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Bonfire box art
2020 Ranked #352

Bonfire

A puzzle-driven strategy game where gnomes complete guardian tasks to relight a dark city. Linked action tiles reward specialization, but every path competes for limited timing.

Strategy Games Fantasy Puzzle Market Pattern Building

Players

1-4

Play time

70-100 min

Age

12+

Complexity

3.64/5

Rating

7.68

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.6/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

The bonfires are sources of light, energy and warmth created by the guardians of light in order to brighten the cities on the otherwise dark planet. The residents of the cities however, took the bonfires for granted and exploited them for their personal gain.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

The bonfires are sources of light, energy and warmth created by the guardians of light in order to brighten the cities on the otherwise dark planet. The residents of the cities however, took the bonfires for granted and exploited them for their personal gain. Disappointed the guardians of light retreated and let the bonfires extinguish. The citizens could no longer live in the now dark cities and were forced to leave. You are a group of gnomes living close to the cities and you also need and the light of the bonfires. Missing it now, you try yourself to visit the cities and learn how to ignite the bonfires once again: You must visit the guardians of light on their holy islands and ask for tasks to prove your good will. For each completed task, they will re-ignite one extinguished bonfire. Whoever manages to earn the greatest trust from the guardians and manages to brighten their city the most will win the game. The engine for Bonfire are the three-coloured tiles you will be puzzling onto your player board. When you manage to place the same colours adjacent to one another, you will receive more action tiles of that specific kind. This will allow you to specialize in certain types of actions and pursue different strategies. You can use the tiles to perform the following actions: - Move your ship to an island - Receive a task from an island by spending two resources - Invite a guardian of light into your city - Trigger a procession of guardians through your city and gain resources. - Add a landscape tile to your city (this is where the processions take place) - Recruit a gnome gaining a special ability or victory points - Find support by the last bonfire, gaining portals, resources or action tiles You will play in turn order until a fixed number of tasks has been solved, after which each player has 5 more turns. During final scoring, you will receive points for your completed tasks (the bonfires) and any improvements made there (portals, landscapes or guardians). —description from publisher

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Editions

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Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
1–4
Best with
1–4
Play time
70–100 min
Age
12+
Complexity
3.6/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Stefan Feld

Artists

1
Dennis Lohausen

Publishers

1
Hall Games

Linked items

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