Rauha Review
We review Rauha, an engine-building card game published by Hachette. In Rauha, you are a shaman trying to score the most victory points.
Zoom in on Tony dressed like a stand-in from “Braveheart.”
“Are you tired of the overgrown weeds and dead grass you call a ‘lawn’? Do you wish you could just summon water without leaving the comfort of your Barcalounger? Do you, for some reason, love birds? Have I got the product for YOU!”
Begin shamanistic chanting track.
“RAUHA!”
Lower the volume of the chanting.
“This game….NAY, this life changing experience, will allow you to create the world you always wanted…”
Zoom in uncomfortably close to Tony’s face as he whispers…
“The way YOU always wanted it!”
Zoom out, simultaneously bringing the chanting to a crescendo.
“RAUHA!”
Cut all sound, fade to black, cue legalese read at 500 words per minute.
“This product will not fix your lawn, groundwater issues or those woodpeckers ruining your trees. Not suitable for children under 10. MSRP doesn’t matter as most of you buy online anyways.”
Rauha is a competitive engine-building game with a card drafting mechanism for two to five players. Games last around 45 minutes regardless of player count.
The game is made up of four rounds, with each player taking three turns each round. After every round, a scoring phase takes place. Each turn consists of the following 5 steps:
Draft a Biome card – players draft a card from the pile indicated by their Avatar’s place adjacent to their board.
Place or discard the drafted Biome card – players may either place (and pay their required costs, if any) the drafted card on their board or discard the it for either four crystals (money) or a spore (to be explained later).
Receive a Divine Entity – if a
