My Shelfie board game review

HISTORY

 A few weeks before Essen SPIEL '22, I heard about My Shelfie by Cranio Creations, a game with great visual appeal thanks to its 3D shelves. Although I originally thought it would be a board game shelf, I was obviously wrong.

 In My Shelfie, 2 to 4 players organize their new bookshelf by moving items from the living room into it, be it books, board games, portraits, pets, and more. You place these items on your bookshelf in a Connect Four style, trying to maximize multiple scoring options.

COMPONENTS

 My Shelfie's calling card is definitely these 3D shelves.

 They look good, are of good quality and make a great impression when playing. Before the first game, you will have to assemble 3 parts (which is very easy to do): the base, the vertical checkered part and the top part (which closes the structure tightly). As the box is slightly smaller than the standard size, you will have to remove the bases from the shelves when they are stored in the box - this is true even after removing the cardboard insert.

 I would really like the base of the shelf to have a small slot to hold your personal goal card. That would be a fantastic little touch.

 During the game, you will drop tokens onto this shelf, similar to 4-in-a-row.

 There is also a player field, where you place tiles during the game, and which clearly shows the spaces reserved for a certain number of players.

 These tiles are pulled out of a very strong pouch

 There are two types of cards: personal objective cards contain specific locations of certain tiles on your shelf, and general objective cards contain shared game objectives.

 Finally, there is the first player marker, which is a 3D cardboard token that corresponds to a chair on the box.

 I really like the design on the box and on the tokens. They convey the theme of the game well and are quite playful - for example, the board game tiles refer to famous board games. It wouldn't surprise me that if My Shelfi does well we'll see a "board game" only edition or expansion.

 It's a pretty nice product in my opinion, the look of it definitely helps the game stand out, and the 3D shelf toy factor has a nice nostalgic feel to it.

BOOK OF RULES

 The rules of My Shelfie are very simple and the game is easy to learn.

 Big group scoring is easy to see on the field, and personal goal cards are easy to read.

 My only complaint is the lack of clarity of purpose. The iconography used on the cards is rarely sufficient to fully understand the scope of each objective. On the other hand, the rulebook uses the last page to clarify any iconography.

 In short, you'll be able to learn how to play My Shelfi quickly, even if you have to remember what the general objectives mean at the start of each game.

GAME PROCESS

 My Shelfie is a 2-4 player game where players collect items (books, portraits, games, etc.) from a common living room and arrange them on their own bookshelf.

 Whenever you add one or more items to a shelf, you must place them in a single column, just like a 4 in a row box.

 Players will earn points for completing various objectives, creating large groups of the same object, or placing items in certain positions.

 While cooking, give each player their own shelf and one personal objective card.

 Prepare the living room by placing its board in the center of the table and filling each square with an object taken from the cloth bag. Leave the fields for a specific number of players (3+ or 4+) blank if playing with fewer players. Also, place the endgame token on the field in the living room

 Then open the 2 general objective cards, identify the first player and give them the first player slot and you're done.

 Each turn, the active player takes 1 to 3 items from the field and adds them to his bookshelf.

 The active player will choose a straight non-diagonal line of up to 3 objects to collect. For this selection to be valid, all of these objects must have at least one of their four sides free (ie not touching another part) before being assembled. It means the physical ability to pick up objects. At the beginning, you can only collect the outer edges, but as the game progresses, you can create multiple islands and collect objects that were initially blocked.

 After collecting the items, you must drop them on your bookshelf. You must discard all objects in a single column, but you can choose the order in which to discard them.

 You cannot collect more objects than will fit in the selected column.

 If at any point you achieve one of the two general goals, you will take the highest performing figure. You can complete both objectives throughout the game, and the earlier you complete the objective, the more points it will bring.

 If the space in the living room only ever consists of single objects (ie there is no group of 2+ related objects), you fill the space with tiles from the bag.

 When a player completely fills his shelf, the game is over. The player who initiated the end of the game receives a game end token (worth 1 point) and you end the current round with each player having an equal number of turns.

 When scoring, you will receive a number of points equal to the number shown on the common gate tiles and the collected end game token. You will also earn points for your personal target, which lists a specific position for each of the 6 colors/types. The more locations you get right, the more points you earn. Finally, you collect large groups of connected (3 to 6) tiles of the same type/color - the bigger the group, the better.

 You add up those points, and the person with the most points wins.

EXPERIENCE

 My Shelfie fits very well into the Azul puzzle family game genre.

 You can learn the game in 5 minutes, the moves are fast, and it makes a nice visual and tactile impression.

 3D shelves are not really necessary, but the appeal of throwing objects there is undeniable.

 Like the shelf itself, the cute items you drop on the shelf add to the appeal of the game as you organize cute cats and great board games into it.

 The whole presentation gives the game a thematic appeal to what could otherwise be a bland abstract game.

CONCLUSIONS

 If the look of My Shelfie is your thing, I think you'll be happy with what you find here. Sure, the 3D shelf is a gimmick, but it adds a tactile element to a game that makes the most of its theme. It's a light game, but with the addition of personal and general objectives, it's enough to keep you coming back. These two factors, along with a large group of points, will force you to reevaluate your first instinct and try to stay versatile while decorating your bookshelf.

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My Shelfie (ukr)

DESCRIPTION OF BOARD GAME MY SHELFIE You just bought your new bookshelf at home, and now it's time to put your favorite things on it: books, toys, portraits. Who can organize the best shelf? IGROLAD During your turn, you must take 1, 2, or 3 tiles from the living space, following these rules: the tiles that the player takes must be located next to each other so that a straight line emerges from them; each tile that enters a player's hand must have at least one free face at t..