No barriers in this fun Board game

CHENNAI : Two of 2017’s biggest hits were Azul, from Plan B Games, and Century: Spice Road, designed by Emerson Matsuuchi. So when news broke that Plan B and Matsuuchi were joining forces to put out another abstract puzzle game in 2018, interest was high to say the least. That game was Reef, and it came out last year — but did it live up to the hype?

In Reef, the players are trying to construct coral reefs in various configurations in order to score the most points. You do so by stacking lovely colourful chunky pieces of ‘coral’ on your personal board, which is simply fun to do. Following in the footsteps of Azul, Reef has excellent component quality and its pieces are just a tactile joy to build with. It scratches that same itch in our minds that Lego does, while being an engaging spatial puzzle to boot.

As great as its pieces are to play with, Reef is driven entirely by its cards. Each card is divided into two sections — the upper section gives you more coral to add to your reef, while the lower section offers you a way to score points. If the pattern depicted on the card is present in your reef, you’ll score the given points for each instance of that pattern you’ve got. For example, you might get two points for every green coral around your tallest stack of purple coral, or five points for every set of four yellow coral in a square, and so on.

This card-driven system is wonderful, for many reasons. First, it keeps the game moving — turns in Reef are ridiculously quick, as they consist of either taking a card from the display or playing a card from your hand. Secondly, you’re not going to be able to score every card so you’ll need to use some just for the coral they give you. Third, that potential for multiple scoring really encourages you to play the long game and spend a few turns setting things up for a big payday. 

Reef is one of those games that looks so vibrant and interesting on the tabletop that passing people will inevitably stop to ask ‘What’s that?’. It’s great for kids and adults alike, and it’s guaranteed to never outstay its welcome. Games that are this broadly accessible and appealing are rare indeed, and that’s why Reef could find a place in just about any board gamer’s collection.