A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from Tahiti designer, Kevin McPartland. In it he chastised me for mentioning, on GEnie, that I intended to title my review of his game, “Bore-a Bore-a”, and that without even playing it. He opined - and rightly so - that that was somewhat unfair. I explained that I had only meant it as a sort of off-hand pun, and that I would be glad to look more deeply at a work into which he had obviously put much thought - and soul.
Unfortunately, I found little reason to change my uninformed opinion, as you can see.
Tahiti, a game of clan warfare on that Polynesian island in 759 AD - one takes Kevin’s word for the exactitude of the date - is a thin game … at least physically, if not content-wise (although it’s close). It’s one of those games that it is so light you wonder why they didn’t just put a brick in it to give it some heft, if only so that the beancounters in the hobby don’t start ranting, yet again, about getting their money’s worth in paper.
The Joe Youst half map is very green, very blue, and very unfortunate. Looks like one of those Mayfair Games maps we suffered through in the early ‘80’s. (This is a phenomenon that appears to be spreading; cf. Command’s Bunker Hill.) On the other hand, the counters, from Beth Queman, are kind of fun, especially the war canoes. That there are only a half dozen or so different types of counters for each of the 4 possible clans does not make for a great deal of variety, however. On more of a plus side is the Rules Book, probably the best in recent 3W memory, including as it does some very interesting sidebar notes from Mr. McPartland. Actually, the most fun you have playing Tahiti is trying to pronounce all the island names, with much help from Kevin.
Essentially, Tahiti is Civilization for the poi and sarong set. Like all “empire-builder” games, it has two phases: Expansion and Interaction. Not that this is ever mentioned in the rules, it’s just the path of predestination these games all seem to follow. Here it is a bit more simplistic than most (all?) others.
Tahiti is a three-player game, although two- and four-player versions are available. Each player is a fledgling clan in one of the 17 areas, complete with Home Village, Head Chief, Shaman (nice counter), one “fighter” (shark-teeth studded club and rickety shield), and a bunch of locals. With nobody in the immediate area - other than other batches of harmless locals - you get down to building your little island empire. You can build lesser or better soldiers, more villages, even war canoes. To do this you have to move your population around and gather up Big Logs. (I kid you not.)
The problem with all of this is apparent after about 4 or 5 turns, which pass rather quickly. You see, all “builds” are automatic; you simply take one Big Log, put it in a Village, and you get a partly-built canoe next turn, and other like combos. There’s no dierolling, so it quickly becomes apparent what the fastest and most efficient way is to build up your little society. This means the Curse of Maximum Strategy, which means very little space for experimentation and eccentricity. (And no Marlon Brando counter either.) It also leads into the big flaw in the game, a flaw which, like the arrival of the white guys, is truly deadly to Tahiti.
You see, the only way units other than population get to move is by stacking with leaders. And the only way you get a new leader - called Clan Elders - is the ONLY dieroll in the expansion portion of the game. Roll an even number on the die, and you get no Elder. Now it doesn’t take long to figure out that you stand a fair chance, statistically, of getting lots of leaders or no leaders (which happened both times we played). And without leaders, you have no military power … and when that happens its time to jump into your war canoes and head for L.A.
And that’s what you do, literally. Getting tired of having your head bashed in by coconuts? Get thee down to the sea in ships, fella, and go looking for Hawaii. Can’t lose any worse than you already are. And if Faanauianaooia, God of Neato Dice, smiles favorably on you, and you land your canoe in New Zealand, or on Hawaii, or even Rapa Nui (the island, not the movie, thankfully) - never mind what the other semi-clothed types are doing to each other - you’ve got yourself a Substantial, perhaps even a Total, Victory.
Interesting idea … a self-inflicted deus ex machina. True, it does mirror Polynesian history, but it makes for some weird playing. On the other hand, it’s a good way to end the game when it gets too dreary in the Interaction part. And dreary it is, as armies are very limited as to size, and, thus, tend to be pretty much the same. This means it’s all down to the smiling visage of old Faanauianaooia. Not something I wanted to do more than once.
Before 3W got buried by the Long Arm of Alabama, plans were in place to do a series of games on this system, with Hawaii and Rapa Nui as probabilities. Why? What did anyone see in this as something people would play more than once?
Yes, it’s easy to play, and yes, it has some unusual flavor. And, for young kids who have yet to be introduced to Mortal Kombat or NHL Hockey, it could have some charm. But it has little depth and too much repetition of uninteresting mechanics. I felt kind of bad about this, as designer McPartland obviously had much feeling for the subject. There’s just not enough there to get too many others as interested.
So, the review title sticks. And, if anyone feels the urge to do a sequel, I suggest calling it “Son of Poi”, which is how you should treat it … like Poi Son.
CAPSULE COMMENTS:
Graphic Presentation: Not bad, with unfortunate map.
Playability: Very accessible and easy to play. Game takes maybe 2-3 hours. Solitaire is silly, even with the suggested rules.
Replayability. Downside of the curve; too much sameness, too much Maximum Strategy.
Creativity: Not enough variation in things to do.
Historicity: Seems good to me; nice notes on the era and people.
Wristage: Very little, but what there is is deadly.
Comparisons: As empire-builder games go, it’s tough to think of one that isn’t better … or at least more involving.
Overall: Only if it’s something you have to have.
from 3W Games
17” x 22” gamemap; 247 counters; Rules Book. Boxed. 3W, Don’t Bother Rd, They’re Not There Anymore, CA. $32(?)
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© Copyright 1994 by Richard Berg
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