Claim the greatest of tangled Amazon rivers
Flow: Untamed Rivers is a connection game, where you compete (or bargain) with others to build the longest river territory for your kind. Featuring 10 endangered species of amazon basin and a well-proven mechanic, this game is equal parts relaxing and mind-tangling.
Rules and Features
- Game starts with a 6-ended hub of rivers in the center.
- Everyone gets 3 "lair" tiles and 3 "river" tiles and a token of their species. River tiles are refilled to players as the play, but lairs are not!
- Players take turns putting 1 of their tiles anywhere on the board, or using their species token to reserve a place for some of their later turns.
- Points are awarded for connections of any kind - be it lair-end, lair-lair, end-end or a river loop.
A few key features make Flow way more fun than what you see on the first glance:
Lairs
- Each player has only 3 lair tiles for the whole game - the challenge is to use them right.
- There are 15 unique lair tiles, distributed among players.
- Each lair dictates the strategic situation around it, so each game is different.
River ends
You can only find the river ends on the start tile and the lair tiles themselves, which compliments the clean design and very moderate number of components.
Reservations
Every player has a single opportunity to reserve a place ahead of time. This splits the options into more dimensions of strategy and provides a fresh edge to otherwise ordinary game.
Secret ingredient: the distribution
Before becoming Flow we carefully tested its predecessor Hexdragon with over 100 players, and did some maths. You know how in games the best cards are often the rarest?
We did the exact opposite - the distribution of the connecting pieces is shifted, so that the most useful are also the most abundant.
In this particular design, it makes the game much more enjoyable.
Plus, since there is a very countable number of certain pieces, perceptive (and counting) players can gain an advantage.
Modes of play
Flow provides a completely different feeling not only with each kind of player you play with, but also with different number of players:
- Solo game is a calm puzzle to try for the highest possible score.
- 2-player game is the balanced strategy battle of positioning and reading your opponent.
- 3-player game brings in the hilarious element of alliance, bargain and betrayal.
- 4-player game is a rather chaotic derby about bluffing and seeking the opportunities others might overlook.
Flow Rulebook PDF
Check out Flow: Untamed rivers by Treecer right now. You can also add your rating on Board Game Geek
