Sagrada
Greetings crafters, puzzle fans and anyone who is like myself who is attracted to beautiful board game artwork! Let me introduce you to the world of Sagrada made by Floodgate Games. In Sagrada, you are an artist that is tasked to design a beautiful stained glass window. Your tools include: the dice (that symbolize the glass), a window pattern card that ranges in difficulty, 3 public objectives, 1 private objective, and 3 tool cards that can be purchased with your favor tokens. This game can play 1-4 players, takes about 30-45 minutes to play and is recommended for players ages 13+. If you are interested in a strategy, dice drafting board game with some basic math (specifically at the end when you add up points) this is the game for you.
Sagrada also has 3 expansions: Passion, Life, and Glory which doesn’t have a release date yet. There is also a 5-6 player expansion which also includes additional items to help play the game in other ways. Lastly, it is also available for purchase for Apple, Android & in the NintendoSwitch online store. The base game can range between $35 to $40, the expansions range between $17-$21 each, the app version $7, and the NintendoSwitch game $20. Please note the NintendoSwitch version is only available in the Nintendo eStore.
Ease of Set Up and Play
In Sagrada, each player is given: 1 Window Frame Player board and its corresponding score marker (the color of the board does not have any impact in game scoring); 1 random window pattern card, 1 private objective card chosen at random and favor tokens based on the level of difficulty at the bottom of their window pattern card. If it has 3 dots that is the easiest then goes up to 6 dots being the hardest. The higher the difficulty the more favor tokens (ex: 3 dots at the bottom = 3 favor tokens). The window pattern card is then inserted at the bottom of the player board revealing the player’s stained glass (or puzzle) to complete.
Once the player boards are set up, next three public objectives and three tool cards are placed for all players to see along with the bag of dice. The amount of dice to choose from each round depends on how many players there are (ex: 2 players: 5 dice, 3 players: 7 dice). Each round the dice are shaken in the bag or rolled out to the starting players choice then placed in the middle for the players to see. The round starts with the first player going clockwise for their first turn, then the second round begins with the last player to choose and reverses. Sagrada takes place over 10 rounds. In order for a player to win, they need to complete the objectives, follow the rules, save player tokens, and have no empty spaces. The scoring for Sagrada takes place at the end of the final round.
Replayability
Sagrada has a lot of options to replay as there are multiple boards of all levels, multiple public objectives and tool cards. The cards, objectives and tools change as long as you shuffle them wisely. Also if you choose to buy the expansions it adds even more challenges, boards, objectives, and tools that change up from the original game. Please note, the expansions aren’t available in the mobile version. Also the storage in the Sagrada base box is very spacious that allows you to add the 5-6 player expansion in it without needing to use both boxes when bringing this game out to play.
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Artwork
The artwork for Sagrada is beautiful! Imagine you’re in the board game section of your favorite store and you’re checking out the games. Sagrada is going to catch your eye immediately by the colorful, bright, stained glass design on the box. The dice is very vibrant and is stylized so it looks like stained glass but don’t worry the dice is plastic.
Enjoyment Level
I found Sagrada very enjoyable and one I play A LOT on my phone. I view it as playing a puzzle game. Each round, you have to strategically think where you will place the dice in order to complete the objectives and follow the rules. You can’t place the same color or number on the dice next to each other which as the game advances based on the rolls and which dice your fellow players choose can easily change your strategy. As I’ve played Sagrada, I have found myself trying to anticipate the other players’ moves so I can choose wisely. Sometimes that strategy works, sometimes it doesn’t but that’s what makes this game unique. The strategies always changed based on which objectives and tools that are dealt along with the level of the boards. Sagrada has multiple boards on the same level which adds more variety to the game play.
Also if you get the mobile version of Sagrada, you can play solo or play with your friends from afar as long as they have the game as well. You and your friends can play at the same time or play without the time constraint. That I personally enjoy especially as me and my friends have different work schedules, so that gives us a chance to play together without the pressures of needing to be available at the same time.
“As I’ve played this game, I have found myself trying to anticipate the other players’ moves so I can choose wisely. “
Overall
Overall, if you’re into puzzle and strategy games that also include variety, I highly recommend Sagrada. The hard copy is a lot of fun and with the expansions, it gives you more value to the base game. Also having the mobile version of Sagrada gives you more chances to play either solo or play with your friends far away. Sagrada versatile, new game players friendly and a lot of fun. It has a great mix of challenges without being overly complicated.
Let me know in the comments what you think of Sagrada and if you get the mobile version so we can play together. Keep saving the day my friends!
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