Sovereign Skies

Sovereign Skies initially presents itself as a neat little racing game; then the rondel reveals itself as the actual puzzle. Being able to reverse the direction in which you travel around it is the small rule that gives the design its proper identity.

At heart, it is mini-rondel racing: you choose how to move around the circle, then try to turn that movement into progress in the race. Reversing direction is not a decorative exception; it changes the route available to you, and with it the point at which an obvious move stops being the right one.

The mechanisms appear intelligently balanced, and player interaction is slight in volume but decisive in timing. This is not a game that buries you under attacks from the other players; a well-timed intervention, or simply reading their tempo correctly, is enough to alter the shape of the race. The interesting decision is when a reversal is worth more than the safe, predictable continuation.

At around forty minutes, it is a very good thinky filler, and distinctly better than it looks at first glance or after a cursory read of the rules. It would reach the table more often with regular in-person gatherings; online, its several moving parts demand rather more attention than the running time quite earns.