Pyramid Review: Dvonn

Pyramid Review

Dvonn

Published by Don and Co/Rio Grande Games

Designed by Kris Burm

49 playing pieces, 1 game board, and rulebook; $29.95

Abstract strategy games have a tough life in the 21st century. Not only must they compete with collectible card games, roleplaying games, video games, and snacks, they also go head to head with classics of the genre that never seem to die such as Chess and Go. Add to this the growing library of free abstract strategy games for generic pieces such as Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set and Piecepack, and designing a marketable abstract strategy game seems impossible.

Dvonn, the latest two player game in the Gipf Project, may have what it takes to carve a niche for itself. It contains beautiful high-quality components, fascinating game mechanics, and, as a member of the Gipf Project, it expands an interlocking series of games.

Dvonn comes with 49 sturdy, plastic disks that stack nicely and have a speckled, marbleized look. The board is made from durable cardboard and displays textured art that looks like a stone table covered with sand. The 49 circle grid on the board fades in and out to further the illusion. Like all of the games in the Gipf Project, Dvonn has a solid aesthetic sense that makes the game almost as attractive to observe as it is fun to play.

The game begins with players alternating turns placing the three red Dvonn pieces on the board. Then they alternate placing their own disks, 23 white and 23 black. The player with the advantage . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.




Article publication date: March 1, 2002


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