Collect and upgrade tetris-shaped pieces and fit them into your puzzle tiles to score points!
1-4 players (1-6 with expansion), ages 8+
Playing time: 20-40 minutes
Designers: Michal Mikeš, Jan Soukal & Adam Spanel
Artists: Jaroslav Jurica & Pavel Richter
Publisher: Boardcubator
http://boardcubator.com/
To set up the game, shuffle the white puzzle tiles and place 4 of them face up with the draw pile next to them, and do the same with the black tiles. Everyone receives a player mat and a level 1 and level 2 piece to start with.
On your turn you perform up to 3 actions, trying to score as many points as possible by completing puzzles.
The possible actions consist of taking new puzzle tiles or level-1 pieces, upgrading a piece to a higher level or placing a piece into one of your puzzles. Once per turn you may also perform the Master Action and place one piece on all puzzles in front of you.
Once a puzzle is completed, you gain its bonus and place the tile on your victory point pile.
Players take turns until the stack with black tiles gets depleted, which triggers the end of the game. To determine your scoring you simply tally up the points shown on the tiles in your victory pile, and the most points wins!
The game plays as an efficiency puzzle: you’ll start out by completing smaller puzzles, gaining you new pieces to use for larger puzzles. Since you also get to keep your used pieces, there’s definitely also an engine building-vibe in this game.
The production is top notch: the rulebook is very clear and setup is a breeze, the game comes with recessed puzzle tiles to put your pieces in and those quality pieces feel great in your hands. The player mats are really helpful, showing you the possible actions but also the different levels of each piece and what you can upgrade them to.
Don’t expect a lot of depth or interaction; Project L is quick to play, very relaxing and so perfect to end a game night with. If you’re into abstract optimization puzzle games like Splendor, make sure to give Project L a try!
Tabletopping 