Game Summary
- Publisher: 25th Century
- Game Designer: Mondo Davis
- Ages: 10+
- Player count: 2-4
- Playtime:20-45 minutes
- Mechanics: Tile laying, Abstract Strategy
- Released in 2024
Some games draw you in just from the shelf and some through other means, and that happened fir me with Color Field. I found out about it from the designer himself, Mondo Davis, through him sharing his game on TikTok. 25th Century Games picked up Color Field and paired with two other games on a Kickstarter they ran. Of course, it was one I wanted to have, so I backed the game. This meant I could get is sooner and also acquire the deluxe edition.
Game Overview
In Color Field you play over three rounds to complete your paintings and try to score the most points based on matching colors to other tiles or the perimeter of your Canvas Board. Players have four or five turns to complete their abstract paintings, depending on which round you are in. Round one has players take five turns. Round two and three has players take four turns each. Drawing tiles occurs in turns, and the first player marker remains unchanged during the game.
Rounds
The game begins by priming your canvas with Foundation Tiles. In subsequent rounds the amount of Foundation Tiles you need depends on the position you complete a round. Depending on where you rank with score you may have the option to keep a number of tiles on your Canvas. It provides a nice balance mechanism as you may keep more tiles the lower your rank at the end of a round.
The palette board in the center of the table has three revealed tiles. On their turn players can choose one of the tiles on the pallet board or select a tile from the paint deck. They may place the tile or discard it to their Player Card. The Player Card also serves to keep track of the number of turns taken in that round, since only one tile is placed on the player card with each turn.
Each player also begins the game with three Inspiration Tokens. If at any point the player wants to adjust their canvas, they can flip over a Inspiration Token to use it. By using an Inspiration Token, players have the option to rotate a tile, but keep it in the same position. The other option is to swap the position of any two tiles, however they may not be rotated.
Advanced Play
Once players are familiar with the basic game they may add in the Community Tools to bump the game up to advanced play. One tool is dealt out each round, and at the end of a round the old Community Tool gets discarded. Players have the choice of using it during their turn or not. The limitation of the Community Tool is that it is an all or none usage. Should a player choose to use it, all parts of the card effect must be enacted.
Scoring/winning the game
At the end of each round players score the paintings. The scoring is quite simple. Each point where the colors match is worth one point. This is both along the outside edge and between the tiles. Some tiles have the number two or three printed on them. These color areas with the number score the corresponding number of points. Players also score for the largest continuous area of one color. Each segment of that color scores one point each. After scoring is complete the player’s position with points determines how many tiles you may keep on your board as you go into the next round.
Family Game Assessment
Color Field was an instant hit the moment it hit the table. The theme was a high interest to both the adults and kids making the game even more engaging. The rules are very streamline and intuitive. It only took a few minutes to teach the other players. Each round was easy to navigate, with the icons and text on the Foundation Cards, Round Cards, as well as on the Player Cards making each step incredibly easy.
The choices of the tiles on the pallet plus the option of drawing a tile gave a nice balance of options on each turn. You also never know which tile would be chosen by the previous player, so it limits the amount of planning ahead you could do. This limited choice prevented the analysis paralysis from being an issue with our group. Though I could see that being a challenge for some players who want to make a “perfect” placement.
While the age recommendation for Color Field is ten and up, there is no reading in the basic game. The simple to understand rules this makes a perfect game for younger players with limited reading skills. This would also be a good game for players looking for a game that does not require knowledge of English.
Educational Connection
One other feature that stood out as we went thought our first round of scoring, was the scoreboard is a 120 chart in the same format at the one I use at school with my students. We realized that the counting of the points was easier if we utilized the format of the chart, counting down by ten then over by ones (just like I teach at school). Having the scoreboard in this format with each row being one to ten, it is useful intentionally or not to reinforce a common classroom math resource.
Final Thoughts
Color Field is a great addition to a family gaming collection. It is an easy to learn tile laying game, and due to the abstract nature of the art on the tiles also is an abstract strategy game. This provides a great gateway into those two genres of games.
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