Zura: Review

Zura: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Memory, Set Collection

Player Age: 8+ 

Player Count: 2 - 4 Players

Time to Play:  20 -  30 Minutes 
Game Designer: Inon Kohn
Game Artist:  Pedro Codeco

Publisher: Agie Games

BGG Weight: 1.67

Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Objective:

The aim of the game is to travel far and wide to meet as many Tzerzurians as possible. This is achieved by discarding an amount of the same type of travel cards, and as a response to flip over a certain amount of Tzerzurian cards. If any of these cards match the colour that you discarded, they will go to the top of your score pile giving you an advantage and points for the end of the game.

Card Anatomy:

Travel Cards:

There are three colours: green, purple and blue. These cards will be discarded every turn to try and gain Tzerzurian.

Tzerzurian Cards:

Each of these cards have victory points in the top left, a background colour that will match the travel cards, and a special ability on the bottom of the card. Examples of these abilities include: improving an action that occurs when  discarding cards, additional scoring, and an increase in your hand size.

Hermit and Zuran Imp:

There are two cards which do not meet the travel card colours. These are the Hermit who will go with any player whenever it is revealed, and the Zuran Imp (Shown Below) who gives negative points. There are two Zuran Imps. When the first Zuran Imp is revealed it will stay face up and is put to the side to continue playing. When the second Zuran Imp is revealed both the new Imp and his friend will go into that players score pile.

Setup:

- Deal five travel cards to each player.
- Draw the top travel card and place it face up in a discard pile.
- Place eight Tzerzurian cards face down in two rows of four.

How to Play:

A player will do two things on their turn. Firstly, at the start of the turn you draw up to six travel cards. The first card you draw can be from the top of the discard pile. When doing this, remember that you want the most of one colour.
Secondly, you can discard a group of travel cards from your hand. All that are discarded must be of the same colour but an effect will occur depending on the amount of cards discarded:
1-2 cards = Nothing happens, this is just to clear out a crummy hand and hope for better cards next turn.
3 cards = Flip over one Tzerzurian card of your choosing.
4 cards = Flip over two Tzerzurian cards of your choosing.
5 cards = Peek at one Tzerzurian card and flip over two Tzerzurian cards of your choice.
6 cards = Steal the top card of another players pile then do the five-card action.

Whenever a Tzerzurian card is flipped over, it is revealed for all players to see and will go into that players scoring pile if it matches the discarded cards colour. If it does not match it will be returned face down, so this helps to remember which Tzerzurian are where.
Numerous cards can go into a players scoring pile during a turn, but only one card can be revealed on the top for its action. The card at the top of the pile will have their ability activated until a new Tzerzurian replaces them. The game will end when the Tzerzurian deck runs out on a players turn. Each other player now has one more turn, followed by the game ends. To determine the winner, score the Tzerzurians in each players scoring pile but remember that the Zuran Imps are worth negative points.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- Easy to learn for new players.
- Uses the memory mechanic in an engaging way.

Cons:
- The Tzerzurian deck is too big at two players so the game feels longer than it should be for a filler weight game.

'Zura' is a light family weight game that is easy to teach, but still fun to play. It is not an in-depth strategy game, as one of the core mechanisms are based on memory, but it is a fun game of set collecting travel cards while trying to reveal Tzerzurian cards that match. There comes a layer of strategy when receiving multiple Tzerzurians in one turn or if the Tzerzurian allows you to manipulate your score pile with their ability, but there’s not much more strategising than that. If you're looking for a light and fun game to play with family or friends, then be sure to seek this one out.

Click...feed the addiction: 

Agie Games
Zura on BGG
Expand Your Game Facebook page
Expand Your Game Instagram