Dorfromantik Review (Thamalandis)
Summary: 10/10
Dorfromantik sets out to be a tile puzzle game. To do this it doesn't copy successful games like Carcassone or other tile placing games and instead creates its own. You have quests which range from minimum size, maximum size on first deployment, fully enclosed or exact match. All of these come for nearly all types of terrain (grassland excluded). If this was the only way to earn new cards in the standard mode, I wouldn't praise the game. By just doing blind quest runs on high efficiency, a player can easily do the 30k goal. The game truly shines in its placement bonus. For perfect tiles which have no error on an edge, the player gets another tile to place. Doing this can ensure reaching above 30k without much effort. This is where the "puzzle" aspect comes in.
At some stage it is clear what tiles are more common by pure statistic and why "dirty" tiles (many terrain types) are best left on some lone side of your set. Preparing perfect slots for your plans is much easier if more chaotic and reasonale tiles are chose. Less uniform triple sides and more "one-slot grassland". Keeping your enclosures to 1-2 terrain types is as much part of the puzzle logistic as it is gambling on one of the complex tiles fitting the one accidental 3 terrain one you let slip in to finish a quest.
Again, if this was all this game offered you'd perhaps consider it an 8 or a 9. It delivers but is it truly the puzzle game for you? Worry not, this game has monthly challenge with highscores, alternative ruleset modes and a sandbox mode where you can simply build the little map of your dreams with romantic villages in an early industrial landscape.
If one was petty, the lack of a "road" tile to connect the towns would be a deduction of 0,5 points as would be the lack of mountains or hills for more personality of the landscape. Since this game is a beautiful complete package, this shall not be done. Although a DLC to add mountains and or roads would have been appreciated.
If you like puzzling and would like to test some hexagonal puzzles, Dorfromantik is a game for you. Yet, even if you are not the sandbox mode may strike the fancy of the artist in yourself; build a beautiful map of your own.