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Going for a hike on Boxing Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas; we sure deserved it after such a strange year.

For Christmas this year, I pre-ordered "Parks" back in October as our family game gift that we typically do every year. I was very excited to get this one to the table, and after playing some rounds yesterday, I was not disappointed.

Hiking and visiting National Parks on Boxing Day

I won't go too in depth into the game itself, but the overall goal of the game is to hike along the trail through 4-seasons, while taking pictures, collecting resources and gear, and visiting National Parks. So cool! I'm a sucker for nature games, because I love nature.

From the moment I unboxed it everything was fantastic;

-The theme is prominent in every aspect of this game's components and gameplay

-It comes with inserts already, including bit trays in the shape of trees to keep your resources and photo tokens.

-The instruction booklet is that beautiful, "magic paper" material like Wingspan has

-The artwork is colourful, bold and beautiful

-The park cards (like you find in Wingspan) not only have great artwork, but also facts about the actual park itself

-The hiker meeples are awesome!

Hiker meeples are now my favourite kind of meeple

I had an idea of how to play through watching a GameNight video with the gang on YouTube. As usual though, I took my time unboxing and admiring the components, and as I read through the rulebook I played a 2-player game on my own to get the full idea of the game. I had the hiker movement slightly wrong at first, but remedied that quickly.

After a run through of that, I tried the solo variant which comes in the game (Yay!). Those Rangers make your hike a little more stressful let me tell you. LOL But it was a blast. Then just before dinner, my 12-yrs old and I played a game. That's when I really realized how this game will change with more people.

The Rangers in solo really make you think about what you need to gather in order to visit parks and get gear that can help you, before they get in your way or set you back. With multiplayer play and more hikers on the trail, it will force some thought in what actions you take when.

I'm so excited to have this game in our collection, and I can't wait to get it to the table again today!

4 comments

Comments (4)

Cadet Stimpy

Dec 28, 2020

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Thanks for the rundown (not the baseball one 🙂), Derek.

Cadet Stimpy

Dec 28, 2020

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Parks has been on my Wish List for quite a while. How'd your 12-year-old (is that what they call a 'tween'?) like it, and was it relatively easy for them to get a grip on it? My older daughter is in her mid-40's, so I have no recollection/idea what a 'current' 12-year-old knows or can grasp (but I'm hopin' I'm a little smarter 🙂). I'm askin' 'cause I'm figurin' if a 12-year-old can get it, so can I (hopefully). I, too, like the outdoorsy theme, and Parks certainly meets that criteria. I'll often give a game a 'higher score' if it's really thematic, and Parks seems to have knocked that outta the park (that was 2-thirds of a pun - P.U.). It sounds as if you endorse the Solo Variant - that's good news. Derek, your assessment has pushed it closer the top of my Wish List. 🙂 It's gettin' crowded up there...

Derek

Dec 28, 2020

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Replying to

LOL A crowded top of the wishlist is a good problem for sure. :)

Parks easily gets the theme, art and mechanics vote from me. Really nice to look it, and incredibly true to the theme.

In regards to the play, my 12-yr old isn't the best example for that age probably; she's a smart kid (not being bias) and she's also experienced some heavier games like Scythe, Wingspan, and Caverna which she grasps pretty well as she gets into the game. Granted, she doesn't win them yet as she needs to play them more to better understand her options in the game, but she understands the mechanics and doesn't get confused. So for her, Parks was very do-able. We ended with a 20-13 win for me, which in my mind is a close game for her first play.

Having said that, I do find the rulebook is not always completely clear and it would be my ONLY half-negative comment about this game. You really need to pay attention to the wording of things. I enjoy reading rulebooks, figuring things out and understanding games. For me to be a bit confused seemed off. However, having watched GameNight's explanation and play on YouTube before we got the game, at least I had the general idea beforehand, which helped. As always, BGG forums are a wonderful help to clear up any confusion. And actually a came across some points that have been revised in recent prints of the game (mine included). It's nice that the designers are on it. :)

After playing with my oldest daughter and her boyfriend yesterday in my first 3-player game (4-5 players will make that trail pretty busy and make for some tough decisions for sure), I missed a couple of minor things while we played. But after a handful of run throughs/plays now, I pretty much have it. Again, I believe it's more the wording that makes it "seem heavier" than it is. However, the options you have are abundant within the game, which makes it a nice challenge. :) When you have the rules understood, the weight rating of 2.17/5 on BGG seems right to me.

In regards to the solo, I did like my first couple plays. I'm excited to play solo today again as well. It's a clever little design that causes you trouble along your hike by losing things, unable to get to a section of the trail you want etc... The "Rangers" you play against don't score, so it's kind of "beat your own score" but they are on the trail with you, just like a real opponent would be; so I'm satisfied with it for sure. :)

Athena

Dec 27, 2020

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It certainly is one of the most beautiful games out there! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂