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Board Game Designers Forum
USA
Basari is a game where players move around a board which
represents a Bazaar. On each space on the board is a picture
of a number and type of gems you could win. Also on each space
is a pt value you could win.
On each turn players blind bid for one of the three possible
actions.
- Gems: This action will allow you to take the gems listed
on the space you're currently on.
- Points: This action will allow you to score the number of
points of the space you're currently on.
- Movement: This action lets you roll the dice. You get to
move the number of spaces shown, PLUS you get 6-x points,
where x is the number you rolled on the die. Example; you
roll a 4, you move 4 and get 6 – 4 = 2 points.
After the blind bids are revealed, if no one bid for the
same action as you, you get the action for 'free'. I.E. you
simply take the action.
If two people bid for the same action, then both players
enter a trading session to see who gets to take the action.
This is where the social aspect of the game really shines.
When you bid, you have to always raise the bid from the previous
bid. This is done in two ways; either by bidding one more
gem than the previous bid, or by raising the value of the
previous bid. In the game, rubies are the most valuable gem.
If for example, player A bid a ruby and an emerald, player
b could raise the bid by either bidding 3 gems of any combination,
or he could bid one ruby and another gem of higher value than
the emerald, such as another ruby. Bidding goes on like this
until a person is unwilling to or unable to raise the bid.
If this is the case, that player takes what was bid and the
'winning' player then takes the action he just won.
If three or more people bid for an action, all of the bids
are cancelled and no one gets to take the action.
There are three rounds to the game.. A round is ended when
any player makes one complete lap around the board.
Points are scored at the end of the round for:
Lapping the board
Having the most of any particular gem set. The most valuable
is ruby.
That's it in a nutshell. It seems relatively simple but
the game has a lot of strategy. Serious gamers will find Basari
to be pretty good. The gem trading is quite fun because you
have to weigh how much you will be gaining for the action
and how much you will be losing by paying the gems to your
opponent. Also there are at least three strategies that I
have found that MIGHT work with any particular game. All of
the elements of the game are very tightly integrated and highly
balanced. From a designer's point of view, this game is a
masterpiece.
My friends absolutely loved this game
and we played about 10 times over one weekend. I'd
rate this game an 8.75 out of 10. Serious strategy gamers
would probably rate it higher, especially with the rules variants
available on the internet.
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