- Publisher : Iello
- Designer(s) : Younsu Hwang
- Artist(s) : Paul Laane
- Players : 2–4
- Playing time : 20 Min
- Weight BGG : 1.00
What's this?
Restart is a tactical and accessible tile-laying game in which players must get rid of their numbered tiles as quickly as possible. To do this, they will build ascending sequences of each color in the center of the table… while trying to block their opponents at the right moment.
How do you play?
1. Implementation
Each player receives a set of numbered tiles which they place hidden behind their screen .
In the center of the table, several colored lines are created, each starting with the number 1.
2. How a turn unfolds
In turn, a player has several options:
Laying tiles
The player can place one or more consecutive tiles of the same color on a corresponding row.
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The values must always be increasing.
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It is possible to play several tiles at once to speed up your game.
This is the heart of the game: optimizing your placements to quickly get rid of your tiles.
Play a special tile
Some tiles can completely change the situation:
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remove the last tile from a row
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clear a line almost entirely
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permanently block a line
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or, on the contrary, restart it from scratch
These effects lead to strong interaction and create constant reversals of fortune.
Pass your turn
If no interesting move is possible, the player can pass… but this can cost them dearly if they keep too many tiles.
3. End of a round
A round ends when:
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a player has no more tiles
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or that all the players pass
The players then add up the value of the remaining tiles in hand, which constitute negative points .
4. End of Game
The game ends when a player reaches the defined point threshold (often 100).
The player with the lowest score wins the game.
Is it good?
Restart has perfectly succeeded in its goal: to offer a game that is simple to explain in order to introduce board games to the widest possible audience.
The tile-laying mechanic, with its ascending sequences, is immediately intuitive, allowing for smooth, fast-paced gameplay. However, it does create dilemmas: should you quickly play low-value tiles to get rid of them, or place high-value tiles to hinder and block your opponents? Because yes, this game is going to cause some grumbling around the table! Restart is first and foremost a timing game, which can prove fatal if you wait too long. You’ll observe the other players closely, anticipate their moves, and try to seize the perfect moment to place your tiles.
Interaction is very much present, especially thanks to the special tiles that allow you to block, break, or restart lines. They bring about sometimes brutal reversals of fortune, breaking the blockages set up by your opponents.
But don’t expect a game of significant strategic depth: Restart is a pure family game, perfect for Sunday afternoon sessions with children and grandparents. The gameplay remains fairly abstract, with often obvious moves, even if the special tiles add a touch of surprise. However, we would have liked to see more special tiles to offer greater tactical choices and better replayability.
The material is of very good quality, and it’s a real pleasure to handle the plastic tiles.
In the end, Restart is a good family game, efficient and fluid, which focuses on timing and opportunism rather than long-term strategy.
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Restart Review
Positives
- Simple rules and immediate usability
- Smooth gameplay with no downtime
- Good interaction between players
- An effective and fun timing game
- High-quality material that is pleasant to handle
Negatives
- Limited strategic depth
- Sometimes obvious blows
- Not enough special tiles to vary the games
