Seasons Review

   Seasons is a fun game that correlates with the seasons of the year. The object of the game is to collect energy tokens that help you play power cards and get crystals, which are the points in the game.

When you open the box, everything is in it's own space which makes for an easy set up.

   To set up the game, every player takes an individual board and the color cubes that match. Two of the cubes go on the crystal tracker. One goes on the zero on the top of the track to keep track by hundreds and the other one goes on the zero on the bottom of the crystal track to keep track of the ones. 

   The other two cubes go on your individual boards. One starts on the zero on the summoning guage and one goes on the zero on the bonus track.

   Place the circle game board in the middle. Place a black cube on the number one and the other black cube in the middle on the one. This keeps track of what season you are in and which year.

   Place the energy tokens next to the board. These represent each of the four seasons.

   Place the dice next to the matching season section of the board. You should have one more die of each color than the number of players. Example: in a three player game, you will have four of each color of dice.

   Each player starts with nine cards. There is a pre constructed sets of cards to start with when you are learning the game. If you already know how to play, you can deal nine cards and do a draft. Each player will pick a card that was delt to them, then pass them and choose one from the next deck. Keep picking and passing until the cards are gone and each player has their nine cards. Sort your nine cards into three groups of three cards. The first deck is what you get to start the game. Place a II token on the next deck of cards for the second year and a III token on the third pile to play with during the third year. Try to pick your year piles so that they will help you during each year.

   To take a turn, the first player rolls the dice that correspond with the season you are in. The player that rolled, gets to choose a die first. Place the die on your individual board. Once each player has chosen a die, the first player gets to do what his die says. Play moves left once the player is done. The first player moves left at the beginning of each new round.

   The die I chose, gets two of the water energy tokens. Energy tokens go along the top of the individual boards. The star adds one to the summoning gauge. You can play as many power cards as you are able to play. 

   You can choose to play something on the bonus track. The options on the bonus track are: trading in two energy tokens for any two energy tokens of your choice. You can transmute, adding an additional crystal for each energy token transmuted. You can add one on your summoning gauge. The last one is if you have the 'draw a card' die, you can draw two instead of one. Pick a card to place in your hand and discard the other. For each bonus you use, you will lose points at the end of the game. Keep track by moving your cube along the bonus track.

   The dice have different things you can do on them. They will have a picture matching the energy tokens. Take as many as are shown on the die. A star means you can move your summoning guage up one. The circle on the die means you can transmute which means you can turn your energy tokens in for crystals. The white square means you can draw a new card. If they have a number on the top, you get that many crystals. The dots on the bottom of the dice shows how many spaces the black cube is moved around the seasons track on the board. The die that is left after each player chooses is the one that moves the season track.

   The cards have a cost to play each card. The cost and what each card does is on the bottom. Each card will take either any combination of Energy tokens or crystals. Pay the cost and play the card. When you play a card, place it face up in front of you. You can only have as many cards as the amount on your summoning gauge.

   If your season would advance past the summer on the third year, the game is over. Add up the points on all of your power cards. Don't forget to subtract the number from your bonus track. Whoever has the most points at the end, wins the game!

   This game is a ton of fun! I really enjoy it. It's one that both my husband and I enjoy to play together. It takes about an hour to play. There is some strategy and luck in this game, but you can help your luck by which die you pick. The art in this game is amazing! It has some of the best game components. The dice are bright and chunky. Each player has their own brightly colored board. The cards are beautifully done and are highly detailed. It is one of the most visually stunning games I have played. It is definitely a game that is both fun to look at and to play!