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Medina is a tile placement game, but instead of tiles, the game uses differently shaped and coloured wooden pieces to represent the palaces, roofs, walls, towers and people. This really makes a difference to the feel of the game, as a 3D city builds up before your eyes!
Starting with an empty board, each player helps to rebuild the city of Medina.
Each turn players place two pieces on the board, usually the coloured palace pieces, either adding to an existing palace or starting a new one if the current palace of that colour is finished. A palace is deemed finished when one of the players puts one of their roof pieces on the building, claiming it. Palaces have to be seperated by a 'street' and a people token, representing the market, forms a 'conga' line around the buildings adding value to those palaces they run alongside of. There are also 'stables' that can be added to the palaces to further add value to them.
By the end of the game. each player will have claimed one palace of each colour, giving one point per wooden piece in each palace. Also, if you own the largest palace of a colour you get a bonus. An extra bonus is also awarded for the player who lastly built one of their buildings next to the walls, which grow out from the four corners of the city.
Despite our 'problem' with the rules, the game is easy to learn and easy to play and gives rise to the sort of timing issues that I like in games.
After reading about the game on Gamegeek I just had to add it to my collection.
Overview by Brian
Shut up, Shut up SHUT UP!!! Thats all i kept thinking as Brian read out the instructions. They were melting my brain! Right up until playing the game the whole thing was clear as mud and the strange thing is that its actually easy enough for granny and little eight year old Mary to play!
This is ACTUALLY a very strategic, fun packed game for all ages...it's just the instructions! They just seen to be so convoluted ! (Im thinking of actually writing up my own version and making a link to it, but don't quote me on that) I cant wait to play it again, now i know what im doing :o)
SUMMARY: I gotta give this one a mean 6, simply on the grounds that im 22, Brian is forty...(ahem)...plus and neither of us could really get our heads round them till we started playing it. I like games that are fun and strategic, and this game would score a 9, but those instructions...grrrrrrr!
I better stop typing, i could moan enough about them to write a book! Hehehe. My advice is to go hunt it down, search the web for better instructions!
Then your free to enjoy the game without your brain combusting and setting off the fire alarms!! Enjoy :)
Review by Tom
