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Yamataï

Yamataï

2017·Bruno Cathala, Marc Paquien

2 - 4 players
40 - 80 min
Heavy weight: Expect a long teach

From BoardGameGeek

In Yamatai, 2-4 players compete to build palaces, torii, and their own buildings in the land of Yamatai. The game includes ten numbered action tiles, each showing one or more colored ships and with most showing a special action. You shuffle these tiles, place them in a row, then reveal one more than the number of players. On a turn, each player chooses a tile, collects the depicted ships from the reserve, optionally buys or sells one ship, then places the ships on the board. The land has five entryways, and you must start from these points or place adjacent to ships already on the board. You can't branch the ships being placed, and if you place your first ship adjacent to another, then that first ship must be the same color as the adjacent one; otherwise you can place ships without regard to color. After placing ships, you can either claim colored resources from land that you've touched with new ships this turn or build on one vacant space. To build, the space must have colored ships around it that match the ships depicted on one of the available building tiles. If you build a personal building that's connected to others you own, you receive money equal to the number of buildings. You can bank one ship before the end of your turn, then you can use any three resources or a pair of matching resources to purchase a specialist, each of whom has a unique power. After all players go, you shuffle the action tiles, place them face down in the row, then reveal enough tiles at the front of the line to set up for the next turn, with the turn order being determined by the numbers on the tiles that players chose the previous turn. Once you trigger one of the game-ending conditions - e.g., no ships of one color or no more specialists - you finish the round, then count points for buildings built, specialists hired, and money on hand.

Yamataï

Which Yamataï video should I watch?

Yamataï has 4 videos from 4 creators: 4 reviews. They date from April to December 2022.

If you like it, try 7 Wonders Duel, The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth, Splendor Duel and Sea Salt & Paper, also by Bruno Cathala.

All videos

Yamatai - Why Play ThisReview23:10

Yamatai - Why Play This

Karar2k's Why Play This

Karar2k's Why Play This

Yamatai ReviewReview10:33

Yamatai Review

BoardGameBollocks

BoardGameBollocks

"Y" Games Recap! (+ Yamatai First Impression)Review12:14

"Y" Games Recap! (+ Yamatai First Impression)

Nacho Average TableTop

Nacho Average TableTop

Jason’s Board Game Diagnostics of YamataiReview19:12

Jason’s Board Game Diagnostics of Yamatai

The Boardgame Mechanics

The Boardgame Mechanics

Creators who cover this

All channels
BoardGameBollocks
BoardGameBollocks
1 video of this game
Karar2k's Why Play This
Karar2k's Why Play This
1 video of this game
Nacho Average TableTop
Nacho Average TableTop
1 video of this game
The Boardgame Mechanics
The Boardgame Mechanics
1 video of this game

Games like this

All games

7 Wonders Duel

2015·Antoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala

Videos
222
Creators
71
Some reviews

2 players·30 min·Medium weight

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

2024·Antoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala

Videos
156
Creators
117
Some reviews

2 players·30 min·Medium weight

Splendor Duel

2022·Marc André, Bruno Cathala

Videos
113
Creators
95
Mainly reviews

2 players·30 min·Medium weight

Sea Salt & Paper

2022·Bruno Cathala, Théo Rivière

Videos
107
Creators
92
Mostly reviews and how-to-play

2 - 4 players·30 - 45 min·Light weight

About Yamataï

From BoardGameGeek:

In Yamatai, 2-4 players compete to build palaces, torii, and their own buildings in the land of Yamatai. The game includes ten numbered action tiles, each showing one or more colored ships and with most showing a special action. You shuffle these tiles, place them in a row, then reveal one more than the number of players. On a turn, each player chooses a tile, collects the depicted ships from the reserve, optionally buys or sells one ship, then places the ships on the board. The land has five entryways, and you must start from these points or place adjacent to ships already on the board. You can't branch the ships being placed, and if you place your first ship adjacent to another, then that first ship must be the same color as the adjacent one; otherwise you can place ships without regard to color. After placing ships, you can either claim colored resources from land that you've touched with new ships this turn or build on one vacant space. To build, the space must have colored ships around it that match the ships depicted on one of the available building tiles. If you build a personal building that's connected to others you own, you receive money equal to the number of buildings. You can bank one ship before the end of your turn, then you can use any three resources or a pair of matching resources to purchase a specialist, each of whom has a unique power. After all players go, you shuffle the action tiles, place them face down in the row, then reveal enough tiles at the front of the line to set up for the next turn, with the turn order being determined by the numbers on the tiles that players chose the previous turn. Once you trigger one of the game-ending conditions - e.g., no ships of one color or no more specialists - you finish the round, then count points for buildings built, specialists hired, and money on hand.

Designers

Bruno Cathala, Marc Paquien

Artist

Jérémie Fleury

Publisher

Days of Wonder

Categories

Mythology

Mechanics

Action SelectionContractsMarket & TradingModular Board & Variable Setup
View on BoardGameGeek ›
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