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Missing the 2020 Olympics? It feels strange to type, even now, that the closing ceremonies have wrapped up that the 2020 Olympics have just finished. And a year later than expected. It’s hard not to get caught up in the spectacle. Whether it is the youngest British Olympian ever winning a bronze medal in a new sport, or seeing Fiji win their second-ever medal in their history. Looking back, there are several events that are weird and wonderful. And some which are still there! (Who would have thought dancing horses would have such appeal?)
In 1920, the International Olympic Committee officially recognised Chess as an Olympic sport, and there is a petition to get it included in the 2024 Paris edition of the games. And that got us at Zatu thinking – are there other games which we can link to the Olympics? To us, there are several key things that the Olympics revolves around. Now, personally, I’m not going to be an Olympian. My knee wouldn’t let me even if I wanted to. So I have to live vicariously through my board games. If I want to end up on the podium, I need to find games that will embody the spirit of the Games and play them. If you want to join me, then read on, as we find the Olympic Board Games.
The Journey – Luke Pickles
You read a lot of interviews with various athletes who reach the peak of their career and a lot of them talk about the journey. How they got there, the coaches they had, the support from their friends and family, their original love for their sport. So I think it’s fitting that we start with a game that, at least for this edition of the Olympics, that represents the journey to Tokyo.
Tokaido is a game that takes players from Kyoto to Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and is a game where the journey is the thing. You stop off at various points along the way and meet interesting people, buy gifts for friends back home, try interesting foods at the inns, bathe with monkeys (if you’re lucky) and sit back to paint the scenery. Whilst you are competing with your rivals along the way, there isn’t much of a player conflict element, you’re simply trying to have the best journey you can. Sure, sometimes you will stop to paint or intercept a friendly samurai when it’s better for your opponent, but that’s the nature of top-level sport… I mean gaming.
Tokaido was one of the first European style games I played, and it holds a special place in my heart. The journey I have taken since playing this game six years ago has led me to write this post and playing games on a very regular basis with the best friends I’ve ever had. If that isn’t in the spirit of the Olympics, I don’t know what is.
The Host – Rachel Page
The Olympics are over, but I am desperately searching for something to fill the hole it has created! Searching through my shelves, Takenoko seemed to be a good solution. Despite the Giant Panda on the box, Takenoko is set in the garden of the Japanese Emperor. The bear has been gifted to the Emperor as a symbol of peace and now it lives contently in his zen garden. Not only is it set in Japan, but it is about two nations coming together. The very spirit of the Olympics!
As much as the Panda is supposed to be a gift and symbol of peace, it is rather a nuisance. The panda eats the bamboo as quickly as the gardener can grow it. As the players, it is your goal to complete tasks. You either control the panda and eat specific kinds of bamboo; get the gardener to grow the bamboo into different patterns, or design the garden. All these will get you points and help you go for gold!
What always strikes me about the Olympics is that even though it is a competition, all the participants seem so pleased for each other when they do well. Of course, everyone wants to win, but everyone is just happy to compete and do their best. This is the sort of attitude that transfers over to Takenoko. The whole game is so cute and relaxed that it is difficult to get overly ruthless. Particularly as everyone’s tasks are hidden until they have been achieved. You can’t intentionally get in anyone’s way or wind each other up. Takenoko is just good, wholesome fun.
Frankly, Takenoko is a great game for any time of year. Its components are adorable and the whole design is very pleasing. But after immersing yourself in Japan for the Olympics, it is particularly relevant now.
The Greek History – Favouritefoe
Olympic Glory for the UK in Japan! 2020 (in 2021) has been a bumper crop of medals and smashing world records. No small feat in any Olympic year, but especially noteworthy given the restrictions and limitations placed upon our talented athletes!
For me, however, when anybody mentions the word “Olympic Games”, my brain immediately conjures up images of ancient Greece. The birthplace of such trials and tests of human strength, dedication, and sporting prowess. In fact, however, the modern Olympics have only really been around since 1894, when the Olympic Charter was established in Athens.
Nevertheless, the Olympics is “all Greek to me”, and so a feature focussing on the games has to include Battle Line. No teams, no rings, and no actual sports. But as Greek as olives and feta cheese!
Reina Knizia’s two-player duelling card game is as tough as any sport in the stadiums (well, almost!). Combining hand management and set collection, you are battling out in the time of Alexander the Great.
To win this tense head-to-head 30 half-hour fight, you are trying to capture flags (in the form of wooden pawns) before your opponent gets the chance. Steal 3 adjacent flags, or 5 out of the 9 in total, and the glory is yours! In order to steal those flags, however, you are going to have to lay down 3 card sets (troops) against each flag which are worth more points than your foe. And with each meld scored like poker, suit colours and numbers become key to your warring success.
With only 7 cards in your hand, and the need to lay one down each turn (before replenishing from either the troop deck or the tactic deck), you cannot help but reveal at least some of your plans each turn. Which of course enables your opponent to potentially hate draft or hog the cards you then need! And, whilst the special bonus action tactic cards sound like a lifeline, you lose the chance to pick up an essential troop that turn! In truth, we rarely play with the tactics cards, preferring instead the purity of the number-crunching tension. They do, however, add another strategic dynamic into one of my favourite two-player AP inducing games ever.
The Sport – John H
Can’t say I am the sportiest bloke in the world, so sport as a theme for a board game is not generally my jam…. except for one: the excellent Flamme Rouge. I certainly am a fan of lean games (I wrote an article on the subject) –games that squeeze every drop of juicy decision making out of streamlined rules and elegant mechanics. And Flamme Rouge has lean goodness at its very core.
At its simplest, you are drawing and playing cards to move your two cyclists in a race to the finish first over, wins. But the beauty is in the agonising decisions of how to manage your pace. And, the differing characteristics of your riders. The rules for drawing exhaustion and how they meld with the tactics of slipstreaming provide great decision space for tactical play. Hand management is key. As is some measured deduction/guesswork on how your opponents are likely to play. Also, you must find out how you use that to your advantage. So too is the additional crunch of mountain ascents and descents which affect card values and in the case of ascents, nullify slipstreaming.
The joyful effect of all of this is that as the game progresses at a satisfying pace, the tension builds higher and higher. The relatively relaxed start, as players scope each other out. Their cyclists gently jockey for position, develops to nail-biting choices and dramatic simultaneous reveals. Often the last few turns will decide the winner. The simplest of mechanics do an awful lot to simulate the tactics and drama of professional sport.
All of this greatness is wrapped in some smashing production and design; the artwork style is of a charming 1930’s cartoon with fabulously caricatured cyclists. It plays in 30-45 minutes, and it really is suitable for a hugely varied audience. If you are missing the drama and tension of the Olympics, then this could be just the ticket.
The World Coming Together – Rachel Page
Now, this might seem a little on the nose but hear me out. I know that all the signs reading “Tokyo 2020”, the face masks and the lack of spectators were a constant reminder of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the current pandemic isn’t why I chose this game. The Olympics is about the world coming together and everyone focusing on one event for a while. I don’t think anything is as unifying as the Olympics. There is a sport for all tastes, and everyone is just impressed by the ridiculous things these athletes can do with their bodies. Pandemic too can unite people.
The game’s concept is one that we are all very familiar with by now. A number of diseases have broken out across the world and you are on a team trying to find a cure. You have to collect the necessary data to create an antidote while managing the various outbreaks. The board is a map of the world, so already there is our Olympic connection. Toyko is even marked on the map. If you wanted to, you could get all the characters to converge on Tokyo and really relive your Olympics dreams. However, that is unlikely to help you win the game.
What will help you win is working together. This is a cooperative game where you have to be a team. Each character has an individual skill that will help your team prosper. You will need to be as in sync as Tom Daley and Matty Lee to defend this fiendish game! Work together and communicate to save the world. The Olympic athletes hardly have an easy time of it when they are competing! Pandemic will definitely be stressful at times, but it will all be worth it in the end.
It is a difficult game to beat, but the gold medal is always going to be a challenge.