Printing Press Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Printing Press, a new card drafting game that's billed as a lighter version of Gutenberg. Published by Portal Games, we let you know how this one plays.

Publisher Granna’s 2022 Gutenberg was a surprise hit. Taking the history of the printing press and turning it into a bidding/rondel Euro title struck a chord with players around the world. Now in 2024, the smaller spin-off title Printing Press has arrived from Portal Games. Now, though, instead of competing with medium-heavy Euros, this new title is instead entering the small, drafting, puzzle game market that Calico, Cascadia, and Sagrada corner. How does it shape up to those titans, and does this game live up to the shoes of its predecessor?

In Printing Press, players will be drafting frames and their attached plates, then cards to fill those frames, all to achieve the most points. Players gain those points through completing objectives that are listed on the frames and plates. The more objectives completed, the more points gained, and if all objectives on the plate are completed, bonus points are allocated.

The frames themselves are filled with the cards through several rounds of drafting. Each card has three symbols on it (which may or may not match the objectives on the frames) and can be laid out on the table in any layout desired, keeping the orientation implied on the card. This means that you can overlay the cards onto one another to better achieve the symbols required for your goals.

After all the cards are drafted for the round, players will then place their frame over their cards placed on the table, locking in a 3 x 3 grid of symbols. Players check their goals, score their points, and complete three total frames to complete a game. Finally, end-game goals listed on the bottom of each frame are scored, and the winner is determined. Will you be the best at fulfilling your printing orders, or will you run out of ink before the end of the game?

Printing Press is easiest to sum up as “charming”.