Thurn and Taxis
- Players
- 2-4
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 3 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 60 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 10+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.3 / 5
- Year
- 2006
About the game
In Thurn and Taxis, players build postal routes across Bavaria and its surrounding regions by melding city cards into ever-growing chains. Each completed route of at least three cities can be scored to place post offices, collect bonus tiles, or upgrade to better carriages. Players must decide when to keep extending a route versus locking in its rewards, since abandoning a route forfeits the cards played. The game ends when a player runs out of post offices or reaches the highest carriage value.
Hobbli's Notes
Thurn and Taxis is an elegantly tight route-building design that earned its Spiel des Jahres win by being easy to teach yet full of real decisions. The tension of deciding when to end a route versus push for one more city is the heart of the game. Its main drawback is a somewhat dry, abstract theme and a risk of a runaway leader if bonus tiles snowball for one player.
What we like
- Elegant, tightly designed route-building system.
- Quick to teach yet offers genuine strategic depth.
- Satisfying tension in deciding when to end a route.
- Quality components and rewarding bonus tile collection.
Keep in mind
- Theme can feel thin and abstract for some players.
- Risk of a runaway leader in the closing turns.
- Limited direct interaction between players.
Who it's for
Fans of route-building and set-collection euros, great for families and casual groups of 2 to 4 ages 10 and up.
