Time is the most precious resource as you attempt to rule Dünya.
My husband woke up one day and, before even getting out of bed, told me Pendulum was on sale on Amazon for $12. Regularly, this game costs $60. I have always enjoyed Stonemaier Games, and I was aware of this one but didn’t know what the game was about. At that price, why wouldn’t I buy it? I knew I would be buying quality components, and the gameplay would be entertaining.
In Pendulum, each player is a powerful noble trying to succeed the Timeless King as the ruler of Dünya. From the beginning of time, there were times of chaos, darkness, order, and change. But then came the time of the Timeless King. He was given a large clock tower whose pendulum would swing as long as he shall rule. After his disappearance, the clock stopped. Which noble will be worthy enough to visit the Grand Plaza and restart the pendulum?
Mechanics & Categories: Real-time, Worker Placement, Hand Management, Autonoma, Resource Management
TOP-NOTCH QUALITY
You can never go wrong buying a Stonemaier Game if you love components. They always deliver. Pendulum components remind me mainly of Tapestry components: colored acrylic resource cubes, meeples and tiles, and rough textured player mats.
Based on the player count, the double-sided board is the same, and the province map cards look just like the capital city in Tapestry. However, Pendulum is a time-based game that adds three different-colored sand timers, each with varying durations: one, two, and three minutes.
With a fantasy realism style, Pendulum’s board displays a workstation with varying items on the table depicting what actions you are taking to become the ruler of time. Each noble mat depicts a character with varying difficulty and playstyles: will you be a dragon, a sphinx, a dark queen, a minotaur, or the unlikely poor man clawing his way up the ranks?
REAL-TIME STRATEGY
Never in my life have I played a game quite like this. I have used sand timers in some basic games growing up, but never in a strategy game. When I read the “turnless” strategy in the rules, I immediately knew this game might solve some of my family’s playstyles. Not waiting for a player to decide allows you to act on your strategy as fast or slow as you want.
Don’t be fooled; playing Pendulum too quickly doesn’t mean you will win the game. Some restrictions limit how you can place your workers who are directly impacted by the other player’s actions. Sometimes, you might want to slow down to place a worker in a better spot later.
The game's core mechanics allow you only to move workers where a timer is NOT present, but also only be allowed to take actions where a timer IS present. As timers run out of sand, they move locations. This may be confusing initially, but you get the hang of it. Players who notice an empty timer may flip and move it to the next space. Since timers have varying durations, some of your workers might get “trapped” by a timer. You must plan efficiently to do what is required to become the Timeless King.
For those who may be overwhelmed by the timers causing your brain to freeze a little, the designers anticipated this and created a turn-based flow where only specific timers move each turn. A turn is complete when each player says they have no more to do. This felt slow for two players, and we only played one round untimed.
Overall, Pendulum provides an innovative experience unlike anything you have ever played. Whether the playstyle and worker placement theme is for you is for you to decide. But I highly recommend trying to play this game at least once or twice to be mind-blown at how a game can truly be “turnless.” Making mistakes and forgetting to move or place workers are part of the game. It’s truly a wild ride.
Final Comments
Don’t play this with kids. We were already stressed enough as adults trying to manage what on earth was happening. I’m sure this will improve over time, but I also don’t want to overplay this game. I am curious if a rhythm just needs to be learned, and after that, will each play-through go differently? We mainly play just the two of us, so I can see this getting stale. On the other hand, I would love to see the chaos of playing this with five people. It must be pure madness.
I am still mind-boggled at how this real-time “turnless” strategy is a category of games. Impulse buying a game I knew nothing about (though cheap on sale) and then having it be vastly different from all the games in my collection was a wonderful surprise. Time will tell how often we get it to the table.
Similar To: Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar, 7 Wonders, Flatline
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Game(s) Pictured: Pendulum
Comments