Blue Orange Games Ask Can You Dig It in Scarabya

August 14, 2018 by cassn

You are an international archaeologist travelling the globe and searching for golden scarabs in this tile-laying puzzle game from Blue Orange Games.

In Scarabya, players must place tiles on their board in order to box in the scarabs unearthed during their archaeological dig. Tiles are determined by card draw and, depending on the placement, each successfully corralled scarab is worth up to four points.

However, placing some tiles means sacrificing scarabs (and therefore valuable points), and players don't know whether the next tile will help or hinder them. The game is over when all tiles have been placed, and the player with the most points wins.

Designed for one to four players, Scarabya's mechanic offers changes in both the two player and solo versions of the game, allowing adaptability for players who prefer a more intimate gaming experience. And with a run time of approximately twenty minutes, this is a quick game which can be played again and again.

Designed by Ludovic Maublanc and Bruno Cathala, Scarabya is a fun, interesting and quite beautiful puzzle game, however, there are a few flaws. Because all players start with the same board setup, there is nothing to stop players from placing tiles in the same positions. And while the boards are colourful, the internal board tiles don't sit flush against the frame.

Despite these problems, Scarabya is an easy-to-learn, easy-to-play game which doesn't get tiresome or repetitive. Sometimes short runtime games can get overlooked at the bigger conventions, but I'm happy to say there has been a good bit of buzz around this release both at GenCon and ahead of Essen.

I look forward to the European release later this year.

What do you reckon to Scarabya?