I’ve been a big fan of Amanita Design for a few years now, first being introduced to them through their incredible Machinarium (I previously covered the glorious soundtrack to this), Creaks (and the art of the game), and more recently, Phonopolis and Happy Game.
Titles from Amanita Design have incredibly distinct and unique visuals and music, with Radim Jurda being a huge part of this, with his handcrafted artwork and talents. The first board game from them that I’ve covered, Pilgrims casts you as a wanderer that meets new characters whilst building up their tale and hopefully – having enough victory points to best the other players!
From the website:
Embark on a journey through a fairytale land as a wanderer seeking new experiences. A competitive family game where players collect useful items, meet unusual friends, and experience numerous adventures. Become the most seasoned wanderer with sleeves full of the best stories - the star of every campfire gathering! Based on the video game of the same name by Amanita Design, Pilgrims will speak to all its fans!
The game is played over 4 rounds and it is built around a movement-puzzle mechanic, where each turn presents a small riddle: how to best combine your party's movement abilities to navigate the map and collect the right cards. The players try to complete as many adventure cards as possible and gain victory points. These points symbolize the fame and wealth, both material and spiritual, that their group has acquired.
Each player will move their piece across the map to collect items and gain new companions for their group. By successfully combining their character and item cards, they can trigger additional actions. The collected items and companions will then be used to complete adventure cards. Each completed adventure rewards the player with victory points and a permanent upgrade that will help them throughout the game. The player with the most victory points at the end of the 4th round wins.
A game for up to four players (with the ability to also play solo), Pilgrims is suitable for all the family, and – thanks to the accessible instructions -is easy to get to grips with within a couple of rounds, especially if you have played Forestry from Pink Troubadour, which shares a lot of the same mechanics. A competitive game, Pilgrims sees your -initially – lone wanderer using their chess-like movement abilities to grow an ever-increasing group of allies, in a bid to gain enough objects (and their accompanying symbols) to complete quests and boost your end score. The victory points come from many areas, such as how many clover tokens you have, how many of a certain quest type have been completed etc. so there are enough moving parts so as to obfuscate who the winner would be, meaning that victory can be snatched from an unseen angle at the final count, this adds to the fun and tension. I initially thought that four rounds would mean that the game is over too quickly, but – as with the other mechanics - it feels perfectly balanced, and ensures that you give a lot of thought to each possible movement and outcome, with several choices always at your disposal, dependent on your bonuses and movement styles left in play.
Pilgrims also feels of a high quality in terms of its building materials, with Radim Jurda’s wonderful art gracing all aspects of the game, the objects and characters are brought to life, and each background and location is hand-drawn and detailed in his own inimitable, characterful style – filled with emotion and natural colours. The fact that the included character avatars and tokens are all wooden also gives the game a sense of value, nothing feels cheap or ‘plasticky’, and the use of wood adds to the sense of this being a ramble through a whimsical land full of natural wonder. I especially loved how the rear of the characters were different to the front, given them a 3D aspect. Jurda’s art really does gel with a board game that permeates a sense of quiet wonder.
SUMMARY
A family-friendly game that is easy to pick up and feels a continuation of Amanita Design’s previous releases, Pilgrims is definitely one that will be close to hand for the foreseeable future for our board games sessions. Easy to learn and a game that doesn’t outstay its welcome, it’s a great refresher after you’ve spent fourteen hours setting up Gloomhaven. A huge thumbs up from up here at GF!
From the website:
The path to adventure leads pilgrims straight to your tabletop!
Embark on a journey through a fairytale land as a wanderer seeking new experiences. A competitive family game where players collect useful items, meet unusual friends, and experience numerous adventures. Become the most seasoned wanderer with sleeves full of the best stories - the star of every campfire gathering!
Players: 1-4
Age: 10+
Playing time: 45+ minutes
Language: English
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