Review
Ezra and Nehemiah
Ezra and Nehemiah revisits familiar Phillips territory but turns it into a distinct, demanding tableau builder. Its routes to victory offer real texture, even if their relative value shifts sharply with player count.
- Published
- 2024
- Designer
- S J Macdonald, Shem Phillips
- Publisher
- Garphill Games, CHUR GAMES, CMON Global Limited
- Players
- 1–4
- Playing time
- 120 min
Phillips is back on recognisable ground without simply redrawing an old map. Ezra and Nehemiah recalls Architects and Viscounts of the Western Kingdom, yet it is not merely either game in different overalls: it has its own identity and plenty to occupy a serious eurogame player.
At its centre is tableau building, and that is where the pleasant mental scorch lies. You gradually assemble your capabilities, trying to link choices to returns rather than letting your personal engine become a shelf of attractive but unrelated parts.
The interesting decision is which route deserves to be your main plan and which should merely support it; the answer changes markedly with player count.
TheTrainSpotter
There are several victory paths alongside that, with wall building among them. The interesting decision is which route deserves to be your main plan and which should merely support it; the answer changes markedly with player count. At three players, for instance, wall building feels more like supporting play than a principal road to victory.
That dependence on player count is my one reservation, though others may regard it as a virtue rather than a flaw. Otherwise, this is a very agreeable and cleverly designed game, entirely deserving of a place in any eurolover’s collection.
Otherwise, this is a very agreeable and cleverly designed game, entirely deserving of a place in any eurolover’s collection.
TheTrainSpotter
Source: BoardGameGeek
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