Bruno Cathala & Evan Singh
Biboun
Ishtar – Gardens of Babylon
At the very heart of the desert, the goddess Ishtar gave you the most precious of gifts. Water flows through the fountains at last and allows vegetation to grow! Show yourself worthy of this gift: grow flowerbeds and plant trees to turn the desert into a splendid garden. Be a seasoned strategist to win the coveted title of King of Babylon!
KEY POINTS
- A strategic tile placement game by Bruno Cathala
- Ever-evolving strategy
- An optimized replayability for captivating plays
Strategic and accessible
Ishtar – Gardens of Babylon is the new big game from Bruno Cathala and Evan Singh. Inspired by Japanese Go games, it allows 2 to 4 players to compete for area control and resource management. At their turn, each player places a Vegetation tile to extend flowerbeds growing near the fountains and collect gems, which have various degrees of rarity, scattered across the boards. Players can then use those resources to select more promising Vegetation tiles, to plant Trees, or to unlock Skills. Each decision can impact dramatically the final scoring.
Intense interaction
Ishtar is a game that appeals as much with its accessibility than with its deep subtlety. Each action is final until the endgame, even if it backfires. Each new tile changes the board and the strategy of following players, who constantly have to adapt. Between expanding of your own strategy and countering your opponents’, Ishtar is all about intense and immediate interaction among players, with victories that are remain up in the air until the very last tile placed on the board.
Multiple strategies!
Addictive and backed by its polished editorial work, Ishtar encourages players to refine their play style with every game. The game board, consisting of randomly placed smaller boards, ensures an optimal replayability. As for the strategies, they can be so different that you will want to try each out! Will you focus on the flowers in your flowerbeds? The control of fountains? The collection of gems? The purchase of powerful trees? Each method can lead to very different results, and Skills will allow you to tweak the final scoring! Don’t forget that Ishtar’s secret is to adapt to your opponents!
With Ishtar – Gardens of Babylon, Bruno Cathala and Evan Singh are offering a game with distinctive accessibility and depth, which will be sure to appeal to the strategic gardener inside all of us!