Atiwa ~ an incredible Uwe gateway… with two caveats | Board Game Review
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Theme overview (Themer)
01:15 Mechanics overview (Thinker)
05:24 The ecosystem is beautifully represented in theme & mechanics
09:58 Much more accessible than other Uwe games
12:08 The component quality & sustainability efforts
12:46 Sidebar: why we’re still talking about representation
16:48 Caveat #1 Cultural representation
20:48 Caveat #2 Replayability
23:21 Player count
25:16 Solo mode
27:38 Our ratings
29:11 Wrap up
For more information about the game:
Thanks for stopping by for our review of Atiwa! We’re Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We’re an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game – Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the ‘world’ that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
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I Really like this game. Good medium weight game by Uwe with a great theme.
I still need to get this one to the table! I am hopeful of being able to teach it to my husband. Like you both, I am a huge Uwe fan. He is just one of those designers whose games work for me.
Thank you again for the discussion around representation and how board games can better incorporate cultural specificity in an inclusive and respectful way.
Thanks for continually being brave enough to tackle representation (or lack therof) in this hobby where you see it, sensitively, of course… I had similar recent thoughts after playing At the Gates of Loyang recently (which I looooved, btw). I'm hoping more European and American publishers though will start to work harder to include not just cultural consultants, but artists and designers from Asia and Africa more. No offense to Klemens, but I personally will be paying attention to see if Uwe does make good on getting an African artist if he does do more African-themed games. Again: diversity is not representation.
I’ve had this game on my wish list but there are so many games! Which ones will I love most? It’s so hard to decide!
Once again an excellent review – thank you. I'm 20 games in and loving it (I am also an Uwe fan). I would say its very replayable – I wonder if you'd intended to say lacking (compared to many of his other games) in variability, rather than replayability. That I would agree with.
Lovely review as always! I think I'll be getting Nusfjord or Le Havre first (now that I have Feast ;-), but I hope I can play Atiwa at a meetup.
Thanks for another fantastic review! Have a great week :-)!
Great review!! Now I just need to get it off my Shelf of Shame!!
Nice review! Even though I agree with both caveats, I also really like the game. I'm just excited that it's a game taking place in a real and modern African setting, and I can't wait to see what other games will come out in this line!
Really loved the commentary on cultural issues, etc., in addition to the standard, great review you two always provide.
I've had this game for about 4 months, now. It is my first Uwe R. worker placement game, so I can't compare it to the others. I really love it. The solo works so well, particularly because all of the three other workers are on the board blocking spots. I haven't even gotten close to fulfilling the objectives you need to win the solo game, but I am getting a bit better. I haven't tired of it and have been playing it solo several times a week.
New fan here (and new to the hobby) — watching and listening to your ten out ten series got me through the first few weeks of late nights with my newborn.
Really great discussion about the issues with cultural representation in this game. Love that you made sure to talk about what they could have done differently instead of just what they did wrong. I’m glad you insist on using this as a criteria on which to judge games.