Bruno Cathala is one of my favorite game designers. I love his Five Tribes , Yamatai and the Cyclades . This time, he created a game about alpine climbing as a duo. But if you’re expecting something similar to the above-mentioned titles, you might be surprised. Trek 12 is a roll & write in which Corentin Lebrat also dipped his fingers. He is the co-author of the very enjoyable family game Draftosaurus and the addition to the lovely family title Takenoko .
In the climber’s backpack
The box contains two cubic dice (0-5 and 1-6), assist cards, and three mountain route sheets – Dunai, Kagkot, and Dhaulagiri. In addition, six envelopes with surprises are also included, but can only be opened under certain conditions described in the manual. I will not reveal their content – discover them yourself.
There are three little sets of rules. The Wanderer’s Guide describes the “Quickly to the top” variant. This is the fastest and easiest single game option. The Climber Guide is an “Expedition”, i.e. three more and more difficult routes in a row, during which we use assist cards and we can achieve one of the goals that will allow the player to open the mysterious envelopes. The last booklet is the Loner Guide, which describes the solo game. We get Max, a fictional climber who is lazy and we have to fill in the second sheet for him.
Good way
And what does the climbing itself look like? The rules are very simple. One of the players rolls the dice. The thrown digits can be multiplied, subtracted or added, or choose a lower or higher digit (e.g. 2 and 4 were thrown, so the available options are 8, 2, 6, 2, 4). We mark our choice in the upper right corner of the sheet in the appropriate box. When a row is over, e.g. with a product, we can no longer use this operation. Their number is limited, so we must choose carefully.
Enter the selected number in any circle on the sheet. Successive numbers must be adjacent to previously filled fields. After each completion of the circle, we either connect it with the neighboring ones, if it is possible to create a chain of consecutive numbers (series), or paint it over, if it borders on the same numbers (areas). One square may belong to both groups and then it scores double.
After filling the entire sheet, we move on to the summary. Each row is worth the highest number in it and one point for each additional square in that construction (e.g. a row 1-2-3 is worth 5 points). We calculate the area in a similar way – the number of the area and one point for each additional field (e.g. 4-4-4-4 gives us 7 points). Moreover, the largest area and the longest row are additionally scored according to the information provided on the sheets. For each field not connected in any way with another, we get negative points.
In the variant with three routes, in order to pass a given sheet, we must achieve the number of points indicated on the sheet. Additionally, the person with the highest score receives reputation stars.
Step by step to the top
Trek 12 is a game I played 75 games online before the physical hit my table. I knew the rules well before I opened the box. In what form did I feel better? The answer is not simple, as there are several factors to consider. It is sure to play online faster and easier, because the results of the actions are immediately given as a number to choose from, and the fields are connected and painted over by themselves. In the paper version, we need to know math at a very basic level, which will not be a problem for adults, but it may take a while for the youngest players. This is not a downside, even through play it will allow you to learn the simplest activities, but you should be aware of it when playing with children.
As in most of the puzzle, we also make our movements at the same time, which significantly shortens the waiting time for the others. Of course, often someone thinks about their choice longer than their teammates, but it is not bothersome. During this time, the actions used are deleted, fields are joined or marked, and further steps are planned.
Exactly – planning. It is impossible to predict the next outcome, so it may seem that everything is subject to a great deal of randomness. It is a bit like that, but the path to success is good planning and securing potential future outcomes. A six may be adjacent to a five, another six or a seven, so it is a safe choice. On the other hand, the highest possible number, twelve, is rare and is combined with another twelve or eleven, which is also not frequent, but scores a lot of points. You have to find a golden mean.
You should also pay attention to limitations. The twelve mentioned above is the highest number that we can type in the worksheet, but there are also fields with bold lines. They mean that you can enter numbers from zero to six in a given district. Higher scores will equate to negative points, which we obviously don’t want. This increases the difficulty of the tracks, as does their shape. Dunai is such a warm-up – lots of adjacent fields and no restrictions. On the other hand, Kagkot and Dhaulagiri are paths with bold circles and more scattered fields.
There are also the mentioned assist cards in the “Expedition” variant. They can be obtained by creating an area of 0s, 1s or 2s. The compass allows you to enter a number in a field not adjacent to another, and schnapps allows you to roll the dice. Thanks to the tent, we can use the sum of numbers even if we have already used this option on the sheet, while the rope allows you to create a series without one mismatching field. The assist cards help to catch up on the score, but even without them, the game is really good.
The Trek 12 missing two things. We will not feel the climate of mountain climbing here for a penny. If anyone was hoping for a sports game, let him look for other titles. There is also no negative interaction because everyone is playing for themselves. We focus on our own sheet and try to achieve the highest score possible, but still have real opponents. Max in the solo game will not replace the other player who plans his actions just like us. However, I didn’t expect any interaction or atmosphere from a puzzle, so for me it’s just a feature of this type of game.
I will also mention the execution. Both the graphics and the paper refer to the theme of the game nicely, but I didn’t have any pencils in the box that you need to provide yourself. On the other hand, the size of the packaging, although adapted to the content, differs from the standard ones that I am used to. This is not a big minus, but for those who value order on the shelves, finding the right place for this game can be confusing.
