Alpino
The unique nature of the majestic Alps is the theme of the Alpino family game by Piatnik. New habitats for ibexes, lynxes, marmots, etc. are being created tile by tile. If you want to win, you need good tactics: will you specialize in one species of animal, or do you prefer to rely on diversity? But the competition doesn't sleep either, so the value of different animal species changes from round to round. Finally, points are awarded only for the largest group of each animal species. This requires special vigilance and flexibility, as well as paying attention to the activities of competitors.
There are 40 tiles in Alpino that depict animals in different landscapes. Each of them has animal figures or a watering hole. Depending on the number of players, in each round the appropriate number of tiles is placed face up in the center of the table. Before starting, you should also place scoring tiles with different animal species and a watering hole in a row. Throughout the game, we learn how valuable each type of animal or watering hole is. At the beginning, everyone receives a secret tile that can possibly turn the tide at the end of the game and thus ensure tension until the very end.
The game consists of several rounds, each of which brings new challenges and opportunities. Each round is divided into three phases. In Phase 1, you must expand your own area: on your turn, you choose one of the face-up tiles and place it on your own display. As with dominoes, you can only place them if at least one landscape type on the new tile matches at least one adjacent landscape type on a tile that is already placed. If this is not the case, the plate can be turned over. There are two water sources on the back of each tile that you can place anywhere in your area. As soon as everyone has done this exactly once, Phase 2 begins: increasing the animal population. The person with the starting tile grabs the landscape tile left on the market and slides it under the appropriate scoring tile, such as a lynx. This means that the area with the highest occurrence of lynxes is now worth two points. Once Phase 3 is reached, preparations are made for the next round. This is repeated until no more landscape tiles can be placed. Now things get interesting, there's a secret tile involved. Everyone in turn places it anywhere in their area, which may result in the largest group of a given animal species. Because that's the only way to get points. Their number depends on the number of landscape tiles among the point tiles. Points are awarded for each of five animal species and watering holes. Whoever scores the most points in total wins this tactical game for the whole family.