PARKS is one of my favorite games of all thanks to fun and thematic gameplay along with a theme that pays tribute to America’s great natural beauty. When I heard that Keymaster was coming out with a roll-and-write I was a little, well, skeptical. I’ve never been a big roll-and-write fan for many reasons, but I wasn’t sure what to think of a game that would take the gameplay of PARKS and shrink it down to fit the rather limited roll-and-write genre. Even when I rather quickly fell in love with the new art and graphic design of the game…I wasn’t quite sold. But once it was on the table and the dice started rolling, I knew we had something special.
What’s In The Box?
- 4 standard dice
- 1 Lead Hiker die
- 5 Trail Tokens
- 1 Group Token
- 2-sided Trail board
- 6 Park cards
- 1 Hiking Solo card
- 4 pencils
- 1 eraser
- 4 Logbooks
Just when you think Keymaster has peaked with PARKS they come out with an even more gorgeous game and in an even SMALLER package. Maybe it’s just my graphic design brain at work but I’ve never played a game that looks this good, is this satisfying, and is just so absolutely perfect to look at that I’m not sure I have enough adjectives. The colors? Pop. The Font? Retro and fun. With a game this small it really packs those excellent details in to get the feel perfect. Even the included pencils capture the mid-century Americana aesthetic that the game is going for.
How’s It Play?
The game itself is pretty simple. Like in PARKS, each player is hiking through one of six National Parks and taking in the sights like wildlife and landmarks. Like most roll-and-writes the game is predicated on using the results of rolled dice to get different outcomes. Each round the dice are rolled and laid out in a pool. Each player then chooses a die on their turn and mark the selected dice in your rulebook. Each one has a different effect: Suns get you bonuses and let you take the first hiker token (going first is quite powerful as you’d expect), Water fills your canteen and gets you points at each trailhead, Landmarks are added to your journal and help with bonuses there, Pencils let you write in your journal again for bonuses, and wildlife each has its own ability.
The game moves in day phases with three days making up a game. Final scoring is based on how full your canteen is, every line you’ve “written” in your journal, every wildlife you’ve spotted, and unique bonuses for each Park.
The Verdict?
You’re never going to catch me talking smack about a PARKS game. The core gameplay is just too fun and thematic to not tick every one of my boxes. But after TRAILS I thought they couldn’t condense the format any more but with Parks: Roll & Hike they actually did. It takes a lot to get me to enjoy a roll-and-write and some of my issues with the genre are still here in the limited player connections and inherent randomness of it all. But that’s mitigated by the sheer amount of options available and just how quick and enjoyable the experience is. It was also built from the ground up to be portable and something you can take and play on a hike or while camping, something that I hope to test this autumn, and that’s reflected in some incredibly well made components paired with some of the best graphic design I’ve ever seen in a game. Capped off with Andreea Dumata‘s colorful and fun art, it’s a fantastic addition to the roll-and-write canon and one that won’t be leaving my hiking pack anytime soon.
You can pick up Parks: Roll & Hike direct from Keymaster Games or at your FLGS at an MSRP of $24.99.
Images via Keymaster Games
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