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Glass ornaments seem to be a dying trend. I remember my parents and my grandparents being really invested in them. I remember all kinds of twisted vases, dolphins and dancers all presented in vibrant colours and taking presence in the room compared to the drab wooden furniture they were placed on. Perhaps it was a trend that was born from the bright and colourful 70s and 80s. I don’t know, I wasn’t alive then.
What I do know is board games. And video games. And mythology. Nothing that actually helps me progress in my adult life. But when a board game takes a unique theme then I am always instantly interested. Even if its just set dressing for an abstract game. And that is exactly what Murano: Light Masters is. It is a simple little market manipulation, set collecting, order fulfilment abstract game of ‘collect coloured gems’ that takes about 15 mins to play. This sounds like so many other games out there, but can the glass blowing theme help this game stand out amongst the others? Let’s find out…
WARNING: the glass pieces in this game are NOT edible! … unfortunately.
What Is Murano: Light Masters?
The game is actually really simple. On your turn you will be taking the collect action and a negotiate action. The collect action is simply moving the dial clockwise and taking the two glass shards that the dial points to and place them in your workbench. And comparatively the negotiate actions lets you manipulate the glass shards in your workbench by exchanging, buying, or selling. On top of this you also get certain free actions that you can take at different moments during your turn such as spinning the dial, changing card order etc. Sounds pretty box standard so far right? Well, there are a few little quirks to this game that help it stand out.
At the start of the game, you are dealt a small deck of cards. These cards all depict beautifully crafted glass objects that it is your mission to create. They also depict what coloured glass pieces you need in order to fulfil that card. The twist here is that you are not allowed to rearrange the cards; you are only allowed to fulfil the top card. You can however look through the cards at any time to let you prepare for your next turn, and there is a free action that allows you to change the order slightly – at a cost! You can only hold 8 coloured glass shards at once and all the cards require a combination of 4 colours to create. You do have the option to fulfil 2 cards on your turn and use all the gems if they are the right colours. Doing so will net you a bonus. And those bonuses are important. This is because the winner isn’t the person who completes their orders first, but the one that has the most money when the game ends. The completion of all your orders only triggers the end of the game.
When you have finished an order, the card gets placed to the left side of your play area. Then this card will depict 2 different colours. You can move the face up card on the left and place it face down on the right in order to trigger that colour’s free action. These actions are randomised at the start of each game. I really like this little extra action for each card, it gives them an extra purpose after they have been fulfilled.
The Glass Crown Atop The Monarch
There is a lot to love in Murano: Light Masters, because there is a lot that this game does well. I alluded in the intro that Murano: Light Masters is just a simple little abstract game with a theme stretched over it. And that is absolutely evident. However, the theme is very interesting to me. I love seeing the imagery of all the glass creations. The box cover is also beautiful. I have so many games that feature a great cover, then the components inside don’t match at all. That is not the case here.
The game itself is also very easy to learn and teach. This is both thanks to the game being pretty simple, and also thanks to a very well written rule book. The book is only a few pages long but has very clear examples, explains itself well and does not leave you with any questions after reading through it.
The 16 different possible colour free actions help to give the game some replayability. Coupled with a game that you can play in just 15 minutes after learning, this means the game never really outstays its welcome. It can be an excellent choice of game to start or end a game night.
Murano: Light Masters has a lovely charm to it, and considering it is sold at an incredible price, it really gives you terrific value for what you pay. You even get a free little glass owl standee in the box which is super cute and a nice little touch. It is a cardboard standee by the way depicting a glass owl, if you got an actual glass owl I think the price point would be set higher. Would be interesting to see that in a deluxe version at some point though!
The Glass Slipper Left Behind
Of course, no game is perfect and there are always things that could be improved upon. This game isn’t pulled down by much however. The first thing that irritates me about the game is actually of no consequence to the game itself. Why is it called Light Masters when it has nothing to do with light? Surely it should be called Glass Masters, right?
There is one action in the game that I find a little clunky, but it is only because of the theme that they have gone with in relation to the abstract nature of the game. The ‘exchange’ action allows you to place one of your glass shards in one of the market spaces, and then take the depicted glass shards at that market. This often leads to you making decisions to place a red shard for example, then taking a red shard and a blue shard in exchange. In no marketplace ever can you give someone something, then get the same thing in return, plus something else.
Another thing to note is whilst the 16 colour free actions are there to make the game more replayable, some of them are just better than others. If you get given 6 creation cards for example, it is possible that only one of them can trigger the blue action. If the blue action is the best one, it can leave you at a disadvantage if your opponent(s) have plenty of cards that can trigger that action. This is countered by the recommended 4 to use, but then playing with the same 4 triggered actions can get a bit stale.
Also, the glass shards are not edible. MAJOR oversite in the game’s development if you ask me.
Final Thoughts
Murano: Light Masters is an unimposing game. It has a lovely charm to it and I can see it finding a place in most people’s collections. It is different enough to have its own little niche and familiar enough for it to be easy to pick up and play.
I think this game has not received the attention it maybe deserves and has flown under most people’s radars. If anyone is interested in light games, family games, games that play well at 2 players, abstract games or looking for a game as a palette cleanser between meaty games: Murano: Light Masters could easily fit that void for you. Give it a try!