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Five addictive tabletop games for rainy autumn days
by Ramon Schneider
Mountains: A game for mountaineers
19.3.2019
Translation: machine translated
If you can't wait for good hiking weather, "Mountains" is the right parlour game for you. Here you can tackle various mountain tours even when it's raining and try to collect more summit stamps than your fellow players.
"It's early in the day, the peaks are shining in the first morning light and the sun is gradually creeping deeper into the valley. The mood in the mountain hut is one of optimism." The game instructions begin with this introductory text. "Hiking boots are hastily laced up and rucksacks packed. Only those who take care of their equipment in time can complete the day's stage and receive the coveted summit stamps in the evening." To put it in a nutshell: Get as many of them as you can!
Game content:
62 tour cards, 32 equipment cards, cloth bag with 70 blue and 10 yellow favour stones, 5 summit booklets, 1 mountain map, 1 tear-off pad with season maps, 1 summit stamp with ink pad
Recommended age:
8 years and older
Number of players:
2 to 5 players
Playing time:
20 minutes
Game preparation
At the start of the game, each player receives a season booklet for the summit tokens, eight favour tokens and 3 equipment cards (for five players). Then place the game board in the centre of your table and place the tour cards on it. You must sort them according to their level of difficulty. The easy tours go on the far left. The further to the right you go on the board, the more difficult the tours become. However, there are also bigger prizes waiting for you there.
Playing the game
According to the instructions, the player who has climbed the highest mountain of all the other players gets to start. The game then continues clockwise. Each turn, you have the opportunity to complete a mountain tour. You can choose any route on the game board. The higher the difficulty level of your tour, the more equipment you will need. Once you have decided on a tour, take the card from the board, turn it over and place it face up on the table.
You can now see which items of equipment you need for the tour. If you don't have all or any of them in your hand, you can borrow the equipment from your fellow players. If you ask another player for an item, you must give them a favour token in return. Even if they don't have the item you want. It is therefore worth remembering which other player has which equipment during the course of the game. You can keep asking each player until you have no more favour tokens.
Once you have collected all the items, you have successfully completed the mountain tour. You will receive the reward shown on the card. This could be more favour stones or the coveted summit stamps. If you fail in your attempt, you come away empty-handed and it's the next player's turn.
Playing
The instructions state that the game ends as soon as two tour card stacks of difficulty level 3, 4 or 5 have been used up. If this is too little or too much for you, you can also set your own individual deadline at the start of the game.
Once the game is over, the player with the most summit stamps on their season sheet wins. It can happen that two or more players have the same number of stamps. In this case, the winner is the player who also has the most favour tokens in their possession.
What I think of the game
Mountains is a game that I really enjoyed. Not only because I quickly understood the instructions, but also because I was challenged mentally. Because if you don't want to waste all your favour tiles, you have to remember what equipment cards your fellow players have in their hands. This mountain tour game also has beautifully illustrated details, which extend from the packaging to the game board and the instructions. But as it's not just my opinion that counts, I asked my fellow players to draw a small conclusion:
What my fellow players think of the game
Simon Balissat finds the mix of memory and card game appealing. He also finds the fact that the game forces you to work together exciting. Our sports editor Patrick Bardelli particularly likes the graphic design. It is simple and beautiful. His only criticism is the size of the summit map: "You probably have to play for a very long time to fill it." Carolin Teufelberger disagrees with Patrick's opinion. She would welcome it if more had been made of the game visually: "The summit booklet is nicely done, but the cards and especially the playing field are a little too simple in design." Raphael Knecht agrees with Carolin's opinion. He also thinks the favour stones are too small: "They quickly fall off the table and can no longer be found. That could have been done better." However, Raphael enjoyed the game. He urged me to mention that he had won. 😎
Riding my motorbike makes me feel free, fishing brings out my inner hunter, using my camera gets me creative. I make my money messing around with toys all day.
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