Maps of Misterra

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In Maps of Misterra, players are cartographers, seeking to chart an unknown island. You’ll start with some end-game goals of what you think the island is supposed to look like, and initially you’ll place terrain tiles on a shared board trying to match that map. But exploration is a tricky business and you can be mistaken: other players can overwrite your placements with their own until someone takes an extra action to confirm that tile, fixing it in place. Terrain effects, such as being able to see further atop mountains, or travel further over steppe, lend extra weight to the strategy and flavor to the theme.

The result of this clever, two-step, discover and confirm mechanic is a fascinating dynamic and interactive puzzle where your goals push and pull against those of other players, and the island takes shape around them. This also provides a real sense of revelation, of venturing into the unknown as every version of the island is different.

If you enjoy getting into the theme of a game, you can also have a great time loudly proclaiming that your suggestions are the absolute truth against the nonsense other players are trying to foist on the map. It’s fun as a solo board game, too, against an automated opponent so you still get the sense of playing against an active player. The slightly messy interaction might put off some players, but at this price it’s worth a look for its sheer oddness.

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Matt Thrower is a contributing freelance writer for IGN, specializing in tabletop games. You can reach him on BlueSky at @mattthr.bsky.social.