Mandala Stones Review - with Zee Garcia

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I agree this is a solid game - with that annoying rule, you're right, it's such a problem to teach it, so I say counter clockwise and leave it at that - it is still important that players don't do it how they see fit, but certainly to teach it as counter clockwise is so much easier.

[@Souldiver66]

Thanks for the video. I really love this game and mostly agree with all the points you brought up, except for one: Not teaching/using the "picking up pattern" rule. I agree, it seems weird at first and it's stupid, how they explain it in the manual (taking clockwise and then turn the stack upside down before placing it). But the rule matters quite a bit, as the position of each color in the stack matters a lot for a future "scoring". Maybe I got you wrong here but, IMHO it is NOT allowed to take up the stones just as you feel like and thus, stacking them in the way they serve you best. Instead you have to think AHAED and maybe put a "weak" stone on the top for a lower "score" in this round, but the next "score" will be huge - by strictly following that rule. BUT... You are right by saying that It is annoying to teach it as it's written in the RB. I lately was in a playthrough chat (Paul Grogan) and Filip Glovacz was there, telling us to just invert the order - just as you mentioned in the video. (In futute printings of the game, this will be altered, he said.) Tell the people to start with the tile they want to be at the top and then simply go counter clockwise - skipping locked ones, if there are - and place the stack on the board, as it is. Easy to teach - easy to understand. It works fine with our players... Keep the dice rolling...

[@larryhuffman2673]

We had the exact same viewpoint of this game. We have only played it at 2 players and really enjoyed it, though we had some minor complaints. We changed the rule on how you pick them up to be clockwise, choosing the one you want on top first. Much easier and more natural. We tried it the way the rules stated and didn’t like that. We felt it lacked something, maybe some different end game goals, etc. But over all, we have enjoyed it. Just not sure how long the replay-ability will hold out.

[@do_hickey]

Because of the way the camera focused, in the area ~1:45, it's really hard to see the patterns, FYI.

[@thecuriousboardgamer]

Losing your board's work at the end without receiving additional points is kinda thematic for a sand mandala. :)

[@seanh5671]

A problem that was mentioned in another review was that if you move an artist and grab the stones around it, it can create a situation where if another player were to go there later they would be able to take all 4 stones, so the artist effectively becomes locked in that position for the rest of the game to prevent any other player from accessing that spot. Wondering if that was something you noticed. I'm guessing that if you did, you would have mentioned it if you thought it was an issue. Just curious about your thoughts on that. Thanks for the review!

[@patrickperl8741]

But isn't your negative the same problem with Five Tribes which you love?

[@spitfire4209]

They're called minerals

[@oxGAMERPROxo]

Very similar to Senshi which is much cheaper and smaller box

[@hucz]

Kind of. The pieces and abstract nature is similar, but the strategy with how you draft pieces and score them is quite different.

[@ralelunar]

That box cover triggers my trypophobia by 1000%

[@judithterhorst5503]

No