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There are several abstract (or mostly abstract) games on the market. Rarely do these capture people’s imagination enough to become especially popular – a recent successful example is Azul, which seemed to spread through board game collections like wildfire, making Michael Kiesling’s name much more commonplace.
Nova Luna is a similarly abstract game, with Uwe Rosenberg’s name on the cover. But will it hold the same sort of universal appeal as Azul?
Overview
At its heart, Nova Luna is a tile drafting and tile laying game. On their turn, a player selects a coloured tile from the next three available, and places it in their play area (orthogonally adjacent to an already played tile).
Each tile has a number of “tasks” – when a task is completed, it is covered by a player token. The tasks are completed by arrangements of colours of other adjacent tiles, so careful choice and placement of tiles are key to winning the game. The first player to place all of their tokens is the winner.
And that’s it. It really is a simple game to explain, but, with limited choices, planning can be crucial, making the game feel a lot deeper than its simple execution implies.
Gameplay
Turn order is determined by a rondel – the “moon track” - the player in the rear position is the next player – which can potentially mean several turns at once. On their turn, they take a coloured tile from the next three available. Tiles are arrayed on another rondel, so you can see which other tiles will be available in future. Each tile has a “time” value on it, which tells the player how many spaces to move forward on the moon track, thus revealing which player takes their turn next. This may mean that the same player gets to take another turn (and managing this is a key strategy in the game).
When a tile is taken, the player places this tile in their player area, adjacent to another tile. Each tile has a number of tasks marked on it (tiles with higher time values typically have more tasks – and these are potentially easier tasks to complete).
Tiles and Tasks
A task is a demand for adjacent tiles; all tiles are one of four colours – a task may demand three adjacent red tiles, for instance. However, at first glance, not all tasks are attainable – for instance, a tile may show three tasks – three red tiles, three blue tiles and two yellow tiles. This would seem to require eight adjacent tiles, but since the tiles are square, there are only spaces for four adjacent tiles. So there is a trick; continuously arranged adjacent tiles of the same colour all count towards a task. So if there is only one red tile adjacent to the aforementioned tile, if that red tiles has two further red tiles adjacent to it (or a second with a third adjacent red tile) this will complete the “three reds” task.
Similarly, a tile may have a “one turquoise” and a “three turquoise” task. These tasks are not exclusive, so if this tile has three adjacent turquoise tiles, this will complete both tasks.
It follows, therefore, that it is possible to complete several tasks at once – and it is really important to keep an eye on tasks which may be embedded in the middle of your play area, as long overlooked tasks may suddenly be completed.
When a task is completed, the player covers this task with a token – all players start the game with 21 tokens (although it is recommended to reduce this for new players).
When a tile is taken from the display, it is not replaced – this is really important as it affects planning. When there are fewer than three tiles, a player has the option to choose from the remaining tiles, or refresh the display (thereby always giving players the option to choose from three tiles).
Play continues until a player places their last token. The game immediately ends, and this player is declared the winner. Alternatively, if a player cannot take a tile because there are no remaining tiles, this also ends the game – the player with the fewest remaining tokens is therefore the winner.
Final thoughts
For a game with such a simple premise, with rules which can be explained in three or four sentences, there is a surprising amount of “thinkiness” to Nova Luna. It typically plays in around 30 to 45 minutes, depending on player count.
And speaking of player count, this is a really rewarding game to play with two players. However, as with several games in which the in-game choices are depleted by other players on their turns, it can become a little more frustrating with more players. With four, it can be impossible to plan longer term, which can result in a lot more thinking time on your turn (I would call this the Five Tribes effect, if you know that game). It is also much more likely that you will see the entire selection refreshed every two or three turns, which can also make planning ahead more challenging (though also interesting).
Will it have long term replayability? Time will tell, I guess. Sometimes games which are rules-light fail to continually hit that sweet spot, though I suspect Nova Luna may be a long-term keeper, because of how much thinking outweighs the simple rules.
