Plays: 3 (On Review Copy)
Faiyum, the latest game from Friedemann Friese and 2F-Spiele, is set in ancient Egypt, with players helping build a metropolis in a basin near the Nile River. Faiyum has been well received in the last few months in Europe, and it just released in the United States, where it is sold through the BoardGameGeek store.
I’ve played Faiyum three times now, at three different player counts, and I’m impressed by the core mechanics. This takes the card market from Power Grid and mixes it with a deckbuilding mechanic to create a game that is high on strategy and replayability. If you’re a fan of Friedemann Friese or deckbuilders, this is worth checking out!
This is the January 2021 entry for my series where I post five games I enjoyed playing in the past month for which I didn’t have time to do full reviews. As always, there’s a combination of old and new games.
I hadn’t updated the series in a while because I’ve been on an extended break from writing about board games, but I suddenly find myself with a few games to review, so I’m returning. Hopefully I can get back to doing at least this monthly and the occasional review.
My most played game was Concordia, which I hadn’t played in years. I’ve kind of fallen in love with the game again this pandemic has been good for getting me to re-explore old games and have tried out a couple of new maps. In particular, I can recommend the Balearica and Cyprus map, which add mechanic (a fish-themed rondel) that mixes up the “Prefect” action from the base game.