Torres is yet another game from the wonderful board game importer Rio Grande, shipping us more of those wonderful German games that play so well than you can shake a stick at.

The shtick of Torres is that, after a long war, all the castles in the kingdom have been reduced to foundations by some pesky war-mages and the old king is ready to lay down his crown to one of his sons. He needs to decide which one, and, tired of violence, he will make the decision not on martial merits, but on skill at building.

Which is where the game picks up. Each of two to four players is a prince, with six knights to score points in castles built from durable plastic blocks in an eight by eight board. In each turn you get 5 actions points to build castles or move or place knights. After ten turns the highest score (taken twice during the game and once at the end) wins.

Points are scored for the area of every castle in which you have a knight, times the level the knight stands on (since castle blocks build both out and up.)

That's the basis of the game. There are a few complications that make this game as incredibly playable as it is. First is the fact that castle blocks have doors on all four sides: entering any door and leaving and door on the same or lower level of the same castle costs only one AP, which means that castles quickly become highways to efficiently transport knights with. Second is the king's bonus: a decent extra score for having knights on a specific level of a specific castle, and which castle is chosen by the low scorer after each scoring phase. Third are action cards: depending on which level of the game your playing, either cards cost AP or you have a set of one of each. Typically the cards allow for minor changes of the rules: diagonal moves, moving up two levels in a move, going up during a door move. And cards don't cost any precious AP to play. Finally, the Master game adds a random bonus condition.

On the stuff side, the board is well made and nice looking, a statement that goes double for the cards. The pieces are painted wood and nicely sized, and the castle blocks are well conceived and durable.

The only frustration is that it's not always possible to interfere with one's opponent's plans. It's difficult and costly to build defensively or place blocking knights.

Overall though, Torres is an excellent game, well worth the $40.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)