Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-90 min (depending on the number of players)
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 5 min

Tash-Kalar is an abstract game with some area control in it set in a battle arena. You place your pieces on the board in specific patterns to summon cards in your hand.

Tash-Kalar Rules Description:

In Tash-Kalar you are a mage that summons creatures into the arena. You must complete tasks or summon legendary units to scores VPs. Once someone reaches 9 VPs there is one last turn and the player with the most points wins.

To begin you pick your faction deck and shuffle. You start the game with three cards from your faction, two legendary cards and a flare card.

On your turn you may take two actions; place a common piece, summon a being or discard cards. You may repeat placing and summoning but may only discard once per turn.

Pieces come in three ranks, common, heroic and legendary. On your turn you may place up to two common units on any unoccupied space on the board. You place these pieces in specific patterns to help you summon a being.

You can summon a being with an action. This requires you to have the required pieces in the proper spaces on the board. The summoned unit is placed on the board where the card shows. It then has an instant one-time effect. Some effects let you move or destroy pieces. If a piece is summoned in a space with an enemy unit of equal or lower rank the enemy unit is destroyed.

If you choose to discard, you must discard one being from your faction deck. Any other cards you discard, including additional cards from your deck, go on the bottom of their respective decks. Then you draw until you have three faction cards, two legendary cards and one flare.

You can play flares to balance power in the arena and it doesn’t cost you an action. Flare cards are split into two sections. The upper half helps you if your opponent has more upgraded units than you. The bottom half helps you if your opponent has more total units than you. It is possible to trigger both sections of the card if you meet the criteria when playing it. Flares often let you place additional pieces, move and/or gain an action.

You score points in two ways. First there are tasks. Tasks score you from one to three VPs when you fulfill their requirements. You may only claim one task per turn. Some require your units to be on colored spaces in the arena. Others require a certain number of enemy pieces to be destroyed on your turn. You also score one VP for each legendary you have on the board.

Once a player reaches nine VPs the end game is triggered. Each play gets one final turn and the player with the most VPs wins.

A Quick Review of Tash-Kalar:

Tash-Kalar is an abstract game that doesn’t ignore its theme. There are various ways to play it and you can play with two to four players and even have two two-player teams. It is fairly simple to teach but tough to master.

The components for this game are very nice. The chits and cards are well made and durable. The art looks great and the rules are excellent. The first half of the rules is a guide narrated by a goblin that teaches you the basics of how to play your first game. The next section gives you the full rules and then that section is followed by the variants. There are a couple drafting variants listed here.

I mentioned that this is not a themeless abstract board game. It is cool when you see how the patterns and effects relate to the beings they summon.

I like building the patterns and trying to build a formation to summon back-to-back beings. It is not just about summoning creatures though. You really need to have the tasks in mind when summoning. Summoning in itself will not win you the game. It matters that you are working to complete a task.

Flares are a nice way to keep one player from running away with the game. They help level the playing field for newer players, but they are not too powerful.

Even with flares to help though new players may struggle as there is a bit of a learning curve. The Deathmatch Melee variant might be easier for new players to learn. It doesn’t use tasks but you score VPs for eliminating enemy pieces and summoning legendary beings. Also be aware this game can drag if you play with someone with analysis paralysis.

Tash-Kalar is about positioning and area control. It is an abstract board game with theme that will test your mind. It has a variety of ways to play and though it has a learning curve it is fun. If it sounds like a game you’d enjoy, pick it up.

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