Zapotec

Another year, another pyramid: apparently the cathedrals of 2022. Zapotec does not have the slapped-together first impression of a related release, though. Its design and pacing feel much more joined up. Each player is trying to become the great Zapotec architect, putting up houses and pyramids while seeking the gods’ favour for points.

Everything rests on 27 action cards, divided between the players and a shared offer. Each round, you play one card; it selects the row or column of your personal 3x3 production grid, sets initiative, and most importantly determines what you may build and where. The interaction is quiet rather than theatrical, but it lives in card selection and in the order in which players take the available opportunities.

The game ends after only five cards per player, yet resources rise so sharply that the final rounds contain far more to do than the early ones. The choices are properly awkward and, when everyone remains competitive, the scoring stays close. Then comes the small barbed detail: by round three there is often a very particular correct route — houses on one row or column, gold production, every resource covered — and one mistake or an unhelpful card deal, especially involving the faster cards that offer less, can leave you watching the rest of the game. A wonderfully compact system. A pity it decides so early whom to leave behind.

Its short running time keeps that from becoming a chore: set it up again and try not to miss the train this time. For satisfaction, time spent, and agreeable brain burn, it sits alongside Furnace despite sharing none of its mechanisms. Zapotec is recommended, but the question over its replayability does not vanish just because you build another pyramid.