| User | Rating | Comment |
|---|
| dylhunn | 9 | This is a fun strategy game about enclosing areas to gain a majority of fixed counters in each area. Despite its well-applied gerrymandering theme, the core mechanism is deeply abstract. I'd recommend this if you enjoy other more abstract strategy games with simple mechanisms, such as Lost Cities or Go. |
| charoco | 7 | |
| Daniel199423 | 8 | |
| sirg3 | 7 | |
| Evil_Empire_Inc | N/A | Location: Shelf D |
| bitatmoonl | 8 | |
| whimsicaltyrant | 7 | |
| Elite_tank | 9 | |
| captainharlock13 | 7 | |
| sergiol8 | 7 | |
| emike | 9 | A multiplayer abstract game unusual for 3 reasons: it is an excellent game, its theme matches its abstract gameplay, and the game has a moral. |
| shale034 | 8 | |
| Shampoo4you | 8 | |
| jimv | N/A | Heard about this game on 'Stay Tuned with Preet' podcast, 2019-03-07 |
| dhailey | 7.2 | |
| TomVasel | 8 | |
| shlomi | 6 | didn't like the game, played the print and play version, I don't think the final version will change my opinion on it. |
| navaccaro | 7.68 | |
| Gyges | 6 | A very good abstract positional, which ought to be taken with a grain of salt as I don't like those games. |
| theplague42 | N/A | PnP. |
| Tolkana | 9 | |
| Red22jlj | 6.75 | An interesting game with a nice theme. I enjoyed this game but not looking to add it to my collection. |
| Boomdagger | 9 | |
| OGRussHood | 7 | |
| SirSquinty | 8 | |
| RPGArcher | 8 | |
| Fippy_Darkpaw | 8 | Simple mechanics but pretty wide amount of strategy. Not aware of any games similar. Good gateway game. Theme and build quality is excellent. |
| clint_ | 8 | Brain-burny, simple, thematic, and very high quality components. |
| smaug007 | 7.2 | |
| trojo | 7 | This game is pretty fun. Simple mechanics, yet surprisingly brain-burny. It reminds me in many ways of The Bridges of Shangri-La. If you like that game, you'll probably like The Gerrymandering Game also. (Side note: me and all my friends call this "The Gerrymandering Game" instead of Mapmaker. I'm sure we are not alone in this.) |
| Kenra | 9 | |
| EricTheFed | 8 | Missed the KS but grabbed it later. Very interesting spatial decisions in this game. Also exercises flexibility, as board situation can change before your turn comes around again in 3-4 player games. |
| boarddude22 | 7.5 | |
| ebugatta | N/A | Kickstarteren láttam, nagyon jó kis kampány volt nem mellesleg az aktualitása miatt, valószínűleg a játék maga kevésbé izgalmas. Csak az USA-ban forgalmazták. |
| amyrick | 8 | A very fun diversion - the parts are all of excellent quality, and the game is aesthetically pleasing. Setup is quick, and 2-player games generally only take about 10 minutes. The rules are simple, the strategies more complex. A fine first effort by the game designers. |
| DTLibrary | N/A | Shelf 14 |
| fraserryanw | N/A | Kickstarter |
| sjnorris | 8 | |
| nucleartrask | N/A | Its like Armadora, but a little heavier. |
| schneevs67 | 9 | |
| Avasaur | 10 | |
| bkgage | 8 | |
| joshdl | 8 | |
| Karki | 10 | |
| UncleGramps | 7.5 | |
| zizishaoye | 7 | |
| Mihhail | N/A | Print and Play OR redesign READY game. |
| spatialyst | 8 | |
| bard_ard | 7 | |
| gabrielcohn | 7 | |
| jacehan | 7 | |
| MrSippycup | N/A | Kickstarted |
| sargebilko | 6 | Kickstarter |
| Raabeyes | 7 | |
| nighttrain54 | 8 | What a brilliant game. Simple, tactical, very thematic. Bravo to these kids |
| skutsch | 8 | Very simple rules that do a good job of simulating political gerrymandering. That alone is an amazing achievement. And then the gameplay is pretty darn good. The rules feel like an abstract, but still manage to convey the theme. Each turn's choices are tough and matter but the game is short, not overstaying its welcome. My only criticism is that the relatively small map means that each district matters a lot, maybe too much. With only 12 or so districts likely, a semi-random choice by one opponent might destroy your chances of getting that key one extra district. This would obviously be less of a problem in a two-player game. I would suggest always playing a few matches (best of 3 etc) to overcome this slight "flaw" (if it's a flaw at all). The games play fast so that shouldn't be a burden. The relatively limited game play may mean this game may wear out after a while, seeming too samey, but so far I think it's a winner. The pieces are high quality and the game looks good on the table. The party markers are pretty adorable. I'm a lifelong Democrat but I still got a kick out of placing my cute little red elephants down as they seized control from those evil donkeys and porcupines (Porcupine party?). |
| _The_Inquiry_ | 8 | Prior to 2020: 3 plays |
| NocturnalAllen | 8.95 | |
| jd220 | 9 | Excellent game that also has educational value? Sign me up! |
| jcm211 | 8 | |
| elvis82566 | N/A | You are a mapmaker, which means you make maps… and determine who wins elections. You belong to a political party: Red Elephants, Blue Donkeys, Yellow Porcupines, or Green Leaves. Your only job? Make sure your party wins the next election. You get to redraw the districts. But so do the other mapmakers. Everyone starts with the same number of voters, spread across counties. Players each place four district borders per turn. When a district gets closed off, whoever has the most voters inside claims it. At the end of the game, the entire board will be sectioned into districts. The party with the most districts wins. If there’s a tie, the party with the most swing counties wins. You must scramble to draw the best lines first. Can you crack and pack voters? Can you scheme and strategize? Can you create unfair, lopsided, strangely shaped districts that will guarantee your party’s victory? Mapmaker: The Gerrymandering Game is fast to learn and fast to play. It’s full of surprises, maneuvers, and outmaneuvers. It’s a hands-on way to try out gerrymandering yourself. |
| bponnaluri | 8 | |
| RexBrynen | 8 | |
| silverrainmaker | 5 | I thought this game was decent for an abstract game. The one thing I can't stand about it is the theme. It fits absolutely beautifully with the gameplay, but it brings me zero joy to play a game themed around politics. Y no space theme? |
| hippiephysicschick | 6.5 | mt |
| puzzleme | 5 | Rating of 5 is only for the 2-player game. I give it a 4 for the 4-player and 3 for the 3-player game. Highly chaotic and no meaningful strategy in player counts over two. The 3-player game is especially susceptible to the king making issue. |
| Garth M | 8 | Enjoyed first few 2P games. A satisfying puzzle, nicely changed each time due to the randomised setup. Was worried it would feel just like a teaching game, but the mechanics are pleasantly absorbing. A lovely puzzle. |
| dmckellip | 8 | |
| naxareth | 7 | EDU |
| gilmot00 | N/A | Kickstarter |
| egosumgoofy | 7 | |
| tylerleite | 10 | Always a ton of fun! We have a league going on with my roommates Ted and Claire. I'm winning of course, but only by a little bit. Honestly I think Ted cheats sometimes, but he loses so bad we let it slide!! Haha |
| herendil66 | 7 | A clever renditioning of the pen&paper dots game where players capture grid areas into a hexagonal format, this game is a quick and dirty little game where you try not to leave loose ends others will hurt you with, while setting up possible areas for progress. |
| bokuwapotato | 7 | |
| Bluecow | 8 | |
| philharlow | 10 | Great, moderately quick game that really makes you think. The gameplay seems simple at first but as your and your opponents gain experience the challenge becomes ever increasing. |
| edauterman | 9 | play tester |
| Mozzik | 7.5 | I backed this to support the Kickstarter's message and figured if I got a playable game out of it I'd consider it a bonus. Surprisingly, this is a really good game! It's well produced, it's very light and fast to teach and play, and it also demonstrates how Gerrymandering works in an elegant way. It's not something I'll seek out for a deep strategy game but it's a light weight area control game I can play with anyone that doesn't feel quite like anything else I've played. |
| marsman57 | 8 | Great game that is quick to teach and plays quickly. |
| lj4adotcomdan | 7 | |
| JohnPurdue | 7 | |
| Dominus9 | 9 | |
| Baron_JK | 7 | |
| Atticus1313 | 7 | |
| Physicsphreak | 10 | Very fun, very deep game. Simple mechanics, but the ability to set up your opponents for no good choices is just so satisfying. |
| realityfoible | 7.6 | Excellent. Simple rules, fast play time, and difficult decisions delivered with cynical humor. Absolutely within my wheelhouse. |
| mudville9 | 6 | An fairly interesting take on an area majority game where the pieces are static and the areas are what change. Good for a few plays but not much long-term interest. |
| edjanes | 7 | |
| crypt0_n3rd | 5 | It's a fine abstract game that plays too quick and is over before you know it. I appreciate the theme and idea behind the game and will play it once in a while. Nothing too innovative or special but a fine game that anyone can play. |
| getareaction | 8 | This game totally delivers on its promises. The rules are super straightforward, the gameplay is really challenging, and there are plenty of opportunities to look past a good move to find a brilliant one. The theme is spot on. The components are delightfully over-produced. But beware analysis paralysis! It echoes real-life gerrymandering so well that it was triggering some fun political bunfight roleplaying. Kickstarted in August 2018. Arrived in March 2019, a month early! |
| macalvi | 8 | |
| davidmann | 8 | |
| macclellan | 8 | |
| julia_gulia | 7 | |
| arlaton | 7 | |
| Taed | 7 | |
| anim8r | 7.3 | |
| timawetzel | 8 | |
| Carthoris | 7 | Educational, if you want that. A cunning abstract, even if not. |
| TimeIsRelativ | 8 | |
| DavidWilsonBrown | 8 | |
| narthurs | 10 | Loving it! Playing with my roommates daily. Feels great to gerrymander the crap out of some maps (but only because it's just a game). The beginning can feel a little random, but that's just where the mind games begin. |
| daleygamer | 8 | |
| mschlat | 7 | Quite nice --- it's an abstract with no random elements (past the set up) that also illustrates the techniques of gerrymandering. Would like to play several more times to better understand the strategies. |
| mrwilly123 | 8 | |
| FestiveKnight | 7 | |
| lackofoxygen | 10 | |
| tepid451 | 9 | |
| rseater | 7 | I was pleasantly surprised. I thought this might be a mechanic-without-a-game or education-ruins-everything, but it is actually a solid game. 4-player has some kingmaking issues, but is fine if you clarify that your goal is to maximize your rank position. There is indeed a lot of emergent gerrymandering. Drawing the regions around fixed influence points is a nice reversal from other area majority games. I wounder if it would be even better with a higher minimum region size. |
| MilkyJoe241 | 7 | |
| wakingrufus | 7 | |
| Allgood322 | 7 | Kickstarted project #7 |
| dmorenus | 8 | Entertaining board game with simple rules but challenging gameplay that nicely demonstrates the techniques and tragedy of partisan gerrymandering. |
| warta | 7 | |
| DarwinsBrain | 8 | |
| Apple Paul | 7 | A nice and quick simulation of gerrymandering. Mechanically, this game reminds me of two games that I like: Armadara and Trans America. On first play, I had a sense that this game might play better if players were allowed to place only 2 sticks on the board per turn, instead of 4 per turn, as 4 seemed to be far too "immediately" powerful and I would say cheaply "decisive." I suspect that allowing players to play only 2 sticks per tune would lead to a more gradual game that might slowly but surely come into focus, and then, in the final rounds of play, an across the board reckoning or "domino effect," so to speak, might happen. That might be interesting. On the other hand, because allowing only 2 sticks to be placed on the board per turn would make the game more difficult to "see," and it might lead to a lot of AP I suppose. Bottom line: the next time we play Mapmaker, I would like to try house ruling the turns to allow players to place only 2 sticks per turn. |
| baldowin | 9 | |
| Argantonio | 7.5 | Pequeño juego que consigue lo que pretende: diversión, concentración y aprendizaje. |
| Rabidlettuce | N/A | Simple and easy to teach, but still has depth of strategy. |
| buadb | 8 | |
| taloskhaos | 7.9 | While at first I was convinced this was one of the best games of 2019 due to its unique theme, high quality components, and high depth to rule complexity, I have since dropped its rating a tad because it definitely suffers from planning problems playing with multiple players and I feel like when I have won, it was often just luck that other players didn't see what I was doing, I feel like to be truly good at this game you have to be an expert, otherwise you are just making best guesses. Still a good game though. The creators also reached out to me to clarify the rules, the whole production is a great product. |
| qswanger | N/A | This bears some resemblance to Armadora and Minoa. Kinda like they had a baby. |
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