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Bridges of Shangri-La

Bridges of Shangri-La

2003·Leo Colovini

Videos
12
Creators
4

Mostly how-to-play and reviews. Bridges of Shangri-La is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 4 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 1 recorded sessions, and 1 other video.

3 - 4 players
60 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

From BoardGameGeek

In Shangri-La, the mysterious and isolated utopia nestled high in the mountains, a strange struggle for dominance has begun. Once peaceful and neighborly, the Masters of the competing mountain-folk train their students and send them out across bridges to control neighboring villages. To take control of a village, the students must come together in uncomfortable alliances, regardless of their tribal origin. Eventually students become Masters themselves, train new students and expand to other villages. There is one thing each student must keep in mind as they travel from village to village -- the mystical powers of Shangri-La mysteriously cause the bridges to collapse, separating villages forever. One crucial question will decide the winner: who will control the most Masters of Shangri-La? Players take on the roles of leaders of a specific tribe. There is a battle raging over the empty villages of the land and players must quickly fill those villages with their tribal leaders. As players migrate tribal leaders from one village to the next, they must not become too weak or they risk losing leaders to opposing tribes. The ultimate object of the game is to have the most leaders on the board at the end of the game. It is an abstract game with many options and tense until the end. 2004 Mensa Select Thematically, players are adding masters and students, and trying to have the students migrate to nearby villages to become masters. Functionally, this is essentially a military game. Players either spend their turn reinforcing a village (adding more tokens there) or invading a neighboring village (expanding influence if you have more total tokens than the victim). The unique twist is that, after each invasion, the connecting bridge is removed. So over the course of the game, attack options become more and more limited, until the game naturally comes to a conclusion.

Bridges of Shangri-La

Watch first

Learn to play

De Bruggen van Shangri-La11:01

De Bruggen van Shangri-La

Review

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play6:38

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play

Watch it played

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La33:49

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La

Which Bridges of Shangri-La video should I watch?

Bridges of Shangri-La has 12 videos from 4 creators: 4 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 1 playthrough and 1 other video. They date from 2011 to August 2026.

To learn the rules, start with "De Bruggen van Shangri-La", which runs 11 min.

For an opinion before you buy, start with "The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play". To see it played, watch "Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La".

If you like it, try Cartagena, Old London Bridge, Australis and Clans, also by Leo Colovini.

All videos

BRIDGES OF SHANGRI-LA Board Game Tutorial & Review - 2026 Play For Keeps Official Kickstarter VideoHow to play18:50

BRIDGES OF SHANGRI-LA Board Game Tutorial & Review - 2026 Play For Keeps Official Kickstarter Video

Undiscovered Games

Undiscovered Games

Bridges of Shangri-La — How to Play and Is It a Gem?Review29:39

Bridges of Shangri-La — How to Play and Is It a Gem?

Board Gems

Board Gems

Bridges of Shangri-La — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison6:54

Bridges of Shangri-La — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison

Board Gems

Board Gems

The Bridges of Shangri-La - Playthrough With FriendsHow to play59:18

The Bridges of Shangri-La - Playthrough With Friends

Getting Games

Getting Games

Videoreseña en 5': Los Puentes de Shangri-La de Leo ColoviniReview5:42

Videoreseña en 5': Los Puentes de Shangri-La de Leo Colovini

Videoanálisis: comento partida a 4j de Los Puentes de Shangri-La (reglas, tácticas)Review33:48

Videoanálisis: comento partida a 4j de Los Puentes de Shangri-La (reglas, tácticas)

Single-Take Teaches - Bridges of Shangri-La OverviewHow to play2:19

Single-Take Teaches - Bridges of Shangri-La Overview

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-LaPlaythrough33:49

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La

Videotutorial de Shangri-LaHow to play13:03

Videotutorial de Shangri-La

Benjamin Blabs about The Bridges of Shangri-LaHow to play18:14

Benjamin Blabs about The Bridges of Shangri-La

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to playReview6:38

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play

De Bruggen van Shangri-LaHow to play11:01

De Bruggen van Shangri-La

De Bruggen van Shangri-La11:01

De Bruggen van Shangri-La

The Bridges of Shangri-La - Playthrough With Friends59:18

The Bridges of Shangri-La - Playthrough With Friends

Getting Games

Getting Games

Benjamin Blabs about The Bridges of Shangri-La18:14

Benjamin Blabs about The Bridges of Shangri-La

Single-Take Teaches - Bridges of Shangri-La Overview2:19

Single-Take Teaches - Bridges of Shangri-La Overview

BRIDGES OF SHANGRI-LA Board Game Tutorial & Review - 2026 Play For Keeps Official Kickstarter Video18:50

BRIDGES OF SHANGRI-LA Board Game Tutorial & Review - 2026 Play For Keeps Official Kickstarter Video

Undiscovered Games

Undiscovered Games

Videotutorial de Shangri-La13:03

Videotutorial de Shangri-La

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play6:38

The Bridges of Shangri-La: Review and how to play

Bridges of Shangri-La — How to Play and Is It a Gem?29:39

Bridges of Shangri-La — How to Play and Is It a Gem?

Board Gems

Board Gems

Videoanálisis: comento partida a 4j de Los Puentes de Shangri-La (reglas, tácticas)33:48

Videoanálisis: comento partida a 4j de Los Puentes de Shangri-La (reglas, tácticas)

Videoreseña en 5': Los Puentes de Shangri-La de Leo Colovini5:42

Videoreseña en 5': Los Puentes de Shangri-La de Leo Colovini

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La33:49

Videosesión de Los Puentes de Shangri-La

3 of 4

Creators who cover this

All channels
Board Gems
Board Gems
2 videos of this game
Getting Games
Getting Games
1 video of this game
Undiscovered Games
Undiscovered Games
1 video of this game

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Old London Bridge

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Videos
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Creators
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Mainly reviews

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Australis

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About Bridges of Shangri-La

From BoardGameGeek:

In Shangri-La, the mysterious and isolated utopia nestled high in the mountains, a strange struggle for dominance has begun. Once peaceful and neighborly, the Masters of the competing mountain-folk train their students and send them out across bridges to control neighboring villages. To take control of a village, the students must come together in uncomfortable alliances, regardless of their tribal origin. Eventually students become Masters themselves, train new students and expand to other villages. There is one thing each student must keep in mind as they travel from village to village -- the mystical powers of Shangri-La mysteriously cause the bridges to collapse, separating villages forever. One crucial question will decide the winner: who will control the most Masters of Shangri-La? Players take on the roles of leaders of a specific tribe. There is a battle raging over the empty villages of the land and players must quickly fill those villages with their tribal leaders. As players migrate tribal leaders from one village to the next, they must not become too weak or they risk losing leaders to opposing tribes. The ultimate object of the game is to have the most leaders on the board at the end of the game. It is an abstract game with many options and tense until the end. 2004 Mensa Select Thematically, players are adding masters and students, and trying to have the students migrate to nearby villages to become masters. Functionally, this is essentially a military game. Players either spend their turn reinforcing a village (adding more tokens there) or invading a neighboring village (expanding influence if you have more total tokens than the victim). The unique twist is that, after each invasion, the connecting bridge is removed. So over the course of the game, attack options become more and more limited, until the game naturally comes to a conclusion.

Designer

Leo Colovini

Artists

Nicolas Gendron, Alvin Madden, Anke Pohl, Thilo Rick, Andreas Steiner, Imelda Vohwinkel

Publisher

KOSMOS

Categories

Abstract StrategyMythologyBooks & NovelsTerritory Building

Mechanics

Area Majority / InfluenceModular Board & Variable SetupArea MovementTile Placement
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