Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I am currently stoned. No, not that, you naughty Nellies! I mean that I am filled to the brim with gorgeous, chunky, colourful, patterned tiles. Having recently binged on Mandala Stones like a squirrel let loose in a nut factory, I am very happy indeed.
Once a mandala has been destroyed and all the colours in the mountain claimed, cards played in the fields are discarded, two new cards are dealt face up into the mountain, and the game continues. You must respect the Rule of Color for that Mandala. Spread out the Mountain cards so that all of them are easy to see. Scoring is completed by using the cards in your river and multiplying them by the cards in your cup. Each position in your river is worth a different amount of victory points from 1 point for the first position to 6 points for the sixth position. Take your cards from your cup and place them below the matching position (same colours) in the river. Multiple the number of cards in your cup by the position it is in the river for all of your river cards and add all of your scores to get a total. The player with the highest score wins. Note that some river cards may not score you any points if you do not have the same colour represented in your cup. In the event of a tie the player who has the fewest cards in their cup wins. Conclusion
Mandala has grabbed me with its immediate gameplay and variety. In fact it’s easier to play than it is too explain! I didn’t expect a game like this to have so much variance in gameplay, but the subtle changes to scoring and colour value added to the mind games that transpire makes this one of the best two player games I’ve played. It is a game I can play with my mum and my friends, and one that they have a chance of winning too. Cards in the Mountain will be claimed when a Mandala is completed and added to your Rivers and Cups to earn points at the end of the game. Rather, this is a how-to-play guide that goes into the nitty-gritty of how this game works in a little more detail to help you decide whether Mandala could also be a game for you. The Line -n Up!
Having placed the cloth between you both, shuffle all 108 cards and place them face down in a draw pile. You cannot move the cards in your River, and must place each new card beside the previous one, without leaving any gaps. You can play multiple cards of the same colour to one of your fields, but you don’t get to draw any cards. When all six colours are present on a mandala then it will score. The person who played the most cards to their field will get to choose one set of same coloured cards from the mountain. If this colour isn’t already present in their river they place one of the cards face up in the leftmost space and any further of the same colour face down in their cup. The players switch turns choosing from the remaining colours on the mountain. MItchell T: An original and interesting card game. It requires judgment, finesse, and some brinkmanship. There is some depth here, but the cards will also surprise you. You do gain skill as you play, but it is easy to learn and lots of fun to play.If you have 7 cards in hand, draw only 1 card; if you have 6 cards in hand, draw 2 cards; otherwise, draw 3 cards). Then give each player two cards which only they look at and then place face down onto their own “cup." The value of each card in a given colour starts at zero. They then obtain a particular value to you based upon their respective positions in your river (numbered 1 – 6). Note: if you do not have a colour in a spot on your river when end game is triggered, any matching cards in your cup will score zero – don’t get the hump! That is not to say you can’t simply score tiles – you can. You could, for example, use your turn to score a single stone of any colour, or several random top stones. But that will only ever get you one VP per stone. As will be seen, however, that can sometimes be a handy tactical move!
It’s a game you grasp straight away but then discover more and more as you chip away at the mountain. Like a multi layered film the more time you spend with it the more you see, and because Mandala only takes 20 minutes to play you will more often than not play at least two games in a row. Highly recommended for abstract and two player game fans, but also for anyone who often finds themselves playing at two players. This is the typical Lookout Games box size for their two-player line, and for the most part components-wise it lives up to the games that came before it. I don’t necessarily like the cards being square, that makes them entirely too hard to shuffle for me — especially given that there are 108 of them. The linen mat is a really nice touch and I love that folks are thinking outside the box as far as what they can make their components from, but every time I unfold it from the box and place it on the table, I feel like I should iron it first, as it’s like playing on a permanently pleated shirt, but that’s just my neurosis. But that’s all the game is, cards and the linen board, oh and the rule book. It almost feels minimalist.
When drawing new cards you must never go over your hand limit of 8 cards. Also you may never end your turn with no cards in your hand. If you were completing the action ‘grow fields’ and you had 4 yellow cards in your hand you would not be allowed to place all 4 cards in the field. Completing A Mandala If you claim cards of a color that is already present in your River: Simply place all the cards face down in your Cup. Mandala Stones is an abstract strategy game designed by Filip Głowacz. Publishers Board&Dice have put out many games that feature wonderful components. Mandala Stones continues within this trend. There’s a strong presence of pattern-building and set collection in this game. Mandala Stones is somewhat abstract in nature, comparable to the likes of Azul. It’s funny, I am normally a person who likes to play games with more than two players. The social aspect of board gaming is probably the biggest pull there is for me. I like sitting around a table full of friends and having fun over a board game. So much so that I normally refuse play games that have higher player counts at two players. I always feel like I am missing something, both in the game and at the table. These two-player games from Lookout, and even previously from Kosmos, are built for two players and you don’t feel as if you are missing anything, the entirety of the game is out there for you to see. My wife and I have had a wonderful time with Patchwork over the years, and Targi, and Agricola All Creatures Big and Small. Those are the games that we reach for when having a night gaming with each other. Mandala gives us another option, another fun, strategic, really well put together and developed option.
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