Tsuro

The Game of the Path 2 to 8 players 8 and up

The game of Tsuro has been around for a while but I hadn’t played this rich Asian looking game until we were gifted it a few years ago.

Set Up

The set up for Tsuro is easy. Each player is dealt three tiles that they may look at.

Object

The object of Tsuro is to be the last player with a marker on the board after following a set on lines.

Playing Tsuro

The rules of Tsuro state that the oldest player goes first, an unusual rule. Starting with that player, players choose a starting place on the outside of the board to place with marker on.

A player’s turn is divided into three parts: tile placement, marker movement and tile drawing.

Tile Placement

A player chooses a tile for her hand to lay down. The tile must be placed so that a line on it connects with the player’s marker. A tile can not be placed so that the player’s marker is moved off the board, ending that player’s life. The exception to this rule is if the only move possible for the player to make has their marker falling off the board.

Marker Movement

Second, the player moves her marker along the path on the new tile and following the line if it connects with any other tile. The maker stops moving when either it runs out of tiles or it is moved off the board game, ending that player’s life in the game. After moving her own marker, any other player’s marker who is sitting adjacent to the newly placed tile is then moved in the same manner.

Tile Drawing

The third part of a player’s turn is drawing a tile to add back into their hand. A special dragon tile is given to the first player who can not draw a tile due to supply. This dragon tile allows that player to be the first player to draw tiles if they become available again.

If your marker follows a line off the playing board, then you are illuminated and your life in the game is over. Your tiles are shuffled and placed face down for the remaining players to draw from.

Winning Tsuro

The player who is the last player with a maker still on the board is the winner.

What We Like

First, Tsuro is a beautiful game. The art work is amazing and the quality to the tiles and even the extra papers in the box are beautiful. When was the last time that a board game came with rice paper?

Second, the game is easy to explain and play.

Next, a game of Tsuro takes around 20 minutes, so not too long.

What We Don’t Like

Despite the quality and beauty of the game, there is something that we just don’t like about this game. Maybe it’s the idea that your goal is to mess with the other players and therefore illuminate them from the game. I know a family who loves this game. We, on the other hand, like to play nice—letting other players take back bad moves, helping each other out, changing moves that aren’t important to us when it harms the other player. Although we are very competitive, we usually like to win due to our superior moves and not by taking each other out. It is very strange, but games are no fun when people have hurt feelings. Maybe once our kids grow up even more we’ll give Tsuro another chance and like it more.

One last gripe: the name. How do you even say it? Hard to ask if you want to play when you really aren’t sure what to call it.

Conclusion

Tsuro is an easy to play game that is challenging to master. With no reading but great strategy, it is a game that kids 8 and up can play. Tsuro is one of the best put together games I’ve seen. However, it is with a sad heart that I don’t recommend this game for a young Family’s Game Shelf.

If your family loves games where you take each other out, then this would be the game for you. There are four different Tsuro games to chose from. Get your copy of Tsuro here. Canadians can get their Tsuro here.

To find other games that we do recommend, visit our game reviews. For even more family game night fun, visit out card games and dice games.

Rating: 2

Pros: easy to explain, no reading, quality
Cons: illinating other players, hard to say name,
Mom: critical thinking