Rule the sultanate of Naqala by controlling the meeples of Five Tribes!
Five Tribes is played in the land of 1001 Nights where the old sultan have just passed. Players have to maneuver the Five Tribes of Assassins, Elders, Builders, Merchants, and Viziers to gain influence and take over the legendary sultanate of Naqala.
The game employs a unique twist on the worker placement mechanic. The meeples of the five colours representing each tribe have already been randomly placed within the tiles that make up Naqala at the start of the game. Players have to pick up and drop these meeples into the villages, markets, oases, and sacred places tiles. They then obtain all meeples of the same colour of the last dropped meeple, activating the abilities of the represented tribe, collecting resources and invoking powerful Djinns that assist the players with earning income.
Gameplay in Five Tribes is streamlined and easy to learn but surprisingly cutthroat. You will require a calculated approach and consider what moves can score well while blocking optimal moves for your opponents. You need to weigh between the various avenues to victory and decide on which tribe to prioritize at specific phases of the game.
Another plus point is that different player counts will require different strategies due to the limited resources and how these resources contribute to scoring. This offers added replayability to the already high replay value of the randomised set-up of tiles and meeples. I believe that fans of light to medium strategy games will love Five Tribes!
P.S. The copy of Five Tribes you see in the photos have been supplemented with The Artisans of Naqala expansion, which provides a sixth tribe of Artisans, workshop tiles and magic items. It also comes with a chasm tile and mountain makers that force the players to adapt their movements to the landscape. Gamers that enjoy more complex and heavier games will appreciate the extra level of difficulty that the expansion provides.
If you would like to learn how to play the game, watch this short explanation video by Watch It Played.
And if you prefer watching a full playthrough, I recommend this episode of TableTop with Wil Wheaton!
Love Five Tribes? You will definitely enjoy Teotihuacan too! Check out our first impressions here!
