Reviews

Tindahan: "So why do I like this game? Because the game offers the player a multitude of choices – more so that most other trick takers. (Almost) every time that your turn comes up, you have to make a decision. Scoring can be really tight in this game, so every decision makes a difference to the bottom line ... Each time that you choose not to play a card (by playing a marker to a market stall or changing trump) – you are essentially giving up a point. So, this must be balanced against the possibility of a larger endgame bonus with the market stall or changing the trump suit to something which you are strong in so that you can win later tricks.
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I really really like this game. Tindahan fills a unique niche in my trick-taking cabinet, and it really is a deeper game than you might think at first glance. It plays in about 30-40 minutes, and it feels much quicker in gameplay because you’re constantly making decisions about what to do. If this were the only game in the box, I’d already say that this should be high on your buy list ...

Bastos! is another interesting trick taking game – and the variable values for each suit help it stand out from the crowd. ...

There are a few layers of strategy here – all revolving around the Bastos! suit choice and play. The decision of what to make your Bastos! suit will definitely influence how you play the rest of the hand. Of course, you can never win a trick in your Bastos! suit, so you probably don’t want to have too many of those cards in your hand. On the other hand, each time you play a card from your Bastos! suit, you get to modify the value of one of the suits – so this can be a powerful way to alter the course of the game. ... Overall, Bastos! is an enjoyable enough game, but it will probably never rise above filler status, and it will likely always play second fiddle to Tindahan in my group. However, getting this included in the same box is a really nice bonus, and I’m sure that we’ll still play this one from time to time ... "

(Dale Yu, see full review at www.boardgamenews.com )


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Tindahan: "The new wrinkles that has been added to a traditional trick-taking game keeps this game feeling fresh and exciting. You can spend about 30-45 minutes using it as a filler, or play it all day long with a predetermined number of rounds. I personally enjoyed Tindahan very much and it will definitely be one of the first card games I think of. I hope Bastos! is just as good, but for me, Filipino Fruit Market is already worth getting for Tindahan alone."

(Gordon Yu, see full review at boardgamegeek.com)

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