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Production values add much to game

There are games that are aesthetically pleasing. There are games where the components are outstanding. Those two attributes have never come together in a more outstanding fashion that with the game Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path.
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There are games that are aesthetically pleasing.

There are games where the components are outstanding.

Those two attributes have never come together in a more outstanding fashion that with the game Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path.

So a big congrats goes out to publisher Gray Wolf Games who cut not corners in putting the components together.

The art is beautiful. Most components are chunky wooden ones, many that fit into a board that has recessed locations for the wooden pieces to fit.

Small tokens still have artwork on them, and coloured-coded bags to hold them.

The box insert is equally amazing with everything fitting in neatly for storage.

So on the nice to look at scale, Wu Wei is off the charts.

The game has a rather unique flavour, one you feel comes from some philosophical place in the mind of the designer Justin Waggle.

“I started my martial arts journey at the Taoist Institute in Los Angeles. They took me in with open arms and started teaching me the mysterious arts of Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, and Chi Kung. I was inspired by the ordered nature of everything we were doing and, in an effort to make sense of this new world, I began studying in earnest.

“One morning about two years into training, I woke up with an idea for a board game. Like martial arts or Taoism, this was not a direction I had ever seriously considered. I think the idea for this game came to me so I could introduce people to the important lessons I had the fortune to receive from Sijo Carl Totton.

“I’m hoping people playing Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path will have their own unique experiences and be inspired to learn, create, adapt, and share. Above all, I hope the game will give folks an opportunity to become one with the Tao and experience the wonder of effortless action. Remember to play wu wei!” he wrote in the note from the designer in the rules book.

“Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path is a strategy game that embraces the universal concept of the Tao (the way). This game is deeply rooted in Chinese philosophy martial arts strategy and carries with it the concepts of yin and yang, the four seasons, chi (energy), and the eight directions,” details Board Game Geek.

To win, a player must collect the five animal cards from the masters around the board, and then return both his master and his student to the center before the other players do.

There are interestingly three levels to the game.

“The Initiate Level is meant for new players. This level focuses on collecting animal cards, harnessing the power of chi, and bidding for first player rights. At this level, you will learn how to move with the seasons, build walls, and cycle through the five elements. This is the beginner level. Do not skip this level if this is your first time playing Wu Wei.”

Then there in the Master Level. It “is meant for players ready to graduate from being initiates. This level introduces cultivating chi and balancing the dynamic nature of yin and yang. At this level, you also have to weigh the benefits of moving one character versus the other. This is the standard level of play for Wu Wei.”

An Emperor Level allows for a sixth player, lower levels two-to-five and is for advanced players seeking additional challenges. “This level introduces a formidable new force: a player controlled emperor. As the game progresses, the emperor grows more difficult to overcome. The other players must slow the emperor’s progress and avoid conscription.”

Rules are also included for solo play which does add greatly to the versatility of the game.

The game play doesn’t quite live up to the outstanding look and feel of the game, standards which are admittedly very high. But the game is still very solid, and with higher levels to explore, the potential to find underlying depth certainly exists.

Check it out at www.graywolfgames.org

Thanks to fellow gamers Trevor Lyons and Adam Daniels for their help in running through this game for review.

For a bonus game review head to yorktonthisweek.com where a review of the game Turnabout has been posted this week.