Rio Grande Games Yinsh

My favorite abstract game! This isnt a total brain burner but it does require strategy and a bit of pre-planning to win. This goes over well with ages 9 and up.

Im a fan of Go, so this seemed like a great game to try it. It totally is! There is a lot of reply value, and I still dont understand the best strategy. This is complex enough to make you think, but quick enough to play w/someone new and not thoroughly bore them w/hard thinking involved in Go.

awesome two player strategy game!!

Just played my first game, this is one of my favorites. Very complex, very abstract.

Yinsh was a game I ordered on a whim and I am glad I did. Upon opening it up the first thing you notice is how sturdy all the pieces are. the box is super tough, so is the board and the hard plastic pieces. The game doesnt have a rich theme like most board games but it is still super fun and really engrossing. The strategy is a little shorter than chess but its still present.

This game works a different part of the brain. Its kind of like if chess and Othello had a baby and then that baby had a baby with lost cities then that baby went into the outback and met Go and then became best friends with Go and then decided to take a long walk in the desert alone to discover itself. Very tactical. Im sure theres a strategy but I have yet to discover it.

Without a doubt this is my favorite two-player abstract strategy game. It is a mix of Pente and Othello, but that really makes it sound too simple. It really is simple to learn, but it will take time to learn strategies. It takes 5 to 10 games to really appreciate the nuances of the game and after that it will be a game that you will never get rid of or avoid playing. You have to get 3 five in a rows to win and as you get a 5 in a row then you take your power pieces off the board along with your 5 pieces. This mechanic makes you weaker as you win. It is really hard to put into words how this works and why it is so great. The component quality is very good. If you are a fan of two-player abstract games then you do yourself a disservice by not picking this up. I HIGHLY recommend this game. Edit: It appears this game is out of print. It is still awesome, but dont pay too much for it. There are tons of other great strategy games available. I have heard that this game will get reprinted. So it should be back to a reasonable price be this fall or Christmas time.

Fast game for two.

Fun and challenging at the same time. As you approach the winning condition, your board position gets weaker. Great mechanism. Really makes you think har as you get closer to the winning condition. Have played over 200+ abstract games. This is in the top 5.

This is truly a game of strategy from the onset of setting up the board to the very end. You will have to plan ahead through the whole game and expect the unexpected.