- Publisher : Lucky Duck Games
- Designer(s) : Isaac Shalev, Jason Slingerland
- Artist(s) : Marlies Barends, Brigette Indelicato
- Players : 1–5
- Playing time : 30 - 45 Min
- Weight BGG : 2.18
What's this?
Tír na nÓg , literally “the Land of Eternal Youth,” is a card board game for 1 to 5 players. In this mythical journey to the Otherworld, you play as Celtic bards collecting memories of adventures and magical creatures to compose the most memorable saga. The game, steeped in Irish culture, mixes placement, hand management, and collection, with a nice dose of subtle interaction.
How do you play?
A game is played over 5 rounds , each divided into three phases: Journey , Saga , and Upkeep . Here is how a game unfolds:
✨ Phase 1: Travel
In turn, each player places their bards in the spaces between two Encounter cards on the central grid (following specific placement rules). This is how they prepare to explore the magical world.
📜 Phase 2: Saga
Counterclockwise, each player:
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Retrieves a card in contact with one of his bards, then removes that bard.
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Play a card from your hand into your personal saga (3 lines of 5 cards maximum).
The cards placed must respect the constraints of the Geis . Some cards have special effects (on placement, persistent, during certain phases or during scoring). You can also have lost bards , recovered later via a special phase called Quest of the Echtra .
🧹 Phase 3: Interview
The remaining cards are discarded from the grid, each player reduces their hand to a number of cards according to the remaining rounds, and then a new grid is set up. The first player’s pawn moves to the left, and a new round begins.
🏆 End of game and score
At the end of the 5 rounds, each player has (ideally) 15 cards in their saga. The score is calculated as follows:
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Geis cards : each line earns points according to the associated constraint.
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Color regions : Groups of adjacent cards of the same color are worth points based on their size and position relative to those of other players.
The player with the highest score wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the largest region wins.
Is it good?
Tír na nÓg combines original draft mechanics with tableau building. The game’s novelty lies in this card selection system combined with clever worker placement, where turn order is crucial. You’ll need to plan ahead to position your bards intelligently and collect the most valuable cards. This mechanic induces a very pleasant and subtle indirect interaction.
The board-building portion remains more traditional, but proves effective. Numerous different scoring cards confront you with constant dilemmas and strategic choices to organize your personal “saga” in the most optimal way, according to varying objectives.
One of the game’s strong points is undoubtedly its artistic direction. The illustrations, directly inspired by Celtic imagery, are superb and fully contribute to the immersion.
On the downside, one could criticize the sometimes too small size of the text on the cards, which somewhat hinders readability. One could also wish for a little more variety in the effects to favor combos or engine mechanics. That said, this relative sobriety allows the game to remain accessible to a wide audience. Note that expansions are already planned, which should bring more diversity to the objectives and enrich the experience with new mechanics.
In conclusion , Tír na nÓg seduces with its poetic aesthetic and elegant game mechanics. It is primarily aimed at players who like to build a board, optimize their choices and enjoy indirect but subtle interaction. Without revolutionizing the genre, it manages to offer a fluid, beautiful and engaging experience, which will appeal to a wide audience.
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Tír na nÓg review
Positives
- Superb artistic direction
- Original draft and placement
- Fluid table construction
- Good accessibility
- Subtle indirect interaction
Negatives
- Card text really too small
- Lack of variety in some maps
Breakdown
- Edition 8.0
- Mechanics 7.5
- Thematic 7.5
- Replayability 7.0
- Getting started 8.5
- Interaction 7.5
- Originality 7.5
