It turned out that Scythe is very different from what it seems at first glance. If you look at the artwork and the board, you might think this is a game where you build big megacities and conquer the hex based board in 4X. In fact, there are about 20 towers in the Scythe game and only 2 of them take part in a battle. You often use wicks to carry your staff, and only the first two combat victories count for victory points. If you fight more, you will lose the points you have earned and possibly the game. In battle, you lose the power and cards you need to fight, so each battle weakens you and becomes a potential target for others. Finally, you learn to avoid fighting when it is not necessary.
In and of itself, Scythe is a European-engineered game (expertly disguised as American-style gaming themed elements). Each turn, you must select one of the four columns on your individual board. Each column has up and down movement, but up movement is relatively inexpensive and down movement requires more resources. Basic strategy is to plan your actions so that you can do both, which is the most effective way to move forward. Each of the following moves gives you a star if done multiple times and ends a game when a player has 6 stars. You have enough chance for stars to win a game without 2 stars, you can get them by winning the battle. And you can win without having 6 stars at the beginning, you need more points at the end and you just need to complete the game for another player to get 6 stars.
The main game has 5 starting boards and 5 player boards for 25 possible combinations. The extension extends to 7 nations and 7 player boards for 49 combinations. This creates relatively high play value for the average player. Difficult players know the winning strategies of all these combinations, and at least the first moves occur without any contact with other players, and these popular openings are a safe bet. Although there are random elements in the game in addition to the cards you draw, there may be attacks after the game and therefore unexpected results. After all, player interaction is much less than you might think. This can be a positive or negative, depending on the style of board game you prefer. At least the game is fun, has a good table presence, and works well, sometimes even elegantly. If you don't just want to play complicated abstract euro games, but don't want to be completely American themed casual and themed games, this is a good bet.
