Akrotiri Board Game Review, Rules & Instructions

 

Akrotiri at a Glance

Game Type Strategy Tile Placement Ancient Theme Exploration	Play Time 45 mins (approx)	Skill/Complexity (4 - 5) Above average in complexity. Not for beginners in strategy based games.
Age 13+	Publisher(s) Z-Man Games and others	Published 2014
Categories 2 Player / Strategy	Players 2 Players	Rules Manual Official Rules PDF
Our Rating 9.5/10	Cost $29.99 approx

 

About – Description

On the enchanting Greek island of Thera sits the ancient port town of Akrotiri. In this enthralling 2 player game, you and your opponent are explorers sailing across the Aegean sea in search of long-lost Minoan temples. Using your maps you’ll find the islands described in them, and excavate a variety of legendary buildings in search of your fortune.

Best Suited for 2 People (strategic though)

Akrotiri is a game for 2 players so is ideal for friends, family members and couples. As it has many components and is very strategic, it’s fairly difficult to play so is suited best to adults and children over 13.

Skill – Complexity

Akrotiri is fairly complex in nature so is not really an introductory game as novice players may find it a little daunting. However, once you come to understand the rules and objectives you’ll be completely engrossed.

Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions

Setting up

Inside the box you’ll find:

• 1 board
• 1 market board
• 2 player boards
• 2 boats
• 12 temples
• 6 action markers
• 36 land tiles
• 36 map cards
• 12 goal cards
• 32 resources cubes
• 25 Drachma pieces
• Rules

Setting up the game is quite a drawn out process with many parts. To begin, place the Thera board in the center of a large size table (you need plenty of room). Put the Market board within easy reach, and place all 32 Resource cubes on it so that each cube covers a square of the same color.

Each player selects a color and takes the following: 2 Drachmas, and, in the color they’ve selected, 6 temples, 1 boat, and 1 player board. Decide which player is going to go first and give them the First Player marker.

Put your temples over the squares at the bottom of your player board so they’re covered, but leave the first square (3) visible. Shuffle the Land tiles and put them in a pile face down. Starting with the first player, each person takes a turn to draw a tile, add it to the board, and then place 2 resources on that tile.

First, place a resource of the same color as the Terrain icon shown on the tile, which is placed near the icon itself, before placing a resource of your choosing on the same tile, but on a different island from the one where you placed the first cube.

Next, shuffle each set of Map cards separately and give each player 1 Easy and 1 Medium Map card.

Place the remaining Map cards in 3 piles face down off to the side: Easy (Bronze), Medium (Silver), Hard (Gold). Shuffle the Goal cards and give 2 to each player, placing the rest next to the Map cards in a pile face down. Each player keeps 1 Goal card and places the other one at the bottom of the pile. Keep your Goal card secret. Each player then places their boat on a different dock on the island of Thera.

Place the remaining Land tiles face down, as a pile to draw from, within reach of both players. Players takes 1 Land tile which they must not show anyone. You’re now ready to begin.

Object of the Game

The game starts to draw to a close once a player excavates their 6th temple. When each player has had the same number of turns (the non-first player will be last to play), it’s time to begin counting up the scores. The player with the most points wins.

Playing Instructions

Taking on the role of a Greek explorer you’re on a voyage to discover a series of ancient Minoan temples armed only with a boat and some maps.

The idea of the game is to locate 6 temples and end up with the most points in order to beat your opponent. To find these temples, you will begin the game with two secret maps – one being of easy difficulty and the other slightly harder. Later in the game you can purchase further maps for temples which are harder to find.

On your maps you’ll find clues about the location of a temple. Temples are located on an island that’s surrounded by different terrains, such as lakes, mountains, forests or volcanoes. The map will describe that site with icons and it also has an excavation cost (upper left corner) and a reward (upper right corner). Maps that are more difficult cost more money, but they also offer you more points.

Every icon has 8 cubes of the same color in the market. The more cubes of one icon or color are on the board, the higher its value in the market. Over the course of the game, you can collect these cubes by sailing to islands that contain them, loading them on to your boat, and then selling them at the market on Thera. Once you’ve sold them you’ll have extra money for buying further maps and funding your future excavations.

Versions – Editions

The second English edition of Akrotiri came out in 2017, although between 2014 and 2019 the game has been launched in multiple different languages. These include Chinese, Japanese and French.

Likes & Dislikes

Akrotiri has a very nice design and the production quality is very good indeed. However, some routes and moves are not always clear and there isn’t much player interaction. Despite this, it’s a deeply engaging game that you’ll definitely want to play it more than once.

Final Thoughts

Akrotiri is multi-dimensional and challenging, and is perfect for players who are well versed in games of more strategic complexity. Spatially there’s plenty of movement, an element of time-constraint and a little speculative investment. It’s aesthetically pleasing too and is ideal for those looking for something that will truly stretch their navigational and planning skills.

Awards and Honors

Akrotiri was a Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game Nominee in 2014.

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