Tsuro of the Seas Review and Giveaway

   Tsuro of the Seas is a fun tile laying game for two to eight players ages eight and up.

   Inside, you will find a game board. There are gold numbers across the top and blue numbers down the side.

   There are eight ships that are the playing pieces.

   There is a pile of fifty six wake tiles

   Ten diakaiju (dragon) tiles

   and one gold and one blue dice.

   To set up, place the board in the center of the table. Deal each player three wake cards. Mix up the daikaiju tiles. Roll both dice and place a dragon tile on the board where the numbers meet facing random directions. The number of starting daikaiju depends on the number of players.

   Each player then places their ship on one of the starting wakes on the side of the board.

   On your turn, roll the dice to see if the daikaiju move. The daikaiju move if a six, seven or eight is rolled. Roll one die and then move the daikaiju in numerical order starting with the lowest number. Move the daikaiju in the direction of the number rolled. If a daikaiju moves onto a square that contains a wake tile, ship or another daikaiju, the tile or ship are removed from play. If a six is rolled, add a new daikaiju into play. Any time a daikaiju is removed, add it to the bottom of the draw pile.

   After the daikaiju have moved, add a wake tile and move your ship. You can not play a tile that will remove your ship from play unless you don't have any other tiles that can be played.

   If moving the daikaiju moves it next to a wake with a ship on it, that ship is removed from play. You are also removed from play if a wake takes you to the edge of the board.

 

   If the daikaiju moves off of the board, place it on the bottom of the draw pile. There must always be three daikaiju in play. If one is removed and there is less than two, the next player rolls both dice to place new daikaiju on the board until there are three in play. They do not roll to move the daikaiju during this turn.

   If a tile is placed that adds on to a wake for more than one ship, they all move to the end of the wake.

   The last ship remaining on the board is the winner!

   There is also an expansion for the game called Tsuro Veterans of The Seas. It adds some fun new tiles to the game. There is a portal, tsunami, canons and a whirlpool.

   The portal and the cannons get mixed into the wake tiles. The gold tsunami and whirlpool get mixed in with the daikaiju tiles.

   Once these cards are used and removed from play, they are removed from the game.

   When the Whirlpool is drawn, it is placed on the board like a daikaiju tile. When you roll to move the daikaiju and a number is rolled that doesn't move them, roll a die and move the whirlpool instead. The whirlpool does not move if a five or six is rolled. The whirlpool removes any daikaiju, tile or ship that is on that space. It stays in play until it goes off the edge of the board.

   If you have cannon tile and are about to be removed from play by a daikaiju, you can play the cannon and remove the daikaiju from the board instead.

   When the tsunami is drawn, place it on the board the same way you would a daikaiju card. Place the gold two arrow so that it is pointing towards the top of the board. Place the blue tsunami tile on top of the board so that the blue two is pointing at the gold tsunami card. If your ship ends up in the same row as the gold tsunami card (the direction the three and four are pointing when the tile is placed) you must roll a die. You have to roll higher than the number pointing towards the top of the board. So when it is first played, you must roll a two or higher. 

   At the beginning of the player that placed the tsunami tile, move the gold tsunami card one space closer to the blue tsunami card. When you do this, rotate it once counter clock wise. Rotate the blue tsunami card so that the same numbers are pointing towards each other. This is the new number that must be rolled in order to survive the tsunami. 

   Continue doing this until the tsunami is removed from the board by going off the edge of the board.

   The portal is placed in place of a wake tile or when faced with elimination. Place the portal as you would a wake tile. Anything that is then moved onto the portal tile is moved to a new location. If more than one ship is moved into the portal, move ships in game order with the person placing the tile moving last. Roll both dice and place it as you would a daikaiju tile. If there is a wake tile in play, choose a wake and direction and place your ship. If there is no wake tile, add a wake tile from your hand and place your ship on a wake. If you play a tile from your hand, you will have two wake tiles to choose from since you don't draw tiles until the end of your turn. The portal stays on the board for the remainder of the game. Anything that lands in it is moved to a different space on the board.

   I think this game it TONS of fun!! We love playing it together as a family. Our two older boys (7 & 9 years old) don't have a problem playing at all. It became a family favorite right away. 

   Now, on to the fun part! The giveaway! There are a few things you need to know before entering.

    - This giveaway is open for the US, Canada and UK only.

    - This giveaway is for both Tsuro of the Seas and  the expansion Tsuro Veterans of the Seas

    - Your game will be shipped directly from Calliope Games.

    - The contest is open from Friday, July 18 until Thursday, July 24.

    - The winner will be announced and contacted on Friday, July 25.

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