Tybor the Builder First Impressions

Tybor the Builder uses multi-use cards to build a small village.

Will your Priest be a Worker, Builder… or just a Priest?

Set in the world of Longsdale, previously seen in Oh My Goods!

Tybor the Builder Game Overview

Quick Rules Summary

Players get a hand of cards showing different people, these are drafted one at a time.

Players place the card to the right of their city card as workers where only their strength matters. These cards are added to the player’s tableau.

As a builder, discarding them to build a building from a face-up selection and discarding workers up to the required strength to build it.

As a citizen placed under the city, they provide special powers and discounts of strength for certain coloured buildings.

How do you win?

After a number of rounds, players add up the values on their buildings. Citizens provide end-game scoring. Whoever has the most points wins.

Main Mechanisms

Drafting is the main one but there is a bit of set collection and also a little bit of engine building in there in a way.

USP

The game is set in the same world as Oh My Goods! Multi-use cards have different meanings depending on where they are is in that game too.

Theme

Building in a Medival-eqsue village. It’s been done before and I’m sure it will be done again.

Setup

Shuffle the cards and lay them out. It doesn’t take too long to get everything where is needs to be.

Components & Artwork

Standard quality cards with decent graphic design.

However, I don’t really like Klemons Franz style of art but there it is and while it suits the game it’s not for me.

Ease of Teaching

As with any drafting game, have players to the right of a new player know the game well. This means they can advise them on the cards they just passed them.

The tricky part is the iconography at the top of the cards that shows how they score if added as a citizen.

Similar Games

Oh My Goods! I’ve already mentioned it twice. I’d look at Saint Petersburgh for something a little better and more involved.

Tybor the Builder Review

Positives

Multi-use cards are always fun.

It’s all handled in one deck of cards.

It’s mostly straightforward and easy to understand…

Negatives

…but those scoring options are a bit tricky to read at first.

It’s long-winded for such a small game to get to a flat end result.

Summary

It’s fine, it’s just a little dull and needs something else to make it really good.

Jesta ThaRogue