Ayar: Children of the Sun

Ayar: Children of the Sun sits between Merv and Sankore, both in playing time and in complexity, but also in ambition. Grandon-Lopiano are not merely serving another familiar Euro recipe; in a genre already well supplied with recombined mechanisms, this one has several ideas that feel necessary rather than ornamental.

At its centre is a notably clever tableau-building grid. Players move their figures along the path of the sun and, according to where they end, take the associated action to develop their personal tableau. The theme has one partner travelling the route to bless the crops while the other remains at home praying to the gods; at our table, this became a Euro explanation for why men live shorter lives.

The interesting decision is that the game contracts as it proceeds rather than opening out. Choices diminish instead of multiplying, reversing the familiar Euro arc and making placement matter. Everyone works on a separate board, yet the design still lets players affect one another enough that interaction is not merely a decorative label.

As with Merv, one play is not sufficient evidence. Two games back to back produced noticeably different experiences, which suggests a system with more range than it first reveals.

For Euro players, it is an unqualified recommendation; for anyone looking for the next step beyond a gateway game, it is a very persuasive move upwards.