Domino update a winner

This week, we perhaps should premise this game with the comment that if you like tile-laying / domino-like games, then just plan on buying Cubed one day.

If such games are not your cup a tea, then maybe this Jordan Marton-designed offering is not for you.

What we have in Cubed is a new approach to the classic game of dominoes.

The pieces are six-sided with varying colour patterns. Pieces are also bevelled so that when it comes to placing them into the table, you are required to match not only colours, but heights within the play area.

The height element takes a game to fully grasp, but becomes straightforward with some play time.

The aforementioned colours are sort of a range of pastels, which you may like or not. The response at the Meeple Guild table was frankly a bit mixed on that.

However, they are colours chosen for a reason – being friendly to those who are colour blind, so kudos to Marton for that choice.

“The colour palette uses some of my favourite colours blended into a beautiful gradient that reminds me of a nice sunrise,” said the designer via email. “I wanted to use colours that blended well, while also having a different enough range to allow gameplay for most people. I found that using this sunrise palette was the perfect balance.

“It took dozens and dozens of testing and tweaking to find the perfect combination of hues to be 99 percent colour blind friendly while still holding to that sunrise gradient. We are very proud of that achievement.

“The only caveat was for some folks who struggle with monochromatic deficiencies in their vision. They will struggle to see everything, unfortunately, due to the number of colours required in the game. There are simply too many shades in the game, which may make it difficult to play.

Cubed offers a solid level of strategic gameplay using volumetric tri-coloured hexagon pieces, where players must match colours and heights with each placement. Initially, that seems a bit challenging, but it very quickly becomes well-understood.

Get rid of all your pieces first to win the game.

Canadian designer Marton explained the game had a rather interesting ‘birth’ in terms of the general idea.

“This might sound strange, but the idea came to me in the shower, more specifically while staring at my shower tiled floor, which is arranged in small hexagons,” he explained via email.

“Now hexagon domino games are nothing new. There are hundreds (maybe more) variations out there from matching simply colours or themes like animal, but there aren’t many out there that have you match heights as well.

“Seeing my tiled floor had me thinking of interesting architecture and materials that could be used to combine into a fun game. Seeing concrete art concepts like these images helped solidify that I was on the right path.

“I was trying to create something that could be truly aesthetically pleasing, almost like a sculpture you’d want to display on your coffee table or even on your wall – but also that could be a clever, playable game as well. I try to apply this concept to all of our Happy Robot games, as I don’t see these two concepts applied in most games out there.

There are a couple of variant rules you can mix in, and after an initial learning phase, the additional rules are likely going to be just normal game mode for most because they add a dash of spice without undue complexity.

Interestingly, games tend to be very close affairs, which is generally a positive.

So what does the designer think gamers will experience with Cubed?

“They can expect a very satisfying game that’s both casual and fun,” he said. “There’s some interesting thought involved that promotes friendly competition, while keeping the stakes light and fun.

“I love it for a starter game (on those pre-kid game nights) or even in the solo mode. The tactile feel is addicting, and playing is oh so satisfying.

“As a designer, I love how the game can trick you when you think you can make a play, only to discover your game piece is a flipped or mirror version of the available play space. The cleverness is in the simplicity of the design. What you think is possible may be your brain playing tricks on you.”

Overall, this is a fine game – coffee with the neighbours and Cubed would be great–and it plays two-to-four so well that too is a bonus – one certainly worth checking out.

Check it out at www.happyrobot.ca