10 Days in Africa offers a concept similar in style to
that of Elfenland or any of the rail-building games but the game
mechanics are quite different. The aim of the game is to create 10 days of
connected travel through Africa using a variety of transport options but
players can only travel according to a set of guidelines.
Once a player
believes they have put together a legitimate 10-day travelogue they must prove
it is legitimate to be declared the winner.
The game is presented on a high
quality mounted board with gloss-finish and each country has been assigned one
of 5 colours (there are 40 countries in total).
Each player takes a set of neat
wooden stands (travel registers) which have the days 1-10 branded on them and
these are to used to store each days travel option. The game set-up is
completed with each player taking 10 starting cards (these are made with
extremely thick reinforced cardboard that could take years of abuse) and one by
one must place these in the register (one per day) until it is full. The
remaining cards are then used to form draw piles and three cards are turned
over.
Play then begins with a player choosing to take one of the exposed cards
(these can be special transport cards or cards that represent an African
country) or drawing a card from the draw decks. Whichever card is taken must be
placed in one of the 10-day slots and the former card is discarded to one of
the exposed card piles.
This sounds pretty basic but it is the rules for travel
that makes things interesting. Players can travel from one country to another
by three different means. A player can travel from one territory to any
adjacent territory simply by walking, no special transport is required and two
country cards can be placed side by side to reflect this. Travel by car allows
a player to travel from one country, through another country, to get to a third
country (this is represented by placing a car card between the two countries).
Finally players can travel by plane from one country of the same colour to
another country of the same colour anywhere on the continent. Between both of
these country cards however a plane card of the same colour as the countries
being travelled to and from must be used. This is the game in a nutshell.
10 Days in Africa is a very good game and I can’t help but
feel that the above synopsis doesn’t do it justice. Whilst simple in nature,
the game play is very compelling and both these features are its greatest
strengths. Most countries only have one card to represent them. If the success
of your whole travel register is dependent on gaining access to one country,
anxiety levels begin to rise. This gives the game a real edge and the game play
is addictive.
The game is well balanced with most games resulting in victory by
only a day or two at the most. 10 Days in Africa is one of those rare treats
that offers the buyer more than the packaging suggests. The game is also highly
educational in a geographic sense as each country card includes info such as
the country name, shape of the country, location of the capital, population and
its size in sq. miles. Definitely worth a look and the same game concept is
also available with a map of the USA, Europe and Asia.
Recommended for 2 to 4 players aged 10 and up and plays in about 30 minutes.
Game Review by Neil Thomson
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