Triqueta

We’re off to the animal fair

Inspired by the Celtic triquetra symbol or knot of trinity and the connection of 3 things, Triqueta is a set collection game for 2-5 players where you will be trying to collect sets of animals. How does this stand apart from other set collecting games and is this one to add to your collection?

Setup is simple, the game contains 60 animal tokens, 10 of each animal (rabbit, owl, deer, boar, ram, bear) and each is worth a different point value. Firstly separate the animal pieces out into four piles of 15 placed in towers with 5 on each level, which represent the different rounds that will be played and place a tree tile on top of 3 of the 4 towers. You then place a row marker out per player depending on the number of players. Then the youngest player (or randomly assigned) gets the first player token and you’re ready to go!

Three’s a crowd

Triqueta is a 20-30 minute game played over 4 rounds and your turns are so simple, you have a choice of 1 of 2 actions on your turn. Action 1 is to draw an animal from the first stack without the tree on top, you can then do one of two things with the token, either place it into one of rows or twice per game you can put the animal token secretly in front of you to be revealed at the end of the game. The second option is to declare yourself out of the current round and collect all the animal tiles from 1 row, also collecting the row marker to indicate you are out of the current round. The last player to declare themselves out of a round will collect the tree token from the next stack of animals and the first player token for the upcoming round, each of these tree tokens will be worth 1 point at the end of the game.

What you are trying to do in Triqueta is collect exactly 3 of each animal and you will score the points listed on the animal so 3 owls would net you 6 points, collect more than 3 of an animal and you are into negative points for that set and so 5 rabbits would score you -2 points. An animal on its own is worth 1 point and 2 animals of a type are worth 2 points. Each tree tile is worth a point and so is the starting rock. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game will win.

Components in this game are really nice, with nice wooden pieces for the animals and it feels nice and tactile to collect the animals and slot them together into a triquetra. Gameplay is simple and easy to teach but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to play. Knowing when to pull the trigger on collecting the tiles and declaring yourself out of the round is key to winning as well as reserving the right secret tiles for the end of the game. I’ve also found in my plays of this game that a good tactic is to add animals to a row where another player already has a set, or a second animal of a type where they have 2 in their collection, effectively stopping them from collecting that row. It’s a little mean but in a short set collection game of this type it doesn’t ever feel too unfair or harsh to play this way.

Set for life?

Triqueta is a fast, fun and interesting little set collection game that maybe doesn’t bring too much innovation to the table but looks really pretty and is enjoyable to play, with a preference for higher player counts. The theme feels a little pasted on but that really doesn’t matter and this is a game you could really easily teach to non gamers and gamers alike and I think everyone would enjoy it. Triqueta has the feeling of a game you’ve played before, and that’s not a bad thing as well as being something that doesn’t take too long to play so would be a nice way to start or end an evening.