Mandala: Sand In Your Eyes
Not As Nice As You Might Think
The Box
Created By : Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert Published by: Lookout Games
It’s been the season for two-player games for a while now—you know, because reasons—and so it’s not a surprise my table has been home to a chock-full of 2-player games. Titles like Fox in the Forest Duet, Jaipur, and even games that cater pretty well for 2-players like Carcassonne and Santorini have been staples gracing game nights for what it seems like an eternity (yes, it really feels like an eternity).
The most recent of these games is something of a hidden gem: Mandala. Nestled in publisher’s Lookout Games 2-player series, Mandala is a splendid hand management and set collection game that can be hashed out in small bite-sized 20 minute sessions. It’s a swift, focused design in the same vein as Lookout Games’ other notable and personal favorite, Patchwork, and while I feel Uwe’s design is just a tad bit more complex and satisfying in the end, Mandala still manages to create nervy yet rewarding moments within those timely sessions.
And if you think you’re here for a pleasant jaunt, after all mandalas are thoughtful, meditative pieces, well I’m here to tell you that Mandala the game is a rather passive aggressive affair.
The Setup
One Grain at a time
Let’s get something out of the way; Mandala is not amicable. Expectations based on the (pretty pasted on theme) might lead you to believe that on a surface level this is a friendly game for peaceful-minded folks looking for a pleasant time.
It’s not.
It’s actually a very prickly back and forth bit of play. If actual mandalas are painstakingly created grain by grain as an exercise in contemplative meditation of one’s self and the world around them, this—this—Mandala is basically an exercise in pouring sand in your opponent’s eyes every chance you get. Surprising, sure, but welcomed.
This is due to what you’re actually trying to accomplish whilst playing—mainly, trying to obtain cards at the right time that will gather you the most points, while diminishing or outright dashing your opponent’s chances of gathering their cards. Now, it’s not inherent that players sharpen their knives to win, but after a few plays under you, you’ll soon realize the merit of sidetracking your counterpart in any small way possible; even placing one opportune deviation into your opponent’s plans can have drastic scoring outcomes at the end of the game. Margins are thin here, but that’s what makes Mandala compelling.
And by initial looks and early plays, you’d be lulled into thinking this game is a bland, surface level hand management game due to its deceptively simple play. Here is the gist of how it functions; Players will start with a hand of six cards, potentially holding one or more of the six colors available: orange, black, purple, yellow, green or red. Then, a player will decide to place a card(s) onto one of two zones afforded, each with three locations, two of which you may place cards in: a field or a mountain. The field is a personal area where only you can place cards in, and the mountain is a communal strip running down the middle of the board where both players may place cards of their choosing. This is also an important area of the game, as this mountain will determine what will be available for drafting into your river to score points off these cards. This river is important as it’s six slots where you’ll be placing cards in the order you draft them. Each slot of the river has a point value, going from the least lucrative (one point) to the most (six points). You must always go in order from the least points to the most as you draft these cards, color by color. Once you have drafted and placed cards in your river, any extra cards of those colors already in there will be placed in your cup, a bank if you will of what you’ve collected.
So then, where you place a card depends on what you tactically want to accomplish. If you like to be fleet of foot, you’ll love this game, as one simple card placement by your counterpart can impact what decision you make on your turn as to whether to place a specific colored card onto the board or not. Why the color of a card matters is exactly what propels Mandala into fascinating cutthroat territory.
In Mandala, a color may only be present in one of the three locations available, each player’s fields or the central mountain location. Since you can’t place cards into your opponent’s field, you only have control of what is placed into your own field or the mountain area. For example, placing two yellow cards into your field will deny your opponent the chance of placing any yellow cards in their field or the mountain. This restriction opens up some clever ways of manipulating how a particular mandala is created (a mandala is formed once all six colors are present in the zone) since the mountain is the only place where you can draft cards from, any card your opponent might need can be cut off if you place it into your field. Ooof, I’ve had my share of moments of panic once I’ve realized I no longer have the option to pick up a colored card I desperately needed. Knowing I need a green card to draft it into my 4 point slot and having my foe across from me place three green cards into their field and that color might as well be on the other side of the Himalayas.
And this is a quandary for you at some point in the game, because as you draft and place cards in your river, your fellow player opposite you will start to deduce what cards you’ll want and need to draft for those higher slots, but the inverse is true as you’ll also start parsing where their needs are driving at.
The permutations are deep here and it’s why Mandala is so enjoyable. It’s truly a great example how good designers can muster a lot of depth from simplicity, and when games are an art form to appreciate is when they can be easy to understand yet takes concerted effort to master.
Two yellow cards on the field versus none for the opponent means you pick first from the mountain once all six card colors are present.
Be At Peace With YOut Point Total
There is a simplicity here that buries the actual tactical depth present in Mandala. You, after all, are just placing cards in specific areas and then drafting cards to score them later. However, you quickly realize that just placing and picking up cards isn’t the full scope of how to be consistently good at Mandala. The real game is understanding your own situational game state based on the cards in your hand and cup, and making decisions on when to play cards to increase your scoring while simultaneously denying your opponent’s prospects to score points themselves. It’s as much about timing as it is about deduction.
It’s a waltz where you carefully dance together, sweeping and swooping as you place cards down, until it’s the opportune time to step on your partner’s toe so they can gracefully fall flat on their face, until they turn around and do the same to you.
This is why Mandala is a crazy good little game. It’s enough of a satisfying appetizer before a heavier dish, but just the same engrossing enough to whittle your night away entirely. If you enjoy a good solid card game with easy mechanics that can be fit in less than thirty minutes, I can’t think of a better game than Mandala.
To Consider
Good
A tight filler game well suited for 20-30 minutes sessions
Great table presence with the handkerchief board and colorful cards
If you like to sleeve your cards, the box accommodates for them (70x 70)
Very clear rule book. You’ll be playing in no time
Okay
More tactical than strategic; If you like to plan well ahead this is not for you, although it’s a plus for me
Box could be a tad smaller as the cards don’t have a dedicated space. They will float around the box when not in use
