Santorini is a board game that I very much enjoy. It’s been on my last 2 top 50 lists, albeit not placed particularly highly. Still, many good games did not make the list at all, so it’s doing well for me.
As I said, I really enjoy the game, and I’ve particularly enjoyed breaking this one out with new players. It just works really well. I also like that there’s a clear beginner mode, and then a ‘full’ version with the option of playing with or without Gods and pantheon powers.
Now, a special edition is coming. Titled the Pantheon Edition, this promises to upgrade your experience from the… let’s be honest, pretty cheap feel of the original game to something altogether prettier:
Not only are we going to see updated miniatures and buildings, but there are also quality of life improvements as well. The 3D Island Frame will mean no accidental knocking or shifting of buildings, the mat is a cool addition, and the modular storage trays are a definite upgrade over the old baggies. Gameplaywise, the only real change seems to be coming from the promise of additional God cards, meaning access to new pantheon powers. More variety is always welcome!
This is definitely an enhanced edition rather than a reworked or expanded game. That’s fine. It is what it is and I’m excited about that. What I’m even more excited about though is the expansion, Riddle of the Sphinx.
If the Pantheon Edition is about re-establishing and improving the quality of the extant game, then Riddle of the Sphinx is about redefining what the game can be and taking it forward. And it is really interesting, largely because it does quite a lot.
First of all, it turns Santorini into a co-op game… except, does it? The usual grid is replaced by a book of maps on which players must complete a series of objectives. Yes, the core rules are the same but Santorini, for me, is so defined by its grid that this feels like less of an expansion and more like a completely new game that uses some of the same parts and shares some very basic moving and building rules. There’s not much to Santorini, so big sweeping changes to the essence of the game does make it feel like something new.
This is especially true when you take into account not only the map-based adventures/scenarios, but the overarching campaign that potentially goes with it. Santorini legacy? I don’t know. It does feel like a soft campaign system, but it’s still a campaign system.
This is exciting.
Fascinating. I was doubtful when I saw this listed on Kickstarter. I was expecting some new Pantheon cards. I was expecting some new minis. I was maybe expecting a slightly different grid. I didn’t expect something as extensively different as this. I love the book of maps. It’s such a cool, fresh idea that I want to play. That’s really nice.
The campaign is in Canadian dollers. I’ll be giving the Kickstarter-provided approximations of the costs in GBP. You know, real money? The lowest level pledge is an upgrade pack for your old copy of Santorini to bring it in line with the Pantheon Edition. This includes the modular storage, the plastic grid, the mat, some cards and tokens. It costs around £40 to upgrde your game.
The full game, which also includes the updated buildings and miniatures, and the plinth, will cost around £53. I think for the different in price, I’d likely just go for the full box.
The expansion on its own will cost around £40. This seems a pretty good deal for the amount of content we’re talking about.
You can get both the upgrade kit and the expansion for £76, or the full game and the expansion for £88. That’s a pretty reasonable price for this to cap out at. There are other options, of course. The biggie is to upgrade your cards to be plastic, flexible cards. There are also a number of stretch goals involved, which are continuing to develop as the campaign goes on.
I trust the project creator for this campaign. They’ve delivered repeatedly, including on the original run of Santorini itself. The timeline is quite far out, with an expected delivery date in May of 2024. Shipping is looking to be approximately £9. Now, you’ll also be charged VAT. Assuming no change to shipping cost, this should bring the total cost of the whole thing up to around £117. Not as solid a deal as we thought with the £88 price tag, but still pretty damn good. Yeah, this is a solid recommendation from me!
You can click here to visit the project page over at Kickstarter.
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