Bat colony

At Atiwa, our goal is to take care of our village. To this end, we discover new areas, plant trees, raise goats, hunt wild animals or build new settlements. The gameplay is divided into two parts. In the work phase, we send our three workers to different fields. Thanks to this, we obtain gold, bats, animals and families. However, we must place the acquired resources (except gold) on our terrain cards (divided into eight fields). In a given sector, there is usually also a symbol showing what object should be placed there. Thus, only a bat can be placed on the bat sign.

Interesting fact: after planting a tree, a place for fruit is automatically unlocked on it. It’s the same with families. If we educate them (turn the tile over), we can place a bat on them. We perform these three actions to go crazy in the cleaning phase. Because the more wild animals we have placed, the more additional trees will appear, and this will result in a bountiful crop of fruit, which in turn will tempt the bats to come to us. Individual elements affect the entire ecosystem! Additionally, our families mine gold. The chance of obtaining the ingot is 50%, in addition, pollution will block some of the fields on the terrain cards. That’s why it’s important to educate families. Then we have a guaranteed income and we do not damage the environment!

In the tidying up phase, we feed our charges. Goats produce milk, and when slaughtered, they also give the most meat. As a last resort, you can also eat bats or gold. The next step is reproduction. If the player meets the requirements of the round, they will receive an additional family or pet. The game ends after seven rounds. Points are scored for gold, educated families, and also for bats if we have more than ten of them. In addition, they score cards that we built with gold and trees (3 to 13 VP) or obtained for free (-5 to 3 VP). Also, the more objects we placed from our board (families, animals, trees, fruits), the more points we get.

It is worth taking care of nature

What I really like about Atiwa is that everything is connected here. Each element is more or less dependent on something else. Do you want to earn a lot of gold points? Then invest in families. Only first you need to acquire new cards, and for that you need wood and gold. In addition, if you don’t educate your families, you only have a 50% chance of getting the precious metal. And if you have a dozen families, then you have to feed them for something! And finally the circle closes. Almost none of the elements can be ignored. There has to be a certain balance, otherwise our entire economy will collapse.

Only bats break part of this chain. Although one of the bats is on the cover, you can marginalize their roles in your economy. Sometimes they are useful as food or to grow an extra tree (special bonus action), but you need at least eleven individuals to get any points from a colony. In my opinion, this is the most difficult and least effective way to get VPs.

Due to the close interdependence of all elements, the game loses a bit of replayability. The initial rounds are confusingly similar to each other. There’s no denying that we do the same thing all the time. We slightly modify our actions, but it is simply impossible to ignore certain elements. Let’s look at reproduction, for example. In each game, in the first round, among other things, you need to have two families in order to get another family for free. Who would despise such an opportunity?! That’s why one of my first moves is always to take in a second family. The gameplay, however, is so engaging that despite more than ten games, I still want to play one more game!

A lone farmer always has it up

Solo mode in Ativamakes an amazing impression. The only thing that changes in the game is that the placed workers from one round will block this field for the next two. The basic variant assumes reaching 120 points. However, what impressed me most was the solo challenges. Example Objective: “Complete the game without a single pollution token and score at least 100 points.” As you can see, families must be educated at all costs, otherwise you can lose in the first round! A great challenge that I had a lot of fun with (it’s the only solo game I ever won!). The theme with migration is also interesting, where two family tiles are discarded at the end of the cleanup phase. Suddenly, the demand for food is skyrocketing! Solo gameplay is rewarding and engaging, but also very challenging. Some goals seem impossible to me, e.g. creating a colony of 40 bats (my record is 25 bats). Anyway, I’ll try anyway!

In addition, during a lonely game, fate can be more difficult. With a hopeless draw of cards, some goals simply cannot be achieved. Nevertheless, if someone loves economic games, and often has no one to play with, Atiwa will be a hit!

A hut made of clay

The performance of the game is amazing. Plenty of wood! Bats, goats, fruits or wild animals look beautiful (in my copy there was one bitten element). In addition, tokens of families and trees made of thick cardboard. The game looks beautiful on the table! I like the graphics and performance. Even unlike other reviewers, I’m not going to complain about the cover.

I would stick to other elements instead. Firstly, the scoring block consists of only 25 single-sided sheets. Secondly, the game sometimes loses a bit of legibility. Bats are placed on the colonies, so they are sometimes easily overlooked. And thirdly – the preparation of the game is a pain. Each player must place several dozen tokens and wooden elements on the board. Theoretically, a -2 VP token for not feeding families would also be useful in the game, because instead during the game you have to write this information on a score block. However, I have never had such a situation, so – like the previous three comments – these are only minor, insignificant minuses.

Is it worth living in Ghana?

Atiwa delighted me, and not from the first batch. As soon as I read the instructions, I knew it was going to be a brilliant game. What’s more, after a cursory reading of the information about this position, I felt that it would be a hit. I haven’t played any of Rosenberg’s economic games, so my delight is all the greater. For me, all these ideas are fresh and innovative. After Atiwa , I will certainly be happy to reach for more complicated games by this author. I recommend this board game to everyone. It’s one of the two best games I’ve reviewed this year (the other being Turbo , of course ).