The Search (boardgame) ("Die Sucche")
(English
(Die Sucche German Kosmos Games)
Ages 10 and up
Review by Dave Watry
From the English translation of the rules: The object of the game is, first, to discover the unknown landscape and to collect victory points during the process. Once all Landscape Tiles are discovered, the location of Mt Doom is also known. The game ends when one of the Hobbits reaches Mt Doom, then scoring follows. Whoever has collected the most victory points wins the game.
The playing field is created by laying out the Landscape Tiles in the form of the cross. 8 tiles on one direction, 6 in the other with The Shire piece at the center of the cross. One player selects a Landscape Tile and sets it next to a tile that is already played, and then draws another tile for his hand. Landscape tiles must be placed so that the bordering landscapes match. If a suitable landscape cannot be used, then discard and draw new tiles. When two sections are created consisting of exactly two sections, the area becomes an Encounter Space and an Encounter Chip is placed in that spot. The Hobbits then mover from chip to chip. A boat is required to cross a water space. After moving to a chip space, the player then collects the chip. Once the board tiles are laid out, Mt Doom is revealed. Mt Doom is placed on the last neutral tile. At that time, the Hobbits must rush to Mt Doom. Once there, each player adds up their chips. Extra points are achieved such as reaching Mt Doom first (+4 points). There are also special chips for Encounters with the Eagles, Gollum, and others.
Game Contents:
48 Landscape Tiles
8 Blue Encounter Chips for the Water
8 Yellow Encounter Chips for the Fields
8 Green Encounter Chips for the Woods
20 Brown Encounter Chips for the Mountains
2 Boat Markers
1 Mt Doom (Volcano) to put together
2 Hobbit figures
The Search - English Version Box
Back of Box
