Pyramid Review
Masons
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Leo Colovini
Art by Franz Vohwinkel
Game board, 33 walls, 30 towers, 60 houses, 15 palaces, four scoring markers in four colors, 60 guild cards, three six-sided specialty dice, & rules; full color, boxed; $39.95
Sadly, the name Masons only refers to the plain-vanilla builders of old, working to construct cities. Maybe there's another, secret game to be played, and when you reach the next circle of enlightenment Rio Grande Games sends you the real rule sheet. But don't worry; until then, the "mundane" version of this game does quite well, thank you very much.
The object of the game is to have the most points when the last stone is laid.
Players receive a small hand of cards and take turns putting up walls. (If you roll the dice before you put down your section of wall, you lose a point; do not deny your destiny as a mason.) The board shows a long stretch of land divided into triangles -- imagine a series of hexes with a point in the middle of each, and the hex is sliced like a pizza from the center to each corner. Every intersection has a circle. Walls must be placed along the lines, and towers on the points at either end. A die roll dictates the first tower's color, but the player gets to choose the tower for the other end.
The other two dice show what color houses will be placed in the triangular wedges on either side of your wall. If you only have one section (maybe you built . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: January 19, 2007
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