Rebirth Review
I would play 500 tiles, and I would play 500 more, just to be that man who played 1000 tiles and hopefully won some more-ore-ore. I realise this Proclaimers homage may be lost on many reading this review. The reason for it though, is it that the game Rebirth is set in Scotland and Ireland. And trust me, the song is a lot more savoury than my first draft which centred around the title of the board game. Without dwelling on that too long, let’s get on with a review of this Reiner Knizia title, Rebirth.
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Setup
First off, you are going to have to choose the Scotland or Ireland side of the board. Each side has slightly different setup with objective cards, but it’s not complex to follow along. There is also areas to block off at lower player counts and tiles to remove at higher player counts.
Then, give players components and tiles in their colour. If you can get hold of a fancy pants Kickstarter edition like mine, then you can just give each player one of the cloth bags in their preferred colours which will contain everything each player needs. Place everyone’s scoring blimp on the score track. Each player then has to randomly discard two tiles. They can look at them, but these will not be in use during the game. Then everyone draws their first token and starts to think where to place it on the board.
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Gameplay
On your turn you will place a tile, and score it if appropriate. Electricity farms and food farms can only be placed on blank spaces or those that have matching symbols. These score depending on how many of your tiles with the matching symbols it adjoins. If you have a tile with houses on it, these need to be placed in the settlement areas which have area majority scoring, or one of points for single tile settlement spaces.
If you place a tile beside a castle space and you have the majority of tiles around it, you get to place one of your castles there. These are worth five points at the end of the game, but control may go back and forth.
If playing Scotland, when placing a tile beside a cathedral space you can place a cathedral on that space. This means you can draw an end game scoring objective card. You can never have more than one of your cathedrals on a space but multiple players can stack their cathedrals on top of one another.
If you choose the Ireland side of the board, the objective cards are public and instead of cathedrals you have round towers that grant a bonus.
Players continue until all tiles are placed on the board. At that point score any incomplete settlements, castle and objective cards. Most points wins!
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What it’s like
Rebirth is a quick and snappy game to play. When you are looking to place your first tile there seems to be endless possibilities, but soon you will be trying to maximise points while also hindering your opponents in a tightly contested and congested Celtic arena. It is largely a point salad game, whereby you will gain points whatever you do, but making the most of every tile placement is where it gets interesting.
The objectives can dictate your play. Certainly on the Scottish board, the early game tends to be gathering as many of these cards via cathedrals as you can, so you know what you are working towards. Of course, completing them can be tricky and at the expense of other scoring opportunities.
While there is no direct player interaction, I find myself more compelled by other players turns, hoping they don’t place where I want to go, and checking if they steal a castle of mine, and then working out where I could place the tile in my hand.
Drawing your next tile at the end of your turn allows for quite a lot of forward planning and it really does help keep the game moving at a pace most of the time.
I do miss placing the cathedrals on the Irish board, they just feel underused as objective card completion markers!
The tie-conditions are very clear and the end game tie-breaker is brilliant. In one historic game, the third place player actually won the game!
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Table Presence
I love how Rebirth looks on the table, the castles, cathedrals and coloured tiles help make the board zing with colours and unique castle illustrations. I think it was an interesting decision to go with beige as one of the player colours – its not proving to be first choice for anyone! The tiles having different shapes should aid those with colour vision deficiency too.
The components are glorious. The little castles have an unequivocal charm to them with their little castellations and the interlocking nature of the cathedrals is strangely satisfying.
The luxury of backing this game on Kickstarter is that my tokens are chunkier, I have tuck boxes to store my cards in and the component bags are included. I like that the differences between the crowdfunded game and the retail edition hitting stores is not dramatically different, and certainly not in terms of gameplay.
The rulebook is good. The player aids seem superfluous to start with, but are more handy when referencing the Tower Tiles bonuses when using the Irish map.
If I could hope for anything from an expansion, as well as more maps, I would love to add a fifth player, as the game is quick enough to add an extra seat for families and those occasions when you want a five player game!
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RE-Wood®
On the original Kickstarter campaign they noted that: All 3D components are made out of RE-Wood®. RE-Wood® is an ecological material made from waste-products from wood production. It allows us to create mouldable 3D components without the use of plastics. All cardboard materials in Rebirth are FSC © certified . All raw materials used for the production of boxes, cards and other cardboard components come from sustainably managed forests… Rebirth will be manufactured in Europe, having significant CO2 emission savings from transport, especially for our EU customers.
I like how the publishers really wanted to look at alternatives to mass production in China, probably the cheaper option in terms of something more sustainable. They deserve praise for their approach and I hope other companies take note. I will note a few of the castellations have chipped off, but not enough to bother me.
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Final thoughts on Rebirth
I fell in love with Rebirth after my first play and it has just got better and better. It is a fantastic game in its weight and class. I’ve introduced it to lots of people too and there has been no negative feedback at all, just a desire to play it again!
Now I caveat all that previous paragraph by saying that this is on the lighter side of board gaming and it won’t scratch the super strategic itch for some. However, the elements of area control and vying for dominance and chaining for point scoring offers enough to entertain most seasoned board gamers.
This feels unequivocally like a Reiner Knizia board game. For a fan like me, that’s a good thing. I like how it is easy to teach and play, but that more strategy and depth unravels over time.
Rebirth is an easy game to recommend trying if you get the opportunity, and if you do, I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I am!
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Key Facts
Number of players: 2 to 4
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 9+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 10+
Playing Time: 45 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 3 minutes
Designers: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: Mighty Boards
RRP: £54.99
Summary
Oh my golly gosh, I think Rebirth is tremendous! It offers accessible gameplay but with super satisfying light strategy. Add to that, it is gorgeous with all the components. This game is a winner for me!
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- RE-Wood® components
- Simple to pick up and play
- Two different maps for variety
- Game moves quickly around a table
Cons
- Some castellations will chip off over time
- The name of the game
- Playing as beige
Need more games?
If you already own Rebirth and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Mille Fiori
- Witchstone
- Cascadia
- Looot
Buy Rebirth
If you want to buy Rebirth after reading our review click on one of our affiliate links below (note there has been no affiliate links until this point)
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. I backed this game on Kickstarter with my own hard-earned cash after seeing it at UKGE. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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