illimat:

Illimat is a beautiful game that can be fun or frustrating. It might depend on what you re dealt and what is in the fields. It is pretty random and chaotic but simple and easy to learn.

Like I said above the game is beautiful. It does a good job evoking a strange game played by some secret society. The cards look nice and I like that the box is part of the game. The rules are easy to read, and though it may take a couple reads to understand stockpiling, everything is well-explained.

This game is easy to teach and learn. You can be playing in minutes with new players. Even if they are non-gamers. I have enjoyed playing Illimat and my kids like it too. But my wife and some other friends did not appreciate the random nature of the game.

After each game I can say I had fun, but was not sure what I could do to play better. You are often at the whim of the cards and fields. When things work out it can be exciting. But when they don’t you can get frustrated.

There is a solo variant that was fun. As it had more of a puzzle-feeling to it. But as a three or four player game it might be best as a filler. It is also good for playing with your non-gamer friends.

If you are looking for a unique card game, pick up Illimat. It is good on those nights you have a lot of non-gamers or when you are just getting the night started.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 2 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 2 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6