The Arena of Tash-Kalar belongs to games such as chess or Kamisado, where players attempt by skillfully placing game pieces to create maps on predefined patterns that give them various advantages.
The game is highly variable and comes with the same 4 different game variations therefore. While it's always about to generate victory points, but in different ways. Either victory point cards (if you put certain patterns), or about destroying opponent's stones. The whole then in two-player mode or team variant. Up to 4 players to participate.
Each player gets a deck (creatures) on which patterns are defined. Then he has per train 2 Discounts available, where it is either a token (recruit) may bring into play or a being can swear (map), by having the pattern on the card reached.
The latter then brings him advantages, such as moving to the evocation of the essence his checkers, Reruten enhance bring new heroes or tokens onto the battlefield. Some beings are recruits, other beings one step higher: the hero. More on that later.
The rules are pretty simple overall, but then the game itself requires quite a bit of brain power.
The placement rules say just that you can occupy an empty field with a recruit (the standard token). The standard motion control (only on the summon of being possible) states that one may move to an adjacent space. But only if the field is empty or the token lying there was a lower value. Only with the movement we must fight on a field in which an equivalent token is. Since in principle may be only one pawn on a field, the token is already lying there destroyed and comes back into the storage of the player. Held therefore proposes, for example recruit.
Then there are standard jumps and combat jumps: Lege rules exactly as for movements, but the field must not be adjacent.
In addition to the decks of the players there are still Legendary cards and beacon. Beacon same in principle the game, because they bring about benefits to the weaker player. However, already stated in the rule description that experienced players the beacon be used tactically to get certain benefits. Beacon cards say for example that the player gets a free action when the opponent 5 pieces more in the arena has etc. pp.
Legend cards, however, are simply again more difficult patterns (nature) that evoke an even more significant token.
Conclusion:
The Arena of Tash-Kalar is mMn an excellent two-person game with simple rules, short game duration and great tactical possibilities. The material is good mediocrity, but adequate, graphically it is also nicely done. Unfortunately, the cards have a special size and can be personalized with the normal card holders sizes not sleeving (all formats have tried here, possibly in the new Mayday formats which appropriate cell line is). Still a tip for all occasional and frequent players who like to do something different, to optimize the resources. For families who rarely play, the game is not suitable MMN. The rules are indeed internalized relatively quickly, but the game itself erforert then as I said already a lot of tactics. I would imagine that families could be overtaxed. Unless, of course, is much experienced player families.
Addendum:
Since the Essen Game Fair 2014 is an upgrade kit, which allows you to replace the map tiles to graphically überarbeitete- parts. The new edition includes this material of course already.