YORKTON - Ah such a pretty game is Seasons of Arcadia.
Well, some might actually think it a bit too much, the box and board is a sort of pastel mix that also happens to be sort of foil-enhanced. It almost has a 1970’s look, that has one wanting to see what it all might look like under a black light.
Still, the core art by Grant Wilson is rather awesome.
Next, this game – by designer Mike Richie -- is basically a checker-variant. You place pieces, or you jump pieces. Personally I love jumping games going back to checkers with my grandfather and a great admiration for the classic Camelot, still a favourite.
So I was ready to fall in love here, and that you can play Seasons with four, there was hopefulness in that too.
Alas, it falters with four, although to be fair games which are perfect information games tend to come up short past two players.
There is both a first player advantage, and the tendency of players to team up on front runners which shackles most.
Here at least the team-up aspect is overcome by a ‘rock-paper-scissors’ mechanic. You can only capture one other player’s pieces and are threatened by one other as well. That’s a good thing in principle.
In reality you end up block placing your pieces well away from the threat player, and a game becomes less about jumping, and more about who gets their pieces down first – which is rather tedious play.
The game dove pretty quickly into the disinterest pile as a four player game at The Meeple Guild table.
But, what about two-player?
Each player takes on two seasons and play from there is much that same.
The joy of the game ticks up a smidge two-player, but alas there are so many better two-player jumpers starting with the aforementioned Camelot, or the fine game Kendo circa 1976, (rather solid as a four-player even), that Seasons just doesn’t rate pulling out – even with its fine looks.
You can see more at ratherdashinggames.com
