This is a series of posts where I play 100 boardgames.
Game: 5 Towers
Designer: Kasper Lapp
Year: 2023
Country: Denmark
Publisher: Lautapelit.fi
5 Towers feels like the kind of game you’d play in a cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere, which is good because that’s where I played it. It feels a bit like multiplayer Patience, with players trying to assemble towers of cards of five different suits from the largest number to the smallest. There’s a bit of tactical nuance as you can put any card on top of an 8 and put 9 on top of any card.
The marquee rule is about how you pick cards from the table. Each round, five cards are laid on display. Then, each player may decide how many cards they’re willing to pick up. The player who bids the highest number wins and takes the cards, but they have to be able to play them immediately.
In the early game, the tactical choices are about risk. If I put a 6 on top of a 10, is that a good play? Or should I look out for 9, 8, and 7 first? In the end game, questions of risk vanish and it becomes more about whether you can place the cards on display onto your towers or not.
The card deck of 5 Towers resembles that of ordinary playing cards in structure. There are different suits numbered sequentially. The five suits have a bit more gameplay variety with the game’s optional rules which give each tower a distinct function.