Game by Justus van Oel, Huib van Winkoop, and Jac. Gofers
Reviewed by Stephen Tavener
Meander is a maze game with a very big difference. In the basic game, players take it in turns to draw tiles from a common stock and place them in a grid, trying to create paths from one side of the board to the other. So far, much like many other games in the genre. What makes Meander special, however, is how you score points. The tiles are 3D, and have patterns of grooves on them. Once the board is full, each player gets to tilt the board, then rolls 5 ballbearings from their starting side to the opposite side. Each of those balls that reaches the opposite side scores 1 point.
So, how much skill is there in the game? Well, there's certainly a learning curve - although the balls behave very consistently, they can gather sufficient momentum to skip over some of the pathways. Also, the first tile is placed in the centre of the board; all subsequent tiles must touch a tile in play, so there are tactical decisions about which areas of the board you open up. However, some tiles are less flexible than others, and the winner can easily be determined by which tiles are drawn and when. Since there are only 25 tiles, a game typically lasts for around 5 minutes, and over a series of games, skill does come into play. Also, the rules describe several variants that allow players a choice of tiles, and make the game more strategic.
Tiles are divided into three categories...
Crosses: these
pieces give you no control over the paths of the marbles. At the start of the
game, they at least give you some ability to open up the board. Later in the game,
your heart sinks each time you see one!
Curves: these are
more versatile and can be used to devastating effect, particularly at the edge of
the board.
Shunts: the most useful
pieces of all, these let you divert the path of an opponent's ball, while allowing
your balls free passage.
Production is stunning - tiles are large and hefty, and the game comes supplied with little stands to prop up the corners of the board to the right height. My only complaint is that there is a little too much space between the tiles, which can cause the ballbearings to stick occasionally. However, nudging the tiles together sorts this out easily enough, and it's better than having the tiles wedged in so tightly that they won't come out again!
Given the lack of long-term planning, I'm surprised at how much I like the basic game; I haven't explored the variants yet, but I expect to like them even more.
For more information, you can visit the meander web site at www.meanderonline.nl. Sorry for the hefty price but then, it's quite a hefty game too!