Tsuro Board Game Review:
In Turso, you will build a path on a limited board. Each tile you place leads you further into the twisting paths. Whoever can stay on the board the longest wins. Will you try to wall off your own section of the board and outlast your opponents? Or will you get your hands dirty and try to hunt down certain players? Either way, you will have a blast trying to strategically place tiles in Turso.
Setup
Shuffle the deck of tiles and place them next to the board with the Dragon tile on the bottom of the deck.
Deal 3 tiles to each player.
In turn order, each player places their token on one of the paths connecting to the edge of the board.
How to Play
On your turn, you select a path tile from your hand to place in front of your token.
Move your token along the built path until the path ends. This may have you crossing multiple tiles. If the tile you placed is in front of any number of opponents, move their tokens until the end of the path.
Draw a tile from the deck to end your turn.
You are eliminated if your token reaches one of the possible starting spaces on the board’s edge during any player’s turn. If your token runs into another token, both players are eliminated. When you are eliminated, shuffle your hand into the deck (ensuring the dragon tile stays on the bottom of the deck). All remaining players continue the game until there is only one player left standing.
If you would draw a tile from the deck and the deck is empty, instead draw the dragon tile. Whenever a player is eliminated when the deck is empty, their shuffled hand will become the new deck. Starting from the player with the dragon tile, each player with less than 3 cards draws from the deck. If everyone has 3 cards, put the dragon tile on the bottom of the deck. If some players don’t have 3 tiles in hand, the next player who would have drawn takes the dragon tile.
Pros
Tsuro is very versatile. It works with a large number of people, is simple enough for anyone, and is quick to play. This works incredibly well when you have various people who usually wouldn’t enjoy the same board game. This makes Turso an excellent game for any group.
Tsuro is simple. You can teach it in a minute and seamlessly start a game with new players.
Cons
Turso has many decisions that matter, but it’s hard to predict the outcome of each scenario. You will often not have the right tile to do what you want. And there are several turns where it basically doesn’t matter what you do on your turn. This results in Turso having very few critical choices, making most turns feel like you have no effect on the game.
In the last few turns, it can be difficult to get a hand that will be helpful. Making the last few turns feel more random than skill. Though this can be mitigated by planning ahead and keeping tiles with variety.
It can be frustrating when someone isolates themself in a corner without any paths leading to it. Because they have 3 turns to stall while all the other players run out of their section of the board. This is bad because everyone knows who will win. You will be playing out the last 5 minutes of the game playing for 2nd.
Accessibility
Color Blind: Some of the tokens are hard to tell apart. If playing with the colorblind, you should have up to 6 people playing instead of the possible 8 players. Double-check with your colorblind friend, but I recommend removing 2 of the following colors: red, green, and brown. If you play with 7-8 players, it will be slightly more difficult to tell who each player’s token is.
Reading: There is no reading required.
Children: Children may need help to move the pieces correctly. But they might have fun picking out a tile from your hand, and if you show them where to place it, they could have fun, but I wouldn’t recommend playing with young children.
Who would love this game?
Turso is perfect for people who need a board game for every occasion. While it’s not the best at any 1 thing, it is surprisingly great at most things. So no matter your player count, time, or mental capacity, Turso will be a good choice. This also works great as a filler game. Playing between or before complex games.
Final Thoughts
Turso is a great filler and one of the most versatile games. Tursos simple rules and extensive range make it great for almost any group. If you enjoy a specific game that has several tough choices, Tsuro may not be for you. On the other hand, if your looking for a game that will always find its way to the table, is versatile, or just looking for a game for new players, Turso would be a great choice.
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