Lookout Spiele | Mandala | Board Game | 2 Players | Ages 10+ | 30 to 60 Minute Playing Time

Product Information

Cross-eyed over cards? Don’t worry, I’ll smooth out the mind moguls by taking you through a round step by step: And just when you think your brain has had enough kaleidoscopic crunch, your secret objectives are also sitting in front of you, waiting to be worked on to ensure VP bonuses at end-game time. Pebble-Dash You can play multiple cards of the same colour to one of your fields, but you don’t get to draw any cards. When all six colours are present on a mandala then it will score. The person who played the most cards to their field will get to choose one set of same coloured cards from the mountain. If this colour isn’t already present in their river they place one of the cards face up in the leftmost space and any further of the same colour face down in their cup. The players switch turns choosing from the remaining colours on the mountain. Finally, turn over two cards and place them in the centre of each plain rectangle, bisecting the geometrically patterned circle. These four cards are the beginning of each of the two mandalas.

Mandala has grabbed me with its immediate gameplay and variety. In fact it’s easier to play than it is too explain! I didn’t expect a game like this to have so much variance in gameplay, but the subtle changes to scoring and colour value added to the mind games that transpire makes this one of the best two player games I’ve played. It is a game I can play with my mum and my friends, and one that they have a chance of winning too. Interestingly, the rulebook refers to “red stones”. I don’t think it is my eyes, but the stones appear to be blue, pink, purple, and yellow. I presume the production process therefore has altered the colour slightly, but I am not complaining – the bright pink pops! A colour based game is not going to appeal to everyone, of course, and I don’t know how user-friendly it is for gamers with Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD). Final ThoughtsContinue taking turns until all the colors in the Mountain have been claimed. Then, place all of the cards in both of the Mandala's Fields in the discard pile so that no cards remain in the Mandala.

Mandala Stones is an abstract strategy game designed by Filip Głowacz. Publishers Board&Dice have put out many games that feature wonderful components. Mandala Stones continues within this trend. There’s a strong presence of pattern-building and set collection in this game. Mandala Stones is somewhat abstract in nature, comparable to the likes of Azul.It's helpful to note at this stage that the six squares in front of each player represent a player’s “river” and is where the cards in their cup will be sorted for scoring at the end. And then the winner is the player with the most points and end game. Pretty simple but pretty strategic! Those cards are then discarded and two new cards are placed on the mountain space, ready for the mandala to be constructed again. You must respect the Rule of Color for that Mandala. Spread out the Mountain cards so that all of them are easy to see.

You cannot move the cards in your River, and must place each new card beside the previous one, without leaving any gaps. The first thing that hits you upon opening the box is a rather overpowering smell. It emanates from the player board which looks a bit like a tea towel, and if you end up hating the game would function as one rather well. Annoyingly I keep forgetting to air it out, but that's ok, because that smell is the biggest, perhaps only, real misstep Mandala makes. Mandala is a two-player game were you’re trying to score more than your opponent by collecting valuable cards.Discard. Place as many cards of one colour from your hand into the discard pile (next to draw pile) then draw as many cards from the draw pile. One very important rule to consider when taking the first two actions is the rule of Colour. Each of the 6 sand colours can only be in exactly one of the 3 areas of the mandala (the mountain, your field and your opponent’s field). This basically means that if your opponent has a red sand in their field you cannot play a red sand into that mountain or your field. However you may be able to play it to the other mandala. Keep in mind you may play it to an area you have access to. So if red sand is in the mountain or your field you may add it to the same one (just not a new area). Hand Limits Add a card into either mandala - here you must follow the “rule of colour” which means that the card you lay can either match an existing colour or be a new colour. It cannot be a colour which your opponent has already added into the mandala or their field surrounding that mandala. But you can keep adding to whichever suits are in the mandala, regardless of who laid that colour (suit) first.