Sun Tzu

I recently picked up Sun Tzu, a.k.a. Dynasties, and I'm really enjoying it! The game is a two-player abstract strategy game where you play as either Sun Tzu or King Shao, attempting to unify China through strategic deployment of your forces. It's a tense game of area control, bluffing, and hand management with a lot of depth. The core mechanic is a tug-of-war where players secretly play cards to different provinces and then reveal them, adding or subtracting armies based on the card values.

What I really like is that there's no dice rolling, so it's all about strategy and outsmarting your opponent. It's a great game for those who enjoy a little bit of psychological warfare. The scoring system is based on controlling territories at the end of each of three eras, which adds an extra layer of strategy as you need to decide when to use your best cards. I also appreciate the beautiful card illustrations and the pithy quotes from The Art of War printed on them.

The only downside, and a big one for some, is that the game comes in French. It would be nice if the product description made that clear! Luckily, the English rules are easy to find online. Overall, I highly recommend Sun Tzu for anyone looking for a challenging, strategic, and engaging two-player game.