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Do you like tile-laying? Do you like puzzles? How about animals? Well, this is your lucky day. Cascadia is like a cake, bear with me one minute while I explain. Cascadia has a base of Carcassonne-esque tile-laying topped with a layer of animal-arranging icing. Managing these two elements together will decide whether your cake is light, fluffy and full of points or burnt and full of pointless elk.
Gameplay
Points, Biomes, Animals And Patterns.
At the start of a game of Cascadia, you will randomly select a scoring card for each of the games five animals. Each animal has a set of cards with different ways they can score and for your first game, the ‘A’ cards are recommended. It is nice to be able to have slightly different scoring conditions each time you play. I also got a set of Kickstarter scoring cards too from Zatu which was nice.
After that stuff is sorted everyone playing gets a starter tile, made up of three normal tiles and you are just about ready to go. Cascadia, on the surface, feels and plays very simply, however, bubbling underneath is a puzzle that could be pondered for hours upon end. As I mentioned earlier, it's two puzzles in one that must be navigated in conjunction, like a tandem being ridden in two separate directions.
Choices And Mitigation
Above your play area, there is a ‘shop’ of sorts made up of biome tiles and animal tokens. On your turn, you simply select one pair of tile and token and go about fitting it into your little ecosystem trying to fulfil as many of the animal requirements as you can. You will not only score for each of the five animal cards but also for your largest area of each type. The tiles you choose are a mixture of all one terrain type or a mixture of two. Picking a tile and animal combo that is right for you is a very juicy decision indeed, every single turn.
You do have a bit of mitigation here too. If you place an animal on what is called a Key tile, which is noted by the fact it is all one terrain, has an arrow on top and has a Nature Token symbol on it, you will get a Nature Token. You can use these tokens at any time to take any combination of tile and token available, instead of the pairs laid out or wipe any number of animal discs back into the bag. Also, if three identical animal discs are in the shop the active player can wipe them for free. I feel there is just enough choice and ways to mitigate randomness to make every turn feel worthwhile and important.
Components
Beauty In Simplicity.
In Cascadia, there are not many components to talk about really, what is there is very functional, beautiful and needed. There is no fluff, over-elaborate nonsense or massive miniatures anywhere to be seen. You have cards, tiles, tokens and animal discs. Everything is well designed, looks lovely and made to a very high standard. The cards feel quality, the tiles are thick and the printed animal discs are a nice weight.
The graphic design on the tiles, cards and discs is very attractive. The animal photos are gorgeous, the terrain tiles are bright, bold and very clear and the animal discs are also very bold and clean looking. Cascadia leaves no option for confusion in the components with very little symbology, clear, precise art and high-quality design. It's all rather elegant, in a classically simple way.
Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed the puzzle that Cascadia offers. While it will not be everyone’s cup of tea, if you like tile-laying and puzzles it is definitely worth your time. While you are working single-handedly on your ecosystem, there is a small amount player interaction when selecting what to take on your turn. There is a little hate-drafting now and again, I’m looking at you Brian, nicking all the salmon! I personally don’t mind that at all, it gets people around the table talking and laughing.
There is a decent single-player mode, achievements to unlock, scenarios to try and for the price you pay, you get a lot of game and variety for your money. You can mix up the scoring using different cards and every game does feel slightly different depending on what comes out of the bag. When I need a little game that allows me to ponder, look at nice components and stunning animal art, Cascadia is up there with the best of them.
Editors note: This post was originally published on November 11th, 2021. Updated on July 27th, 2022 to improve the information available.
