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Quick Look: Alpina
Designer: Luc Rémond
Artists: Joëlle Drans and Jérémie Prugneaux (as Crocotame)
Publisher: Helvetiq
Year Published: 2024
No. of Players: 2-4
Ages: 10+ (I played with my 6 and 8 year old with no issues)
Playing Time: 20 minutes.
Find more info HERE.
Foreword:
I received a copy of Alpina and Strato from the publisher to check out. I haven’t gotten Strato to the table yet so I’ll do that one separately at a later date. Alpina is a short and sweet little game based around building a 5×5 grid of tiles with 3 varieties of habitats as well as animals. You aim to maximize points through set collection and/or placement of tiles to satisfy card scoring conditions.
From the Publisher:
A photographic mountain hike!
With your camera at the ready, explore the Swiss National Park and photograph animals in their natural habitat. The speckled nutcracker (the emblem of the park), the chamois and the grass frog await you! Score points in an original way, based on the landscape and the interactions with your neighbors. Alpina is a strategic game with simple rules. Will you play a card to collect more points or thwart your opponents? Find the card that allows you to juggle both objectives, and victory will be yours!
Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Alpina The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.
Disclaimer: Anytime you see a link to Amazon on our site, it is another way to get your product there for the normally listed price as well as a way to support Everything Board Games and everything we’re doing here, without paying any extra. We appreciate the support!
Review:
Initial Impression/Components:
The game comes in a tidy little box, about 6″x6″ and it as well as the components inside are industry standard quality. There are 56 square cards, 32 wooden hiker meeples in 4 colors (8/player) as well as a point tracker plus the rule sheet.
Favorite:
I love nature themes! As I can’t just leave it at that, I enjoyed the large number of card conditions that can earn points and how you need to leave a hiker on a card in order to claim it to score. Finding ways to place your cards and take advantage of where cards have already been placed on the tableau is a fun challenge.
Least Favorite:
Truthfully, I didn’t have any complaints about the game. It’s a small and short game but plays smoothly and was enjoyable. I had a great time with my two daughters and enjoyed our games together.
Rules:
The rules are quick to learn and play, ultimately you play a card, optionally choose to place one of your hikers (permanently), and draw a card. Hikers earn points based on the card conditions listed on the card you place them on. Those conditions generally revolve around the number of a specific animal or habitat that is in a specific proximity to that card.
Areas they did well:
– Art and design
– Component quality
– Game size / portability
– Replayable
– Quick play rules
– Using the box itself as a point tracker.
– Game length
Areas they could have improved:
– Could have included more cards for more replayability. In this way, some cards wouldn’t get used each game.
Interesting moment:
There was a time when we were able to play a card at the very bottom of the grid, that contained a condition that had 4 of the same habitat type above it. The card condition earned 2 points for every card of that habitat above it. They were able to lay the card, plop down a hiker, and earn 8 points right away.
Overall:
The game plays in about 20 minutes but offered enough excitement to warrant bringing it to the table. Once you got the game down pat (after 1-2 plays) you can even play it a few times in a row or as a best 2 out of 3. I enjoyed the pattern building and trying to create the best grid of 5×5 cards that I could. An additional layer of interest is that you all build the same 5×5 grid together, so what you are trying to do is likely opposite to what your opponents are trying to create.
Final Thoughts:
It’s not going to make my top list of favorites, but it was a great quick-to-play family game that I will definitely play again with my girls. As an easily accessible family game, it’s got my approval.
I’ll see you next time, back here at The Game Table,
Brad Hiscock, aka Zerility
Here’s a link to the game on their website:
After reading Brad’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Alpina is on sale in the United States via Amazon Prime for only $19.99. Check it out and get yours HERE.
Disclaimer: Anytime you see a link to Amazon on our site, it is another way to get your product there for the normally listed price as well as a way to support Everything Board Games and everything we’re doing here, without paying any extra. We appreciate the support!
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Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”, is a construction project manager and electrician by trade who was the owner of a 6-time award winning electrical company. His passion for board games has led him from playing hundreds of original titles to creating a design and publishing company of his own, Convivial Games. As an up and coming collaborator on many projects, he is always eager to try new games and meet new people.
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All of Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”‘s reviews can be found HERE.
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English (US) ·