12 Rivers
- Board's Eye View
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
12 Rivers is a 3D set collection game for 2-4 players but it's really only 12 Rivers if you're playing with a full complement of four; in a three-player game it's only 9 Rivers and with two players it's just 6 Rivers :-) The game is designed by Romain Caterdjian and is published by Good Games Publishing, although an earlier edition of the game was published by BGNations in 2022.
It's the 6-12 rivers that are the standout gimmick in this game because in each of the five rounds you'll be releasing 'pearls' (small marbles) at the head of each river and it's capturing the different colour pearls that score points for players. And the pearls aren't all worth the same amount: white pearls are each worth 5 points but green pearls, for example, are only worth 1 point.
Players take turns worker placement style by slotting their wooden tiles into the foam board to, in effect, dam a river with the aim of capturing a pearl. Where you place your dam affects the cost and how successful you'll be will be affected by other players' positioning. If you place a dam in a low position you get to pick up a beneficial 'fairy token' and add to the cards in your hand but you've a reduced prospect of winning a pearl. To be absolutely sure of claiming a pearl you'll need to have placed your dam at the head of the river but that will require you to pay cards from your hand and will mean you go last in turn order in the next round.
Cards don't just constitute a currency in the game; they can otherwise be played for their effects. However, you can only play cards for their effect when you are able to play a matching pair...
When you nab a pearl you place it on your alpaca board but you'll want to add villager cards that score you extra points for placing specific colour pearls on them, not least because your alpaca can only hold a maximum of six pearls. Other cards can give you points for having on your alpaca four pearls of a specified colour, so you may want to try to claim these before transferring pearls to villagers.
It's surprising that Good Games Publishing haven't incorporated a marker to keep track of the number of rounds, tho' it's not a great hassle to improvise one; for example, by using a die. Of more concern is the opaque iconography. We found players having to reach for the rulebook to decode the symbols on fairy tokens even after multiple plays. Despite this, 12 Rivers makes a great gateway game for those coming new to modern boardgames. It's a family game that's easy to teach and plays in around an hour. And its 3D marble-run board gives it a great table presence! It's very much at its best tho' with a full complement of four players.
