Samsara (game)

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Samsara
Game data
author Thomas Weber
graphic Thomas Weber, Ludwig Gerhards
publishing company Gerhard's game and design
Publishing year 2014
Art Board game
Teammates 2
Duration 20 minutes
Age from 10 years on

Samsara is an abstract and strategic board game for two people by Thomas Weber . The game was implemented with a wooden playing field and glass marbles at Gerhards Spiel und Design and published in 2014. In the game, the players try to get pieces into a target field on their side and score points with them.

Theme and equipment

The game is a 2-person game in which the players play on a wooden board with 12 colored glass marbles and two point markers as well as two dice. To win the game, both players try to get glass marbles into their target field and score points with them.

The playing field consists of a circular path with a total of 24 double fields. There is a row of parallel hollows on each side of the player, one round and one angular and forming the round and angular track of the circular path. They end with each player with a target hollow, which the player has to reach with the balls to score. In addition, the inner rows on the opposite side are connected to the outer row on their own side via an arch. In the center there is a scoring bar on which each player can achieve six points. Whoever reaches the middle, sixth, scoring field first wins the game.

Style of play

At the beginning of the game, the game is placed between the two players so that each player has a double row of hollows in front of them and they sit opposite one another on the long sides of the game board. In the inner row, six glass marbles are placed in the back six hollows, the starting positions, and one scoring marble is placed in the first field of the scoring bar.

Starting with a starting player, the two players take turns moving. You roll both dice and may then move any piece of your choice for each die, also on the opposite side, by the corresponding number of spaces in a clockwise direction. He can move over any number of occupied pieces and the same piece can be drawn twice. The connecting line allows stones to move from one side of the field to the other. Both numbers of the dice must be drawn completely, no throw may expire.

A central element of the game are the lane changes on the double fields, through which a player can get the balls onto the outer lane and into his target field. During the turn, a token always moves on one of the two lanes and it is possible to change lanes both at the beginning and at the end of a turn. There are two ways of changing lanes:

  1. If at the end of the move a piece lands on a field on which there is already a piece, the player with the moving piece must change lanes and place the ball on the other side of the double field. The prerequisite is that this field is empty, otherwise he may not take the move.
  2. If there are two pieces on a double field at the beginning of a move, a player may also change lanes at the beginning and move one of the two balls on the parallel line.

The players get points if they reach their own target field with a piece with the rolled number. In that case, you may move the scoring marker forward one space on the scoring track. Then the piece is removed from the target field and placed on the opposite side of the board in the inner hollow of the first free double field. It is now back in the game and can be used by both players.

The game ends when a player reaches his target field six times with a piece and is the first to arrive with his scoring piece in the middle scoring field. The game also ends in the very rare event that a player cannot move a piece after rolling the dice. In that case, regardless of the scoring track, it immediately ends in a draw (Moksha!).

Competition rules

For a competition, two rounds are played with alternating starting players and scored accordingly. If the starting player is the first to move his scoring marker into midfield, the other player may still make a complete move. If he manages to get his scoring piece into midfield, the winner is the player on whose side of the board there are more pieces. The winner receives the difference between the number of pieces on his side and that of his fellow player as the number of points. If there are the same number of stones, neither player receives points and the game ends in a draw. If at the end of the game there is only one scoring marker in the midfield, its owner receives the number of points that the player's scoring marker is away from the midfield. In the event of a tie (moksha!), Each player receives four points.

Development and reception

The game Samsara was developed by Thomas Weber and appeared in 2014 for the international game days in Essen by the German game publisher and wood manufacturer Gerhards Spiel und Design in a version made of oiled beech wood with glass balls and in oak wood with wooden balls.

The game was discussed and rated in various media. The Rheinische Post describes Samsara as a game for “design lovers” and writes that it “just looks beautiful”. The Westfälische Nachrichten describes it as one of the “most exciting new releases on the game market” in 2014 and DerWesten as an “entertaining tactical game for two people”.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f How to play Samsara
  2. ↑ Versions of Samsara in the BoardGameGeek game database ; accessed on March 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Don't get angry" with pep. Rheinische Post, December 8, 2014; accessed on March 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ The most exciting new releases on the game market for strategists and inventors. Westfälische Nachrichten, December 7, 2014; accessed on March 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ Tanja Liebmann: Five game tips for beginners, tacticians and party rounds. The West, October 17, 2014; accessed on March 9, 2018.

Web links