by Loofish
I commented in the Wellborn Family blog that this game would show up in our challenge at some point. Then I get home and, without prompting, my wife suggests we play Tsuro. My only hesitation was that my son was already in bed and he likes this game, plus it is better with more players. But it is a solid game at all player counts, tonight saw our 19th and 20th plays of a game I rate 7.Tsuro is the game of paths. Each player starts on the side and each turn lays a tile in from of their piece, which depicts fragments of a path. All the pieces affected by this then follow their path wherever it leads. If it goes off the board or meets another player then they are out. Keep going until the winner remains. Plays up to 8 really well too.
We snaked around on opposite sides then we crossed over, each seeking the open space beyond. But I realized that my wife had no way out of the little corner she was in - I just had to keep going for a few tiles and she would run out of room. And that is exactly what happened.
She called for the rematch. We snaked around again, I went from one corner to the other and was running out of room, I had one path out and she was lurking in that area where I would come out. But there was little she could do to misdirect me, it was too far from the edge, so the dance continued. As we ran out of tiles to draw, I moved out to the edge while my wife ran along the other edge, I turned toward the corner but she had no turns left - straight through the corner and off the board. That is 2 straight wins for me!
Two player isn't really where this game shine - the more the merrier, it seems to me - but it was OK. It worked as a game, just one with a lot of preamble (relative to its overall length) then a few quick moments of excitement. It served its purpose tonight.
I noticed there was a new version, Tsuro of the Seas, but I haven't looked any harder at it. It seems just right as it is to me.
(photo thanks today to Mr Penguin and Dan_Marius)