Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
As my colleague Andrew Lynch points out in his review of XOK, we here at Meeple Mountain have an appreciation for games published by Steffen Spiele. We know their games are going to have good quality components and a clever set of rules. That their games come in small boxes means they can be carried around easily and (mostly) set up in small spaces.
Nonaga is no exception. Between setting up the components and going over the few rules, you’ll be playing a minute after you open the box.
Set It Up and Play
Arrange the 19 discs in a hexagonal shape with four discs per side. You’ll each choose a color, then arrange your three pieces at opposite corners of the hex, with each player’s pieces forming a triangle.
When you take your turn, you’ll first move one of your pieces along a straight line until you come to the end of that row of discs.
Then, you’ll take a disc that can be freely removed from the edge without moving another disc (similar to how discs can be chosen for removal in ZÈRTZ). You’ll then move it to another spot along the outer edge where it is touching at least two other discs.
Your goal is to move your three pieces together such that they form either three-in-a-straight-row…
three-in-an-angled-row…
or a triangle…
with each piece next to two others—before your opponent, of course.
Thoughts
I look at abstracts as either Battles (games that can take hours to play like Go, Chess, and Xiangqi), Engagements (games that take 30-60 minutes to play like YINSH and the other Project GIPF games, Ingenious, Hive, Santorini) or Skirmishes (shorter games like Pentago, Tak, SHŌBU, Qawale). Nonaga is definitely a Skirmish, with your first few games likely only taking a few minutes as one of you fails to see an obvious move that allows for a win.
When you slow down and fully embrace the rules, Nonaga becomes more interesting. The two simple actions per turn require careful consideration. Where you move your piece, which disc you remove, and where along the edge of the shifting board you place it are each decisions that will win or lose you the game.
After half a dozen plays, I have a feeling that a more experienced player will have an advantage over newer players. Similar to that game from my childhood, Score Four, I suspect there are certain patterns you can build that will win the game.
When introducing Nonaga to friends, I told them it would be a great family game to take on vacation when you might have some downtime for a quick game. That it’s puzzily enough for gamers who love abstracts is just a bonus.
Nonaga details
- Designer: Víktor Bautista i Roca
- Artists: Bernhard Kümmelmann
- Publishers: Gameland 游戏大陆, Steffen Spiele
- Release Date: 2017
- Player count : 2
- Age range : 8+
- Time range : 5 - 20 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Area Movement, Pattern Building
- BGG Geek Rating: 6.78665 - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: 3.5.
- More articles about Nonaga.
Great review! And this looks like one I want to give a shot.