❥ Equinox
2 - 5 players
40 - 60 min
Age: 10 +
Weight: 2.22/5
Publisher: Plan B Games - Asmodee
In a friendly but exciting battle, special creatures use their magical powers to compete against each other. They all have the same goal: to be immortalized in the stories and fables that tell of their heroic deeds.
❥ How do you play Equinox?
The game is played with 8 of the 14 different creatures. Place these black and white champion cards at the top to represent the columns. On the side are the row cards that indicate the different rounds. The remaining Creature cards, Boom cards and Chameleon cards are shuffled. Each player is dealt 5 prediction stones and 8 creature cards. The remaining cards form the draw pile.
The game is played in 5 rounds. Each round consists of phases:
Phase 1: Make or Reveal Prediction
In this phase you can predict which creature is still in the tournament at the end of the game, these predictions give you points at the end of the game. This can be a standard prediction, then you place a prediction stone on an empty space near a creature or on the top right corner of the creature. You can also make a secret prediction, this is only allowed in the first round. You may reveal these predictions later. You can also skip phase 1.
Phase 2: Playing a card
You can play different cards in this phase. First a creature card, which you play in the current row in the column of the corresponding creature. A chameleon card can be played in any column. The cards may be played over each other. Playing a tree card gives it a special ability. Then you discard this card. You may also skip playing a card.
Phase 3: Discarding cards from your hand
You may discard up to 3 orphan cards from your hand of orphans who are eliminated from the tournament.
Phase 4: Draw cards to replenish your hand up to 8 cards.
Phase 5: Eliminate a creature if possible.
Your turn ends by determining whether a creature can be eliminated. A creature is eliminated from the current row if all the columns of the creatures still participating in this row are filled with a creature or chameleon card and only one visible card has the lowest strength. When a creature is knocked out, disappearance cards are placed in the next rows below this creature. These creatures can then no longer be played in subsequent rounds.
The captain
The captain of a creature is the player with the highest value on the creature in the column. When you play a card that you are the captain of, you may use this creature's special ability. This is, for example, drawing extra cards or playing an extra card in phase 2.
The game ends after the 5th round or when the draw pile is empty. All players count the total value of their predictions. The value of the prediction is indicated in the rows and ranges from 5 to 0 points from top to bottom. You only get points for your predictions if the creature is still in the tournament after round 5.
❥ My Thoughts
I absolutely love the artwork, the box and all the cards are really beautiful. In Equinox, you place bets on the creatures you think are still in the tournament at the end of the game. Correct predictions will earn you points! You have to make the right decisions quickly, because which creature will you place a bet on? Of course you also try to annoy your opponent a bit by taking out the creatures they bet on. So there is some nice interaction in the game.
Nice is that you can vary with the 14 different creatures. This way you can always make a different combination of creatures, so that you also have other properties in the game. Which you may activate if you are captain of the creature and play a card of that creature.
The cards are larger than the standard size, which in my opinion was not necessary per se. There is also a playmat for sale that shows where you can put your cards. I always find that a nice addition to a game, so I will definitely buy it again. By the way, I still wonder what exactly the use is of the cloth bags that come with it in the same colors as the prediction stones. It's not that I 'hide' those stones in here or can't remember what color I'm playing with.
Equinox is a wonderful game with a gambling in the game. It is difficult to make predictions on creatures and thus score points. You also need to have a bit of luck with the creature cards. The game plays fast and is easy to learn. I think it would be more fun to play this game with more than 2 players. Then there's more player interaction and I think it makes the game a bit more interesting. I like it, but I'm not sure if this is a game I would pick up quickly to teach someone or play more often. The beautiful artwork convinces me, but basically the game remains a bit simple. Although I have to say that simple games are also very nice to play in between or with people who don't play games often.