by jebry
Overview:
Basari is a light weight negotiation game that plays 3-4 players and can be completed in under an hour. That makes it an ideal filler game to start the night (while you wait for everyone to show up) or to finish the night (while you wait for the rest of the games to complete). I'll review the gameplay and rules and then provide some assessments.
Game and Rules:
In Basari you play the part of gem merchants who buy, sell and barter four types of gems, in order from best to worst: red, yellow, green and blue. Each player starts with three of each type of gem, three action cards, one die and three pawns (one to track score, one to move and one to mark your starting spot). The board consists of a scoring track, a movement track and four carpets to hold the gem supplies (there are 25 of each type of gem in the game). Every one chooses a starting arch on the board and places their starting marker and their merchant on that arch. They also place their scoring marker on the zero spot of the scoring track. The game consists of three rounds each with a variable number of turns. At the end of three rounds the person with the most VPs wins.
Every turn has two phases: movement and action. For the movement phase the player who is ahead on the VP track will roll their die and everyone moves their merchant pawn clockwise around the movement track the indicated number of arches. Each arch has two values associated with it: a certain number of gems (in one color or a combination of colors) and a certain number of victory points (varying from 4-7 VP).
After moving, every player is allowed to choose one action out of the following three possibilities:
1. Gems - The player receives the gems indicated under their arch.
2. VPs - The player receives the VPs indicated under their arch.
3. Roll die - The player rolls their die and moves the indicated number of spaces. And then gains 6-(their roll) VPs
If only one player chooses an action then they get to do it. If 3+ players choos an action then noone gets to do it. If exactly two players choose an action then the negotiation starts!
To negotiate each player offers the other player a number of their own gems for the right to take the action chosen. It starts with the player ahead on the VP track (or by random die rolls if they are tied) who must offer some gems or just allow the other player to take the action (which is very rare!!). Then it alternates between the players who must either accept the offer, or raise it. To raise the offer, they must increase the number of gems or the value of the gems. using the value order listed above. Each offer is distinct from the previous one so a player can take back gems and totally redo their offer as long as it is more valuable then the existing offer. Once a player accepts an offer, then the other player completes their chosen action.
These turns continue until at least one players merchant piece lands on or past their starting marker. That completes a round. At the end of a round there is a scoring turn. The player with the most of a certain color of gem is allowed to sell some gems to the market for victory points:
Red - 14VP
Yellow - 12VP
Green - 10VP
Blue - 8VP
The player scores these VPs and returns three gems to the general supply. If there is a tie then each tying player shares the VP (rounding down) and returns two gems to the general supply. Then every player whose merchant piece made a complete circuit (landed on or passed their starting marker) gets 10VP as a bonus. Then all players move their starting marker to their merchant and they start the next round. After three rounds, whoever is ahead wins.
Assessments:
Gameplay: Basari is fun to play because, even though it is light and fast, deciding on your actions can be very difficult. You definitely need to avoid negotiations as much as possible so you have to very aware of other players' situations at all times. It is very interactive!
My Score: 5/5
Theme: Sorry, but the theme is meh. You can describe the game in terms of the theme, but it would be just as fun as a total abstract!
My Score: 2/5
Components: They walk the line between durable and inexpensive very well with Basari! The gems are standard colored plastic gems but the board is heavy stock and the pieces are wood. The action cards are a bit thin, but that is ok since they don't need to be shuffled.
My Score: 4/5
Scalability: Basari scales extremely well, but that is mainly due to the fact that it is only for 3-4 players.
My Score: 3/5
Overall: Basari is well worth the price and will get a lot of play time in most game groups because it fits its roll of a filler game very well. I don't think you will be disappointed if you get this one!
My Score: 4/5"
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