Crystallo Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Crystallo, a solo card game about exploring a dungeon and fighting a dragon. Crystallo is a more abstract experience than you'd expect with this theme, and we let you know what it's like.

There was a time when I was just learning what modern board games were that I found delight in discovering ones that could be played by yourself. This was so novel and wasn’t something I had even considered before that time. I had only ever known ones played at the dinner table with family and friends. So I was attracted to what this afforded me, not just a means to play something when others weren’t available, but a way to experience a different aspect of the game. Some games managed this in ways that felt like an extension of the multiplayer experience and others something wholly new. Others also felt tacked on and not great. I started to see some games where the development was focused only on being played independently and at your leisure. Crystallo is one of those games.

Crystallo is a solo-focused card game, where you are exploring a cave in the hope of finding and defeating a dragon. To do this, you’ll first need to free all the creatures who are magically bound in the cave. Using the game’s unique deck of cards, players will attempt to create sets of colored crystals. When these sets are made, you’ll have discovered one of the three crystal fragments for the matching creature. Each creature’s fragments have to be found before the deck runs out.

After this is done, it’s time to face the dragon. Using cards set aside during setup along with any leftover cards from finding fragments, as well as equipment you found in the cave, you’ll try to make single sets of each color to defeat the dragon. While this first round had players turning over cards and placing them one at a time, here you’ll be able to have all the available cards face up to try and plan your strategy. If you complete both phases of the game, you’ve won! The rulebook includes a chart for players to