REVIEW OF Geominos
I have to be honest and say that I wasn't really interested in Geominos (Hilaria and Lundi, 2007 - Tod Teeple) when I first heard of it, if only because of the name – because I find the basic game of dominoes rather dull. Changing a few rules of a dull game doesn't really help it much, so my hopes for Geominos were nonexistent, to say the least. However, I started reading a bit about the game, and it seemed that it wasn't quite as much like Dominoes as I thought. Once I got the game, in its imposing sizeable pizza box, I realized that it was basically a logical game in which placement of tiles was of critical importance.
My thoughts on Geominos has fluctuated as I've played it. At one point I'm rather enamored with the game, as it really is a fascinating game of tile placement – a lot of heavy thought. Other times I'm just not really that interested in playing the game, as it can cause a bit of a brain cramp; and tile placement seems heavily influenced by luck. It's a good game for my "logic in games" series that I teach in Geometry; perhaps it's a little too dry for my personal tastes. Geominos will appeal to those who like thoughtful games, although the introduction of timers can cause the game to get slightly more frenzied; and it certainly is a unique idea.
The board is a large 21 by 21 grid of squares with groups of squares colored in a dark brown or light tan. A pile of twenty-one different connected shapes, each made up of five to nine connected squares in various shapes, are placed near the board, as well as a pile of cards, one for each shape. One player draws the top card and places the tile shown there on the board, centered on the center square. Starting with one player, players draw one card at a time and take the corresponding tile; until all players have five tiles. The starting player then takes the first turn.
On a player's turn, they simply play a tile from their hand so that one of the sections of the tile is next to a block of a tile on the board with both showing the same number. Only one section need match, and all tiles have different arrangements of numbers on them, so there are many variations. The player then marks their score, which is one point for each pip of the tile they placed that is on a light square. The player then draws another card and tile, and play continues until all tiles have been placed, at which point the player with the fewest points wins!
There are other ways to play, such as players selecting all the tiles at the beginning of the game, or drawing and placing one tile at a time. Players can also use one minute timers to give players a time limit for their turns. An easy game gives each player three minutes, two minutes are allocated for a middle level game, and a hard game grants only one minute per turn. Players who run out of time are given five points and one more minute. A player who fails to place a tile after that minute loses the game.
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: The game comes in a large-sized pizza box, which is unique and very interesting – but a bit difficult to store on game shelves. The board is a large laminated paper board – a bit bland, but I'm not expecting much more from an abstract game. The tiles themselves are a hard plastic and look like dice that are unfolded – they are very good quality. The only caveat I would make here is that one must punch the tiles out; and it was very difficult, not to mention a bit annoying (I thought I would cut myself at one point). The two timers included are very nice, and I'm tempted to steal them for other games. Overall, I thought the components were okay, but I wouldn't have minded a different-sized box.
2.) Rules: The rules are on four pages, explain all the different variations of play, with a few examples of how to place tiles. One thing I did like was that the cards in the game show a picture of the tile, as well as a name for the tile that helps a player better identify the shape (chair, dog, seahorse, etc.) This makes finding the tiles easier and helped game play to be a little smoother. The game is easy to teach, although I found that it's not as easier for younger kids as it sounds.
3.) Speed: The introduction of a timer to any game such as this adds stress, and I don't recommend that you play with a minute per turn unless you are playing with cool, collected players, because it will drive you absolutely insane when placing tiles. Two minutes seems the best length, although some will have a problem with that. Woe betide you to play without timers at all, though – I've tried it, and turns extend so long that you'll be playing the game for years at a time! The game, when played with timers, lasts around an hour or less – it all depends on the type of game played, and how contemplative players wish to be.
4.) Type: The original rules, in which players draw five tiles to start with, is my favorite way to play, although a variant in which players exchange the tiles they got at the end of a game for a combined score seems to work best. See, my biggest problem with Geominos (although the designers assured me that it all works out in the end) is that some tiles are simply easier to place than other tiles. If I have a nine block tile, and you have a five, mine is much more dangerous to place, and will likely generate more points. A five piece tile will give fifteen points maximum, if all squares are in light spaces. A nine piece square gives seventeen points if only the highest two squares are showing! I haven't had anyone really complain about this (other than me), but it certainly seems like a perceived problem.
5.) Fun Factor: Placing tiles is fun; and with the tiles being double-sided and strange shapes, players have a lot of options. This is of course somewhat similar to dominoes, if you take the original dominoes and mutate them to a high degree. It's also my favorite part of the game – it's neat when you can lay a tile down in a clever placement so that you score zero points by placing it. I'm not so enamored with the lengthy downtime the game can have, and it's not as much use looking too far ahead, as a tile an opponent places can really change your plans. At the same time, because of this – I think the game works best with two players; it's closest to pure strategy at that point.
So do I like Geominos? The answer is today, yes, yesterday not so much. It's a game that I'm going to keep, because I can use it in logical situations. At the same time, it isn't so much fun that I want to play it all the time. I realize a lot of people are going to like the deep thinking part of the game, and the tile placement is fun. For me, however, I want something that doesn't cause me to twiddle my thumbs while the opponent is taking their time to move. The timers help alleviate this problem a bit, but the game takes a turn for the "high stress zone" when that happens.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
My thoughts on Geominos has fluctuated as I've played it. At one point I'm rather enamored with the game, as it really is a fascinating game of tile placement – a lot of heavy thought. Other times I'm just not really that interested in playing the game, as it can cause a bit of a brain cramp; and tile placement seems heavily influenced by luck. It's a good game for my "logic in games" series that I teach in Geometry; perhaps it's a little too dry for my personal tastes. Geominos will appeal to those who like thoughtful games, although the introduction of timers can cause the game to get slightly more frenzied; and it certainly is a unique idea.
The board is a large 21 by 21 grid of squares with groups of squares colored in a dark brown or light tan. A pile of twenty-one different connected shapes, each made up of five to nine connected squares in various shapes, are placed near the board, as well as a pile of cards, one for each shape. One player draws the top card and places the tile shown there on the board, centered on the center square. Starting with one player, players draw one card at a time and take the corresponding tile; until all players have five tiles. The starting player then takes the first turn.
On a player's turn, they simply play a tile from their hand so that one of the sections of the tile is next to a block of a tile on the board with both showing the same number. Only one section need match, and all tiles have different arrangements of numbers on them, so there are many variations. The player then marks their score, which is one point for each pip of the tile they placed that is on a light square. The player then draws another card and tile, and play continues until all tiles have been placed, at which point the player with the fewest points wins!
There are other ways to play, such as players selecting all the tiles at the beginning of the game, or drawing and placing one tile at a time. Players can also use one minute timers to give players a time limit for their turns. An easy game gives each player three minutes, two minutes are allocated for a middle level game, and a hard game grants only one minute per turn. Players who run out of time are given five points and one more minute. A player who fails to place a tile after that minute loses the game.
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: The game comes in a large-sized pizza box, which is unique and very interesting – but a bit difficult to store on game shelves. The board is a large laminated paper board – a bit bland, but I'm not expecting much more from an abstract game. The tiles themselves are a hard plastic and look like dice that are unfolded – they are very good quality. The only caveat I would make here is that one must punch the tiles out; and it was very difficult, not to mention a bit annoying (I thought I would cut myself at one point). The two timers included are very nice, and I'm tempted to steal them for other games. Overall, I thought the components were okay, but I wouldn't have minded a different-sized box.
2.) Rules: The rules are on four pages, explain all the different variations of play, with a few examples of how to place tiles. One thing I did like was that the cards in the game show a picture of the tile, as well as a name for the tile that helps a player better identify the shape (chair, dog, seahorse, etc.) This makes finding the tiles easier and helped game play to be a little smoother. The game is easy to teach, although I found that it's not as easier for younger kids as it sounds.
3.) Speed: The introduction of a timer to any game such as this adds stress, and I don't recommend that you play with a minute per turn unless you are playing with cool, collected players, because it will drive you absolutely insane when placing tiles. Two minutes seems the best length, although some will have a problem with that. Woe betide you to play without timers at all, though – I've tried it, and turns extend so long that you'll be playing the game for years at a time! The game, when played with timers, lasts around an hour or less – it all depends on the type of game played, and how contemplative players wish to be.
4.) Type: The original rules, in which players draw five tiles to start with, is my favorite way to play, although a variant in which players exchange the tiles they got at the end of a game for a combined score seems to work best. See, my biggest problem with Geominos (although the designers assured me that it all works out in the end) is that some tiles are simply easier to place than other tiles. If I have a nine block tile, and you have a five, mine is much more dangerous to place, and will likely generate more points. A five piece tile will give fifteen points maximum, if all squares are in light spaces. A nine piece square gives seventeen points if only the highest two squares are showing! I haven't had anyone really complain about this (other than me), but it certainly seems like a perceived problem.
5.) Fun Factor: Placing tiles is fun; and with the tiles being double-sided and strange shapes, players have a lot of options. This is of course somewhat similar to dominoes, if you take the original dominoes and mutate them to a high degree. It's also my favorite part of the game – it's neat when you can lay a tile down in a clever placement so that you score zero points by placing it. I'm not so enamored with the lengthy downtime the game can have, and it's not as much use looking too far ahead, as a tile an opponent places can really change your plans. At the same time, because of this – I think the game works best with two players; it's closest to pure strategy at that point.
So do I like Geominos? The answer is today, yes, yesterday not so much. It's a game that I'm going to keep, because I can use it in logical situations. At the same time, it isn't so much fun that I want to play it all the time. I realize a lot of people are going to like the deep thinking part of the game, and the tile placement is fun. For me, however, I want something that doesn't cause me to twiddle my thumbs while the opponent is taking their time to move. The timers help alleviate this problem a bit, but the game takes a turn for the "high stress zone" when that happens.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
