On the surface this appears to be another tile laying game, but there’s an elegance and attention to detail that is rare in the board gaming world.
Board Game Scores & Ranks:
- BGG Weight: 2.29
- Play time: 45-60 Mins
- Player Count: 1-4 players
- Year Published: 2020
The One Hundred Torii Board Game Designer & Publisher:
Designers: Eduardo Baraf and Scott Caputo
Publisher: Pencil First Games
Game Mechanisms:
- Tile Laying
- Set Collection
Board Game Theme:
The game is based on travelling through Japanese gardens while passing through Torii gates. The different elements of the game have cultural significance.
Many of the designers have lived and/or had great interest in Japan and it shows. The rulebook contains a short guide explaining the historical significance of all the pieces.
Goal of Game:
Collect most VP by end game. You collect VPs through set collection.
Interesting Elements:
Build your Japanese garden as you collect sets of the different items on the board. Pass through as many gates as possible on your journey.
Crunchy Decision Making
Early game is quick, as you are basically deciding where to lay down tiles to obtain goods and travel through Torii gates. But towards the end the tile board has expanded and the decisions become less obvious.
Special helpers give you powers to mitigate rules and give yourself bonus abilities.
Do I place a tile here for my benefit, but open up a move for my opponent? Do I go for a certain end game bonus before my opponents grab it? These decisions give pause, but don’t slow the game down too much.
Board Game Replayability Review:
9 / 10 (Goes the Distance)
Based on 14 Plays
- GREAT sense of progression
- High player interaction
- Excellent rulebook and easy teach
- Quick and easy set up
- Some crunchy decisions in a light-weight game
- Unique puzzle each game
- This is one of those ‘one more play’ types of games
Who is this Game For?
We recommend this game to individuals who enjoy tile laying games but want the extra challenge of solving a puzzle as you go. Anyone can get this game to the table due to the low rules overhead, though gamers will enjoy the sense of progression from game to game.
For us, The One Hundred Torii Goes the Distance and is staying in our collection.