Blueprints is a dice drafting, pattern building game.

Title: Blueprints

Year Published: 2013

Designer: Yves Tourigny

Publisher: Z-Man Games

Players: 2-4

Game Time: ~30 Mins

Set-up Time: >1 Mins

Ages: 8+

Theme: Modern Day Architects.

Mechanic: Hand Management, Player Elimination Dice Drafting

How to win: Score the most points after 3 rounds.

Game Description

In Blueprints, players are architects who must use different coloured dice to build three different structures from blueprints, with the dice providing different advantages to you.

Set-Up

Put the Prize cards on the table.

Put two dice on the in-demand materials one at a time.

Roll a number of dice depending on the player’s count into the dice pool of available materials.

Give each player a screen and a secret Blueprint.

Determine a random first player.

Blueprints Game Play

The first player places on their Blueprint and then roll a new die from the bag into the pile.

There are some placement rules…

It must be placed on one of the designated spaces on your Blueprint. If it’s placed on top of another die, it must have an equal or higher value than the one below it.

Obviously, you can’t change the value of a die and once a die is placed it can’t be moved.

Play continues clockwise until each player has played 6 dice.

Then you score the Blueprint on the score track. First, give each player 6 points if their finished building matches their Blueprint.

Then you score each type of resource.

Material

Orange – Wood – Each die scores 2 points for each die it shares a face with

Green – Recycled – Score depending on how many you have on your Blueprint

Black – Stone – Each die scores depending on what level of the building it’s on

Clear – Glass – These are worth their face value

Awards

Using the In-Demand materials as a tiebreaker, give out the Gold, Silver and Bronze Rewards.

Prizes

Check to see if anyone has won a Prize. Only one of each Prize can be given out per turn with In-Demand materials breaking ties again.

Skyscraper Prize – Have a building at least 5 high

Structural Integrity – 4+ dice of equal value

Geometer – Contains values 1-6

Material – 5+ dice of the same material

Once all the prizes have been given out, start a new round.

Game End

After 3 rounds, the game ends.

Players add up their Reward and Prize card points, most points win.

Blueprints Round-Up

Easy game to play, and easy to teach too. But it’s by no means easy to gain points.

Even if you get the right die at the right time and you ‘win’ all 3 Blueprints you can still lose the game. You need to know when to give up on your Blueprint and go for a Prize. The points on the rewards and prizes are all that matter.

If you’re lucky you can get a Reward AND a Prize in the same round… It’s worth sacrificing Gold for a lower Prize and a Reward if you think you can get it.

But this is one you have to play. Stacking dice looks random and dull but it’s really quite clever and competitive.

Rating

Nice and simple, almost a filler.

I give it 6/10

Blueprints Initial Review November 2014

In Blueprints, you build buildings with dice.

Not a game for a pedantic structural engineer.

This was a nice fun game that I’m looking forward to playing again.

Jesta ThaRogue