Let's get used to the role of Safari Photographers. Wild: Serengeti Game Review
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At film school, they told me: "Don't work with animals."
Where am I? Filming in the wild nature of the Serengeti.
Your goal is to earn the most stars and make the biggest wildlife documentary.
It will be much easier for you if the animals do not move. Some hide in trees, others crawl on rocks. Pastures stretch across the entire territory, and the river serves as a coolness support. The varied terrain of the Wild: Serengeti can provide amazing scenes if the animals are in the right place at the right time.
This is the second Kickstarter game from South Korean company Bad Comet. The first was Shaolia - a duel game with placing cubes, managing resources and building an engine.
WHAT CAN YOU FIND IN WILD NATURE?
The beautiful leopard print on the lid of the box perfectly reflects what is inside. The animals (animiples) are gorgeous and you will spend an eternity just looking at them. You can place them on the playing field to see how they look.
The area is well drawn on the map. Terrain icons are clearly displayed on each square. This is the central part, and above it is the action tablet. The tablet is double-sided, which allows you to use an alternative terrain of the Serengeti for filming.
There are 4 types of animals on the action board. There are 8 action areas in total, from placing animals on the field to moving/replacing them and accessing scene maps. The action costs less if you choose it first. Place all castle tokens on action cells that have a value greater than the number of players.
HOW TO SHOT A SCENE?
There are 168 scene cards that depict the objective and your reward (if any). The icons on the right side of the map are easy to read. Each card has a fact about the animal, which is a nice touch. The artwork on the back of the card is simply stunning. Create a scene pool of 6 cards, each player draws 8 scene cards and chooses 4. The others are placed in the discard pile next to the deck of scene cards.
WHAT RESOURCES ARE NEEDED FOR
Coin, food tokens are designed to clearly show what they mean. In terms of quality, these are standard cardboard tokens that you get in most games. They are placed as resources around the field map. Coins are spent performing an action. Food helps the animal to move 1 cell to the desired area. vfx tokens allow you to change the terrain to create the perfect scene.
WHY IS THE CENTURY STONE NEEDED?
The Stone of Ages (a cardboard 3D structure like the tree in Everdell) is a great way to keep track of your round count. A rhinoceros bird is placed on the cage at number 1, showing the coin reward, limits and events. Place the prize tile on the spaces below rounds 4 and 6. The prize tiles are solid and the icons represent the 1st and 2nd place prizes.
The number of coins listed for each day is taken from the supply.
The Great Migration takes place three days in a row. The migration maps have the same quality art as the scene maps and are placed next to the stone of centuries. Each migration card has a picture on it, and if there are animals on that field square, they migrate (remove from the map).
ALL YOU NEED IS A CAMERA
Each player chooses a color and takes 2 cameras (player markers) and a video bar. The cameras are beautifully designed, one of them is used as a star counter (PO) located on the edge of the field. The video bar is used for executed scene maps. Everyone receives a two-sided souvenir for the player.
Specialist cards are optional and have a difficulty rating. Each player gets only 1 card. Benefits can be both permanent and one-time. The quality of the cards is the same as the others.
The rulebook clearly shows each step with lots of illustrations. The rules are simple and straightforward.
HOW TO BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS
After 6 days, if you have the most stars, you will become the most famous photographer.
The stone of centuries will help you understand the events of each day and spend your coins wisely.
Place the camera on one of the 4 spots next to a group of animals and place 1 animal from that group on the map. The cost is 1 coin, unless the seat is already occupied, then the cost will be 2 coins. Buying scene card(s) from a pool costs 1 coin each or upgrading the pool and hoping for the best pick.
You can swap or move animals for the same cost as placing the animal, but you cannot do this in the 1st round.
As soon as these animals create the desired scene, the card is placed above the video bar. Earning a reward (if any) includes both stars and food/vfx tokens. Other free actions are spending food tokens and vfx. Also, selling 2 incomplete scene cards gives you a coin.
A player can save at any time during a round only if they have less than 3 coins. The day ends when all players save.
WHY ARE THERE ICONS ON THE MAPS
When the scene map is in your video bar, the icons become active.
Food and vfx tokens are activated daily. The flower, leaf, banana, and diamond icons are used to count the stars you receive as rewards on some scene maps. Animal paws are classified as wildcards when counting the number of animals at the awards ceremony. Hearts are the number of likes for your scene. Get enough likes before the end of the game and they will be converted into stars that will increase your final score.
CAN I HIRE SPECIALISTS TO SUPPORT?
Yes, and you can choose one of the two, but all players must end up with one. Specialist cards provide unique opportunities for which you can get additional stars or bonuses. Each specialist is rated from 1 to 5, from the easiest to the most difficult.
ARE THE CO-OP/SOLO MODES HARD?
The goal is to collect the minimum number of stars after 6 rounds. There are 6 scenarios and most of them add objectives based on stars, food tokens and vfx as well as scene maps after each round. A specialist can also play a role. The gameplay is the same as in the competitive game, with some variations for single player.
Completing the objectives at the end of the round can be a challenge. In co-op, the interaction is great and makes a big difference in how you plan your actions.
CONCLUSIONS
Wild: Serengeti is a fantastic family game. The puzzle element is very enjoyable and the planning is not overwhelming the brain and at the right level.
The quality of the game is excellent and the animals are beautifully designed. Unfortunately, the quality of the cards could be better, and they need protectors.
Scene maps are easy to make with careful planning. You might make a move and then gasp: someone just moved an animal to the wrong place. Other times, you're happy because someone just moved an animal that completes the scene for you. Some rewards are based on the icons of completed scenes and require additional thought.
Specialist cards range from adding great bonuses and objectives to unlikely actions and challenging late-game objectives. You may feel at a disadvantage. Difficulty rating is a very good idea, and depending on the composition of the participants, you can use cards with the appropriate rating. Why are there only 3 maps with a difficulty rating of 1 and 4? It would be logical to have at least 4 cards for each rating. I understand that they can be dealt randomly, but some players will get harder cards than others.
Wild: Serengeti immediately reminds you of The Lion King. And the stone of centuries and places of action will evoke associations with "Everdell".
USEFUL LINKS
Wild: Serengeti on the BGG portal
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/335427/wild-serengeti
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Wild: Serengeti (ukr)
DESCRIPTION OF THE BOARD GAME "WILD: SERENGETI" The creators of this beautiful tabletop were inspired by the protected areas of the Serengeti, Tanzania National Park, one of the most valuable natural heritage sites on Earth, where millions of wild animals feel free to hunt, hunt and enjoy the African heat. Now all these formidable crocodiles, lions and gorillas, elephants and panthers will be waiting for you in the thickets just to pose or roar nicely at the camera - the most talented docum..