Rebirth has you rebuild any civilisation you want…
…as long as it’s Gaelic.
Following a series of calamities that left civilization in shambles, societies around the world are being rebuilt anew in harmony with nature. Scotland lies in ruins and the ancient clans have taken it upon themselves to restore the land. As clan leaders you will compete for strategic control of the land by rebuilding its prestigious castles.
Rebirth Game Overview
Quick Rules Summary
Players take turns pulling a tile from a bag and placing it into any space on the board.
Energy and Food farms can go into most spaces and when played, score one point per tile in the cluster.
Settlement tiles go into cities and when those cities are full, players will score for majorities with in that city.
The player with the most tiles around a castle gets to put one of their castles in the space, replacing one from another player if it’s there. When placing next to a cathedral, you put one of your pieces on the space, stacking them up with other players.
The Ireland side of the board has a few bonuses you can get when playing next to a tile placed on the board.
How do you win?
When players have placed all their tiles the game ends.
You score points for having castles on the board, missions & goals you achieved throughout the game.
Main Mechanisms
Tile laying and area majority are the main mechanisms here.
USP
Hmmm, I’m not sure there is a unique mechanism. This has all been done before.
Theme
It’s odd with this mix of the historic and futuristic. But none of it matters during gameplay really.
Setup
Pick a side of the board and give out the pieces, job done.
Components & Artwork
The board and the wooden components are nice. The tiles, not so much.
There is minimal art and the graphic design does it’s job.
The bags are nice.
Ease of Teaching
The game is very easy to teach. A new player can reveal their token and be walked through their options if they need to be helped.
Similar Games
This cam out the same year as Cascadero, also from Knizia. You can also through another one of his games, Through the Desert in there as well.
There are plenty of route building games like this to pick.
Rebirth Review
Positives
Simple and quick turns.
Constant scoring for a satisfying feel.
It looks nice on the table.
There are two sides of the board and random goals add to the replayability…
Negatives
…but I worry it’s too ‘samey’ for multiple plays and Ireland is so much better it renders Scotland useless.
Summary
A very fun and fast playing game
Jesta ThaRogue