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Bernie DeKoven
The FunDay Times
July 2003
USA
At our more-or-less weekly Game Tastings, we have come to
have increasing respect for strategy games
that are easy to learn, that challenge the intelligence, and
are built on some unique principle. Primarily because
there are so darn few of them. Fire and
Ice is one of the few.
One of a series of four, finely crafted wooden Masterpiece
Games from Out of the Box Publications, Fire and Ice is a
bit like playing seven games of tic-tac-toe, simultaneously.
But only enough of a bit to make the game easy to understand.
And then, the fun starts.
When you move one of your pegs, you have to put one of your
opponent's pegs into the hole that you just vacated. The effect
of this rule is to create a kind of mental tickle as you try
to contemplate each move from the twin perspectives of your
position and your opponent's.
There's a lovely, mathematical symmetry to the design of
the board: "The board contains seven raised triangular
islands. Each island has seven holes and the playing pegs
fit into these holes. On each island, six lines and a circle
connect the holes to make seven groups of three holes each.
The islands themselves are also connected together in the
same pattern."
Fire and Ice is a welcome addition to our collection of
Major FUN Award winning strategy games - unique, easy to learn,
a game that takes 20-30 minutes to play, and yet is deep enough
for some deliciously deep thinking.
Back to FIRE AND
ICE Reviews page
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