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Reef is the next game coming from the publishers of the extremely popular Azul. The two games share the same publisher, and the same four letter name that is rumoured to be the theme for a line of family weight abstract games from Next Move Games, an imprint of Plan B Games.
The games also share a great attention to component quality. Whilst Azul had a very classy look, Reef has gone the route of bold and colourful, creating a different but still very appealing aesthetic on the table.
That's really where the similarities end. Reef is an abstract game that stands on its own as a family weight 2-4 player game. The colours might fool you into thinking the game is aimed at children, but there's actually a really neat card drafting, puzzly, three-dimensional game in Reef that we believe rivals its award winning predecessor. Let's take a closer look!
Reef Gameplay
Each player starts the game with a 4x4 grid player board, with four pieces of coral on it, one of each of the four colours. Players will then take turns doing one of two actions: either taking a card or playing a card. This repeats until either one of the piles of coral runs out or the cards run out, at which point the player with the most points wins. When you take a card, you may take any of the three cards in the display for free, or take the card on top of the deck at the cost of placing one of your victory points onto one of the cards on the display.
Playing a card consists of two phases: First, you gain two new pieces of coral as drawn on the top half of the card. There are very few placement restrictions; you can put your new coral wherever you like, even on top of other coral pieces, but each stack can only go up to four high. After placing your new coral you get to score points according to the rules on the bottom half of the card.
Typically, you will be looking to get patterns of certain colours or certain heights, for example you might score three points for having two orange corals next to each other at least two high. When you evaluate your points you look from a birds eye view, so only the top piece of coral in each stack counts. You score as many times as the pattern occurs so forward planning can result in bumper rewards!
The game ends when one colour of coral runs out and the layer with the most accumulated points wins.
Amy’s Final Thoughts
Reef is very much a game about efficiency, every card you play gives you two coral and then scores you based on what you have present, but almost none of the cards give you the type of coral you need for the card's scoring rule, so you have to try and combo your cards. In an ideal world you'll manage to string them together so that each card sets up the next, but in reality you often have to play several cards to set up your next big score. It feels so satisfying when things go right, and equally frustrating when the cards you want just aren't appearing.
It's hard not to directly compare Reef to Azul. Both are easy for gateway gamers to pick up, both are absolutely stunningly gorgeous, and both play fantastically. Where I feel Reef falls behind a little bit is in the luck, sometimes a deck of cards just doesn't like you and for an abstract game that can feel pretty harsh.
However, where it wins is play speed and simplicity, anyone can pick up Reef and understand it, and with each player having one fast action a turn you often find it's your turn again already by the time you have collected your point tokens from last round! This is further reinforced by the gameplay encouraging thinking two or three moves ahead - at any one time you know what you are going to do to create the best combo over the next few turns. Unless a fantastic card appears you really have no excuse for slowing the game down!
In summary; Reef is beautiful, fun and easy to pick up. You may not like the luck of card drawing in an abstract game, and it may be a little simplistic for heavier gamers. But for a fast, light gateway game there's a lot to love. Personally, I think Azul still wins the 'abstract wars' for the time being, but Reef is well worth picking up!
Fiona’s Final Thoughts
I haven't met anyone who doesn't enjoy stacking their components and I love lots of games that make a game out of this joyful past-time. Reef really feels like an innovative design, using stacking and pattern building to give the feel of a tile laying game with hand management that almost edges into the realms of a very flexible and ever-changing engine builder. The mechanisms weave and flow together so well that the game feels fast paced, even though some decisions are very thoughtful and forward planning is paramount.
Even the end game in Reef is well thought out, and has particular appeal for more experienced gamers. The game ends immediately when one colour of coral runs out, but this doesn't have the same deflating feeling as many games with a sudden end game trigger. Firstly, you can see it coming, but secondly, the left over cards in your hand trigger one scoring each. If you see that the end game is fast approaching, you can use your last two or three turns to deliberately avoid taking more coral in the colour that is low, and instead stockpile some cards that could give you a 15-20 point end game boost if you're really successful.
To circle back to the comparison between Azul and Reef. Although they are very different games, they do fill a similar category for me in terms of family weight games that I could teach to almost anyone, but have something extra going on to stretch new players and keep seasoned gamers satisfied too. For me, Reef is the easier teach, but I think new players, like my parents, who frequently play Azul, would find it more challenging to do well in initial games because forward planning is so critical. I think the aesthetic is also key in terms of the success of the two games. Azul just looks like a classic that will be around for a very long time, whilst Reef, although super appealing, does have a more toy-like quality.
Personally, I think Reef might have the edge for me. It's slightly less cut-throat than Azul, especially at the two-player count we frequently play at. It also scratches a bit of an engine-building itch, although it's not strictly in that style of game. Reef looks great and plays really smoothly, and is really rewarding when you execute a brilliant sequence of turns. It’s certainly a game that I highly recommend.
Fiona and Amy can also be found at the Game Shelf with weekly reviews from a couple’s perspective.
