Mountain Goats, GPS, and Sequoia - the Review (Copy)
We’ve flown into space with GPS, charged up some mountains in Mountain Goats, and grown our own forests in Sequoia, but it’s time to review all three games in one post.
Mountain Goats
Knock your opponents off at the perfect moment to win the game!
Set-up: 10/10
Set-up is incredibly easy. The hardest part of the set-up is separating out the numbered tokens, but if you play a few games in a row this is really quick to restart.
Mechanics: 10/10
Dead simple, each turn flies by, and it feels as those you’re constantly engaged with the game. You could learn by playing or by reading the instructions, and I feel like it’s a game that anyone can learn easily. I’m not normally a fan of luck-based games, but Mountain Goats has a good blend of strategy and luck, and is perfect for people who roll lots of 1s.
Scoring: 7/10
Possibly the hardest part of the game, with two people our scores ended up being 158 and 155 – not a problem if your math savvy or have a calculator (or phone) to hand, but it’s not easy to keep track of your score, or guess it, mid game. Individual scores should end up being lower with additional players, as the points become more widespread, but most games players will end up with around 100 points, if not more.
Replayability: 7/10
For me, as a mainstay game, I feel like this won’t stand up to the longer strategy games, such as Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, or Dominion, but it’s not designed to be the centre of a gaming session. However, as a game to fill in time, or to play at the end of the evening, I can see this being a good go to. A different number of players, and different people to play with, will, like most games, increase the replayability of the game.
Speed: 9/10
This game is designed to quick to play, and it fits the bill. It’s a short, fast paced games, with very little down time between turns.
I would recommend Mountain Goats, it’s quick, easy to learn, and great fun. It’s a game everyone can enjoy, regardless of how much of a gamer you are. Plus, it’s goats!
GPS
Spin your way to success in GPS!
Set up: 8/10
Like Mountain Goats, GPS is easy to set up. I had a slight issue with my spinner not fitting together perfectly, but I don’t know if this is an issue with every game.
Mechanics: 10/10
Again, incredibly simple, you spin the spinner and move or place a satellite to get them in ascending order before your opponents.
Scoring: 10/10
There is no scoring in this game, it’s simply a case of the first player to get their satellites in order wins.
Replayability: 3/10
For me, this game doesn’t hold many tactical decisions, it’s very luck based. You spin the spinner, and hope it works in your favour. That said, it is a fun little game, and playing a game with five of us was a laugh. We’ve played GPS a handful of times, but it doesn’t captivate us anywhere near as much as Mountain Goats or GPS.
Speed: 10/10
GPS is a very fast game, designed to be quick to play. As everyone places and moves tokens at the same time, there’s no downtime between turns, although it can be chaotic if everyone dives for their satellites at once!
I like the concept of GPS. However, a common problem a lot of people are having is the spinner moving. This isn’t usually an issue for most games; however, the spinner is the board, meaning it crashes into satellites and send them flying. When they heard about this, Board Game Tables did send out an email with a few suggestions for stopping it sliding. Option one is placing a silicone baking sheet under the board, and option two is to place a 5/16 or 1/4 ball bearing in the spinner. Alternatively, you could make a larger board, and a place for the satellite tokens to sit, but this takes away the ability to travel with the game. It’s a shame the board slides, because GPS would be a great little game without the sliding; it’s a unique idea but could have been executed slightly better. Whilst I’d happily recommend Mountain Goats and Sequoia, I’m more hesitant with GPS, although I’d like to try it without it sliding before giving a full verdict.
Sequoia
Spread out or focus your efforts? You decide in Sequoia!
Set up 10/10:
Sequoia is just as easy to set up as Mountain Goats; you lay out some tiles and deal out some tokens. Again, if you play a few games in a row, you are just dealing out the tokens again.
Mechanics: 9/10
Sequoia has very similar mechanics to Mountain Goats, so if you like the mechanics of Mountain Goats, you’ll like the mechanics of Sequoia; you roll some dice, add the dice together, and place your tokens on the corresponding number. There were a few issues with some of the wording on the instructions causing confusion but playing through the game clears this up.
Scoring: 10/10
Scoring is incredibly easy, the player with the most tokens on each tile wins the points for that tile. Players generally score between 15 and 30 points, so it’s quick to add up.
Replayability: 8/10
Again, like Mountain Goats and GPS, this won’t be one of your core games for the evening, but it is great if you have a little time at the end of gaming session, or if you need something more relaxing to play between longer games.
Speed: 10/10
As you’re probably coming to expect, Sequoia is incredibly quick to play, taking around ten minutes to play a game. Players all have their turns simultaneously, so there’s no downtime between turns until the end of the game.
I would recommend Sequoia, it’s a great little game, and, due to the random token distribution, plays a little differently each time.
Overall, I think Board Game Tables did a great job with this Kickstarter. All three games are quick to learn and play, are small and easy to transport, and would make great presents.
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In the meantime, happy gaming, and I’ll see you next time!
Chris