Today I Played: Bosk

Finally had a chance to play Bosk tonight, it has been sitting on my "Pile of Shame" for a couple of months. I was not disappointed.

Bosk is an area control game, where you score points based on the placement of trees and leaves. It is broken up into 4 rounds, two placement rounds (Spring for trees, Autumn for leaves) and two scoring rounds (Summer and Winter).

In Spring you take turns to place one of your 8 trees (two of each numbered 1-4) on the intersections of Paths (grid lines). Once everyone has placed all 8 trees you move to Summer, scoring each column and row separately. You score based on the sum of trees in each line, with scores awarded according to a scoring table.

Once you have scored Summer, you move into Autumn.

At the beginning of Autumn the player with the lowest score places the "Wind Board", this shows the wind direction, and for the first 4 rounds the number of the tree to start from, the second 4 rounds are played from your choice of remaining trees. On your turn you chose a number of leaves and then place them on the board, following the direction of the wind. You are able to cover other players leaves, but this costs extra leave tokens. You have one Squirrel that must also be played, and they cover up any pile of leaves blocking your opponents from placing in that space. Once all players have played 8 rounds, you move to Winter and score. In Winter, you score points based on the number of your leaves in each of the 8 regions.

I initially picked this one up as I liked the art (and if I am honest the Squirrel meeples). I really enjoyed our playthrough of Bosk, the way the seasons are broken down is interesting, and the scoring was not as complex as it first appeared. Making sure that you place your trees strategically in Spring, so you have optimal leave fall in Autumn, is an interesting puzzle. Especially when you don't know which way the wind will be blowing! (for reference, I lost our game by 15 points).

My Score: 7.5/10 (Recommended)
BGG Score: 7.2/10

https://www.hobbygames.co.nz/products/bosk

 

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