Do you have what it takes to build your kingdom, stake your claim, and ascend the throne? Or will you be passed over as another of the royal family takes control of your family’s legacy? Put your wits and your story on the line in Torres, the game where you build and control your own kingdom.
Torres, from IDW Games, is a competitive play board game that pits 2-4 players against each other as they attempt to create and control the biggest kingdom in the land. Narratively Torres paints the picture of a king who is relinquishing his throne but will only allow a proven statesmen to replace him, the one who can build and control the largest castles in the land. This is reinforced by the game play with each participant choosing between positioning their knights, increasing the size of their castles, or using action cards which sneaky or unexpected abilities.
Unboxing and First Impressions
Like my other IDW Games review, The Planet of the Apes, the unboxing for Torres was straight forward. The game comes with a small board, a modest deck of action cards, the knight/king pieces, and numerous castle blocks to accompany the rules and quick reference. Before I dived into anything else Torres presented itself as a family or children’s game to me as there’s not a lot of pieces to keep track of (or lose) and the included materials are durable without requiring assembly.
I went over the rules a few times which are thankfully a brisk read, reinforcing the vibe I got that the game is more of an introduction to the strategy genre. The game is setup in the same way for every play session with pre-marked squares on the board beginning with small castles, player’s can then choose a castle to start a knight in. The object of the game is to outscore all the other players by occupying the highest points in the largest castles at the end of each round, called a Year in the game. Years encompass three-four traditional rounds (depending on the number of players) where each player gets to perform actions that further their interests.
What Torres really sells itself on is the act of physically building your castles by placing blocks on the play surface, as well as stacking them on top of existing blocks. While castles have a maximum height and base it’s pretty fun to watch the board start out sparse but then go vertical and become crowded. This also makes moving knights, the player’s avatars in the game, fun as they can move up, down, and through the castles to reach their destination.
Scoring is also a unique mechanic as castles are not owned by any particular player. Instead at the end of each Year a player will score points based on the level (height) of the castle each of their knights is in, multiplied by the base of the castle. Multiple players can score the same castle but each castle only counts for a player once so it pays to move your knights and occupy as much as you can.
This element, where players have to do some arithmetic to calculate scores, as well as the movement of the game pieces, hammers home the feeling that this game is for older children such as tweens. The score tracker for the game is even on the board and has you move a knight around and jump other knights as you pass them. Other more subtle mechanics such as the player with the lowest score getting to move the king, who can provide score bonuses if you meet his demands, reinforce that the game is supposed to be strategic but keep things even and fun.
Let’s Play!
I played this game three times in total, each time with four players, with my family as well as some local board-gamers. I wanted to see the game through the eyes of players who are familiar with the strategy genre and those who aren’t. For the first two games I went with the more experienced group in order to speed up play and because I wasn’t as confident about explaining what the rules and gist of the game are. These went fairly well, the first play-through was a bit tentative as everyone focused on knight movement but then further strategies came about. Some went for early builds in the corners of the board to keep others at bay, some kept moving and trying to capitalize on the work of others while creating passages to facilitate their movement, and some went for early cards generation to make a Year 2 & 3 comeback. Overall I was impressed by the amount of ways you can approach the game and interact with other players indirectly.
For the game with my family some were quicker to get the hang of the rules than others. This is where the “come from behind” element of the king came into play as the low scorers were able to get him into a position where they could score the bonus the following turn, keeping the scores respectable. I must say that the castle building is also a bit more fun when everyone has had some adult beverages as people start to get increasingly vindictive, although I wouldn’t say it’s a requirement to enjoy the game. 
After several runs I feel that Torres is a great introduction to the strategy genre for players of any age with a few notable nods towards a younger crowd. This would certainly make a solid family game as it’s very different every time thanks to the ever-changing board but also has a fast play-time once you get the hang of the rules. My one recommendation would be to sleeve the action cards, they aren’t the most flimsy I’ve come across but they’re ripe for bending and staining which can harm future sessions. A more fun recommendation would be to paint the castle pieces so each player can see where they started, added to, etc. but that has no impact on the game itself and is just something I thought of.
Overall I would recommend Torres to mixed-age groups or as a child focused game that adults can still find some enjoyment from. While it’s too complex to very young children they can still get some fun out of moving the pieces and the visual elements of the game and may even pick it up in time. For hard-core strategy groups Torres is a bit on the simple side but could make for a nice, fast pallet cleanser after more meaty games are put away for the evening. So what are you waiting for? Explore the world of Torres, build your kingdom, and claim the throne.
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