Tiki Mountain - Slugfest at Origins 2007

Reviewed By: Pugilist, PerAnon, Rekkin

Game Name: Tiki Mountain
Publisher: Slugfest Games
Game Type: Board
Number of Players: 2 - 6
Solo Play Ability: Moderate
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Ages: 8
Game Cost: $34.95

Game Score: 89.4% / 100%

Tiki Mountain was another game we'd heard about for a lot of years before it made it's debut at Origins 2007. In 2006 we'd run through a demo with prototype pieces and had the concept of the game explained to us. With Tiki Mountain slugfest is broadening the scope of interest of its game line. Other tiles have a direct gamer focus, playing on the shared sense of humour and outlook and while these characteristic allows slugfest to play very well in the gamer market, it can be an impediment to wider appeal. Tiki Mountain is an answer to this problem and may even serve a a gateway game to snare unsuspecting, and very lucky, people into the slugfest universe.

The best way we can describe Tiki Mountain is Chutes and Ladders meets Joe VS the Volcano meets Uno. OK, perhaps "best way" is a bit of a reach but we'll try to clear up what we mean.

Tiki Mountain is a classic type climb and avoid race game. You start in a village, your goal is to climb the mountain and appease the Angry Volcano God by throwing yourself in, once you prove you are worthy. Along the way other players, who are trying to be the hero as well, will attempt to thwart you throw various and sundry nefarious tactics and actions.

We know, we had you at nefarious. It's a shame we didn't use it sooner and save everyone some time.

The game itself is played on a quad fold board with some really great artwork. Your playing pieces (obstacles and player chits) are full color extra heavy cardstock, the Tiki and Volcano deck are medium with plastic coated cardstock, the spinner is extra heavy cardstock and plastic, the totem markers are glass flat bottom beads every gamer knows and loves, and each player has a playing mat that tracks items for your hands, feet, and each of your three types of totems.

All of this is in a study and well designed box. What's so well designed about it? Everything fits, even after you use it, but isn't so loose that you drop pieces on the floor when you open the box. High marks all around for the manufacturing on this game. It's important to note that adults will enjoy this game but it's built to withstand the rigors of the younger set. It's be a great game to play in teams with your younger kids, once they've gotten to the stage where hey don't put everything they touch in an inappropriate orifice.

So, how to play? We always come back to this "how to play question" don't we?

Play is very straightforward. Once you decide who will go first, the turn goes like this:

Discard and Draw cards
- If you've played any other Slugfest game, you're already familiar with this concept. If not, you'll be elated to discover that you don't have to play a crap hand. Just discard as many cards as you want and draw a new hand up to seven (7). There's an exception to this that we'll review once we get to the next phase. sure, we could do it here, but it's an order of the universe type of thing.
Play Actions
- Here is where you play your equipment, (see, we told you we'd get to it, why can't you be more patient like your brother/ sister/ cousin/ that nice Katie Couric). Equipment can go into three (3) areas:
  - Left Hand
  - Right Hand
  - Feets (that's not a typo, HAH!)
- Equipment will have a variety of effects. It may help you climb the mountain faster, it may let you move over obstacles, it may let you ignore certain events, and it may let you draw an extra card, thus annoying your opponents as you gloat over your increased opportunities and superior lifestyle. Now, gloating is not specifically required but what's Slugfest game without a lot of smacktalk?
- Some actions are free, like equipment, others cost a totem to play, like when you throw obstacles down to foil your opponents. As long as you have totems you can continue to play actions.
Move
- You can play actions before and after you move. We put it last because we listed it this way and are will to fight anyone who wants to challenge us. Be at Anchorage, Alaska at 2:19 AM on February 29, 2009 and we'll settle it then.
- No matter when you decide to move, you can only move once and your movement can be affected by obstacles, other players, and, after everyone has played in a turn, the Angry Volcano God.
Collect Totems
- The last thing each player does on their turn is to spin the spinner and collect totems.

OK, so what the hell are totems? Ooooh, good questions that we probably should have answered much sooner. Well, it's too late now because we're lazy and not all that talented when it comes to editing. We blame Pugilist, after all, it's his bloody job.

Totems are your source of power to fund your actions and to make certain you are worthy of sacrificing yourself to save your village. It comes in three flavors, Fire, Earth, and Water. Some actions will let you spend any color totem to initiate them, some require a specific color totem, and the Angry Volcano God requires you have one of each color totem before he will allow you to fling yourself into the lava pit.

So, those pesky obstacles, what's up with them? Obstacles come in four forms:

Lava Flows
Gas Vents
Mudslides
Falling Rock

And each will either stop, block, or impede your movement, unless you have an equipment card that can counter the obstacles or an action card that will let you ignore or remove it. Playing these right after someone has spent their last totem to block you is, well, sweet. at this point smack talk is almost required and phrases like "Wow, you almost blocked me with that, how's that working for you?" came in extremely handy.

After every player has had a turn, an Angry Volcano God card is drawn and the affect is applied to everyone. This can annoy people, especially is you have equipment or cards that lets you ignore the effect. It's even better is someone has thrown down an obstacles that you avoided and the Angry Volcano God card pushes their token behind the obstacle. It's required at this point to cackle. You won't find it in the rules, but trust us, it's required.

The game continues until one player makes it to the lava pit and then they have a personal conference with the Angry Volcano God. This conference will consist of an interview that goes something like this:

DO YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF EACH TOTEM! (Capitalization for the Angry God effect. Neat, hun?)

If the answer is no, you are ejected unharmed from the lava pit. If the answer is yes, you face another ordeal:

IS TIKI WORTHY?

You'll draw an Angry Volcaono God card that applies only to you. If you cannot meet the IS TIKI WORTHY specification, you cannot enter the lava pit in truth and must try again another turn me buck-o. If you can meet the specifications of the test, you win, meaning you fling yourself into the lava pit and burn instantly to a crisp and save the village. You opponents have to content themselves with climbing down the mountain and being consoled by their loved ones.

Hmmmmmm.

We see Tiki Mountain playing in several different areas:

It's a great low stress party game for gamers
It's a great high entertainment game for families with kids
It's a gateway game for people who like games but never delve into war games

It's not a case of Tiki Mountain trying to be too many things to too many groups, it's a matter of Tiki Mountain hitting that overlap of interests and creating a space where the disparate groups can play and have a good time.