It’s fun to see some non-traditional board game concepts make it to the table, with unique mechanics. Maps of Misterra takes a page from the tile-laying playbook as you attempt to match terrain types and move your explorer around the board. But, in a twist, the map you make on your own player board can be different from what’s on the shared Island board, with the flip of a tile making all the difference. Combining placement, exploration and strategy and a simple yet elegant art style, it’s a thoughtful experience that has you thinking differently, while adapting to what your fellow Cartographer’s decisions are at the same time.
Essentially, Maps of Misterra has you building a shared island map using tiles with four separate terrain types. Sketch cards – two terrains side by side – need to be played to confirm the terrain that is placed on the board. This means that, at least initially, the tiles that you’re placing on the island don’t mean anything until they are flipped over to the ‘confirmed’ side. You can only place tiles in spaces connected to others, and your Cartographer meeple has to be able to access them, using a sort of ‘line-of-sight’ system.
You’ll want to try and connect terrains together, based on personal goals that you’ll receive at the start of the game, and the fact that if you choose to claim a territory, you’ll get bonus points for how large it is. This is where things get shady. You can’t confirm a terrain type on the same turn that it is placed as an unconfirmed one, in most cases, so it’s entirely possible for another player to come in and change terrain to something else, confirm it, and earn points from their personal player board before you’ve finished what your plans are. Forethought comes into play, and the choices made by your opponents can drastically impact your ability to achieve your personal goals.
“Where Maps of Misterra really shines is how the Island map grows over time.”
Where Maps of Misterra really shines is how the Island map grows over time. With each tile placed, the world of Misterra becomes more intricate, leading to tense moments as players jostle for position for control of key areas or cut off their opponents from valuable territories. This creates a constant push-pull dynamic, where no move is insignificant, and long-term strategy is essential.
An additional factor is that each terrain offers a different ability if you’re standing on it. For example, one allows you to move an additional tile with your Cartographer and can be chained together for maximum effect. The Lagoon tiles allow you to discard a sketch card from the display and draw a new one, opening up new tile placement options. On the flip side, Jungle tiles prevent you from Mapping, which can be a pain – and each island setup has Jungle tiles in play, so you’re stuck avoiding them or moving through them slowly.
I’ll be honest, it took our group a bit of time to get our heads around Maps of Misterra and how it works. The idea of placing tiles and then claiming them on our own personal boards isn’t a natural rhythm compared with other tile-laying games where what you see is what you get. I almost had to rewire my own brain a little bit to find a flow. That said, once it clicked it became quite fun, and quite competitive, blocking one another from key decisions and making big moves that, eventually, paid off.
It’s certainly an interesting theme, and the ever-changing nature of Maps of Misterra means that no two games are alike, so in that sense, it earns a gold star for replayability. What looks like a simple tile-laying game on the surface quickly evolves with personal objectives, other player decisions and a little bit of luck going a long way in deciding who will be crowned victorious. I lost count of the number of times I whispered “you little…” under my breath as another player made a move that helped them, indirectly ruining my schemes.
Given its untraditional nature, it might be the kind of board game that is easier explained to folk who don’t have a bunch of pre-conceived concepts in their mind about tile-laying games. It also offers a well-designed solo mode if you’re looking to test your Cartography skills on your own, making it more of a puzzle challenge that is also quite successful.
Despite a slightly slow pace and a bit of a confusing concept, Maps of Misterra introduces some new ideas with interactivity that sets it apart from tried-and-true board games in your collection.
Maps of Misterra is available now in all good board game stores. Thanks to VR Distribution for providing a copy for this review.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
