Fuse elemental energies to summon magical familiars!
This game takes me back to when my husband and I first started dating. Seasons was one of the first games we bought together, and we immediately fell in love with it. We both enjoy strategic card games and fantasy worlds, so this game fits right into our collection. The amount of interaction between cards and opponents makes for great competition every time.
In the world of Xidit, players take the role of sorcerers, manipulating each season’s elements and crystals to summon magical familiars and items to help them become champions in the Tournament of the 12 Seasons. Players will draft their starting deck, which will lead them to victory. Throughout each season, new magical power cards will be played, leading to crazy twists and turns; you never know who will win until the very end!
Mechanics: Engine-building, Resource management, Dice-rolling
ART: 7/10
For those who have been following my game review journey, do you feel a theme occurring? I like vibrant colors. Especially orange, which is the primary color of this game. The art better be intriguing when a game is revolved around cards since you will analyze them throughout the entire game.
The magical creatures are unique compared to what you would typically expect. Take a mix of the crazy world of Alice in Wonderland and fantasy, and those become the creature familiars. You have Mad Hatter-esque rabbits and cats and a jack-o-lantern headed who-knows-what. It’s very interesting.
The magical items' artwork feels very energy driven by the changing of seasons in Xidit. Background images are beautifully done, and the use of gradients gives off a whimsical vibe. The world of Xidit really comes to life with this game's wide variety of cards.
STORYTELLING: 5/10
The cards' artwork matches up well with each season, and the magical items make sense as they draw from the earth’s resources or conjure up more magic. The setting of the world is very clearly depicted across all of the cards in the game. As players are sorcerers, I suppose I can see why converting the world’s energy into beautiful crystals would be profitable. The energy you earn changes as the seasons change, which is also fitting.
However, I don’t really understand why we are battling in a tournament. Games always try to put a name on their means of victory, so I guess they are trying to tell a story. If the game design effectively expresses the world and theme, that counts for something. Not all games have to tell a story; sometimes it’s just as cool when the mechanics feel like the character you are portraying. I wish the actions taken in this game felt more like sorcery, which would draw me into the story more.
COMPONENTS: 7/10
Let’s start with the large, custom-engraved dice. I love their color and weight. The amount of detail they could fit onto a single face yet still be understandable is amazing. The player cubes are just wooden, but the color choices are more unique than in other games (gray, orange, lime, purple).
The cards aren’t the best quality compared to more recent ways of printing synthetic cards, and our deck clearly sees a lot of wear from the amount of times we’ve played. Boards and energy tokens are printed cardboard punch-outs. I would have loved to see poker chips like Splendor or actual resource miniatures for the energy tokens.
The player boards are a unique shape that works well with the game's experience and phases. There is a place to display your energy tokens, a place to set your die, and bonuses printed right onto the small board.
The game box insert (one of my favorite things to analyze) is spot on. There is a place for everything; the points board and season board have notches cut out perfectly to their shape. Everything but the cards were created with durability and user experience in mind.
COMPLEXITY: 7/10
I usually make games out to be much less complex than they are, so giving this one a higher score might be daunting. Players must be able to see patterns and create interesting combinations to outwit their opponents.
Understanding resource management is one thing, but playing simple cards for their point value won’t get you anywhere. There is a lot of text on many cards that allow you to do an action once per turn, but choosing the right time and place to perform that action is critical.
The rules offer varying difficulty levels for newer players with more simplistic cards. Still, the beauty of the game design comes from those interesting interactions you can make to optimize your crystals and energy.
Starting with the recommended cards will still be an excellent experience for players looking to get into more strategic games. After playing multiple times you will grow to know each card and learn which cards go well together.
TRAVEL-FRIENDLY: 5/10
It’s not that overwhelming to bring this game on trips. The gameplay doesn’t take up that much room, but you will likely need more than a coffee table. Each player will need to fit up to 15 cards in front of them, and there needs to be a place to roll the dice. Airbnb friendly? Yes. Hotel room? Not as likely, but you can try!
You couldn’t play this on a bed due to the dice rolling, so I wouldn’t bring this on a hotel getaway for two. You could easily wrap up the dice, cards, energy tokens, and player boards in a medium-sized bag if you really wanted to, but it seems less organized and harder to manage.
UNIQUENESS: 6/10
I love that the resources you can get change with the seasons. That is unlike any game I have played, where you always have the same set of resources available. Another unique factor that I don’t see often is the limit on how many cards you can play at one time.
You must increase your “summoning gauge” to play more magical cards.
Not only are you trying to choose dice rolls that contain a lot of resources, but you are also trying to gain crystals for points and stars to increase the number of cards you can play! There is a unique line of strategy here where you can strip your opponents of the chance to play cards.
On the other hand, I would expect to see similar card abilities in any engine-building or resource-focused card game, and it plays out like some of the other games listed below.
Final Comments
Besides the magical theme and vibrant colors, I love this game because it always leaves me on my toes. If I ever feel far behind, I often manage to make a significant comeback by the end of the game. But beware, even if you think you are doing well, all it takes is one power card from another player to turn the tide on you!
We have rarely run into situations where one player is just so far ahead of another. We keep returning to Seasons for all the mechanics it offers and the close-scoring games we always seem to have. What sorcery will you use to become the winner of the tournament?
Similar To: Everdell, Splendor, 7 Wonders, Wingspan
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Publisher: Libellud
Game(s) Pictured: Seasons
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