Yaxha is a bidding and building game from Helvetiq where, over 10 turns, the 2-4 players will be drafting cubes and placing them out to build their individual Mayan pyramids. The game is designed by Baptiste Vaiana with art by Julien Bigot.
You play using coloured cards that correspond to the number of players. Each turn cubes are drawn from a bag and placed out so that there are three on each card. Players then 'bid' by playing face-down the colour card from which they want to take the cubes. If they've all chosen different cards, everyone gets the cubes they wanted. If two or more players have chosen the same colour card, the cubes on that card go to the player with the best priority card; the other player(s) have to take the cubes from unclaimed cards but they get to swap priority cards so they have a better chance of winning ties on a future turn.
You're collecting cubes with which to build your pyramid, and all pyramids are built so that they are 4 x 4, 3 x 3, 2 x 2, 1. You can place cubes however you like on the bottom (4 x 4) level. You can start building higher levels before a lower level is completed provided any cube you place is supported by four cubes below it but, importantly, cubes above the first level must always be orthogonally adjacent to at least one cube of the same colour - either because it's resting on a matching cube or because it's placed next to a cube of the same colour.
After 10 turns you should have a completed pyramid, tho' it's possible you could end up with an incomplete pyramid because you've taken cubes that you can't legally place. You then score for the longest connected runs of each colour cube, counting both horizontal and vertical connections. You also score for meeting the requirements of any of the public objective cards selected at the start of the game.
It's a simple set up with easy-to-follow rules and it makes for a satisfying game. You're to some extent at the mercy of the random cube draw from the bag but part of the puzzle element of Yaxha is working out how to make the best of what's available to you. The bidding element each round adds a frisson of excitement, particularly where there's an especially tempting trio of cubes on offer, and the compensatory swapping of priority markers adds to the game: it can be frustrating to lose a bid for cubes you were keen to nab but you at least have the consolation of knowing you are more likely to win out the next time there is competition for a particular cardload of cubes.