Vanuatu

Program your actions with five tokens, hold the majority and grow your prosperity on a growing archipelago.

Designer: Alain Epron
Published by: Krok Nik Douil editions
Editions by: Asterion Press, HUCH!, Coffee Haus Games

In Vanuatu you are a villager on a Pacific archipelago, and over eight turns you try to prosper with natural resources, rare items, local vatus and tourists. The islands grow each turn as new tiles are added to the map. You program your turn by placing five tokens on action spaces, and you can only play an action if you hold the majority there. That makes blocking a real weapon and waiting a real cost. You can draw on the sand, carry tourists around, or trade cargo with foreign countries. It is a thoughtful game of 90 minutes, a good fit for people who like clever action programming.

The map of islands grows every turnFive tokens program your actionsYou need the majority to act

Who it's for

You like thoughtful action-programming and blocking games, and you do not mind a theme that is a bit off the beaten path.

Not for you if…

You dislike getting blocked or want a relaxed multiplayer game. Waiting for others is part of the design.

Vibe's take

Clever and slightly mean. Everyone is competing for the same action spaces, so blocking, waiting and timing matter as much as what you build.