Wouter & Ymke 
Mana, an abstract game designed for two players by Claude Leroy, invites you into a world of strategic maneuvers and careful planning. Mana’s primary objective? Capture the opponent’s Daïmio. It all takes place on a 6 x 6 square grid adorned with singular, dual, and triple symbols.
👥 2 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designer: Claude Leroy
🎨 Artwork: Tom Delahaye
🏢 Publisher: Cosmoludo
https://www.cosmoludo.com/
To begin, players decide between the colors black and white. The first player takes up black, positioning their six pieces on the board’s opening row, and makes sure to place the Daïmio on a double symbol square. Their opponent, adopting white, sets up similarly on the opposite row, again positioning the Daïmio on a double symbol square.
♟️ In a game of Mana, every turn is a step closer to victory. Pieces can travel forward, backward, or sideways, never diagonally. They can change their direction, but only at a 90-degree angle.
The symbols on the squares dictate the movement of pieces – a single symbol enables a move of one square, double for two squares, and triple for three squares. Pieces cannot leap over other pieces nor revisit a square within the same turn.
If you end your move on an opponent’s square, congratulations! You’ve just captured their piece. But what does it mean? If you’ve caught a Daïmio, the game is yours. If you’ve caught a Rônin, it’s removed from the board, possibly giving you a strategic advantage.
🦜 The Mana-bird is a special feature of the game. After a player’s move, the Mana-bird flies off to an empty square matching the symbol of the last moved piece. The opponent then must move a piece from a square of the same symbol where the Mana-bird landed.
What if none of the player’s pieces match the Mana-bird’s square symbol? No worries. They can either move any piece based on its square’s symbol or bring back a previously captured Rônin to any empty square. Either way, the Mana-bird flies off to a square matching the symbol of the recent move.
🏁 The game ends the moment a player captures the opponent’s Daïmio. Every strategy, every move pivots around this goal – to protect your Daïmio and grab your opponent’s. As simple as it may sound, a game of Mana is an intricate dance between defense and offense, where every move can tip the balance.
Mana, a quintessential abstract game, brings two players head-to-head in a captivating duel of wit and strategy. As a part of Cosmoludo’s renowned abstract games, it stays true to the line’s characteristics – simplicity in rules yet depth in gameplay. While the rules can be grasped quickly, mastering all aspects of the gameplay takes time, promising a journey of learning and improvement.
♟️ This game sets the stage on a compact 6×6 grid, devoid of any luck-based elements; it’s all strategy. The grid is punctuated with different symbols determining the distance a piece can travel, which plays a crucial role in your decision space. The Mana bird also plays an important role. It influences your opponent’s moves, forcing them to reposition specific pieces based on where the bird lands.
🔺 Intriguingly, any pieces you lose aren’t gone for good. Captured pieces have the potential to return to the game, a mechanism that keeps all players on their toes. It becomes critical not to allow too much freedom to your opponent, positioning your pieces wisely to keep options available, and even sacrificing a piece if it can lead to a favorable position.
💡 Each game is quick yet intense, often leaving players craving a rematch. It’s an exhilarating blend of fun and strategic depth, requiring you to plan your moves ahead while keeping your opponent’s tactics in check. It can be deceptively tricky, adding to the game’s charm and appeal. Undoubtedly, Mana delivers a satisfying challenge for lovers of abstract games.
Please note: We received a copy of Mana from the publisher Cosmoludo for this review.
