On a player’s turn of Trails they can move one or two spaces forward in the direction their hiker is facing and then perform the corresponding action on the trail tile. Actions include gaining resources, exchanging resources for other resources or paying a resource to perform the photography action (see later). Players can use their canteen to move any number of spaces instead of the standard one or two. Players have a resource limit of eight and must discard down to this at the end of their turn.

While a slight disparity is to be expected, there seemed to be a massive difference between our success and I felt the randomness removes a sense of enjoyment from the game, so much so that players may switch off, especially as the direction they are given simply cannot be achieved. Create a comfortable, cosy experience for visitors with graceful paths leading through fun and playful scenes that you can arrange using the thousands of themed scenery props available with the base game.

Be an astonishing activist!

Another big plus for me is the gentle competitive style of the game – whilst you may collect a badge before someone else who was planning and saving resources to collect that badge, it doesn’t feel malicious and those resources are likely to be useful elsewhere. Whilst it may string a little, it’s clear that all players are working on collecting badges and so doesn’t have the ‘take that’ element. Beautiful Nature

Nonetheless, the game arrived and I wasn’t sure what to expect so perhaps it was the artwork on the cards or the wooden counters which arrived in their own tree-like dispenser that made me instantly fall in love with Parks. Give up any regular token and exchange it for a different regular token type of your choice. You can do this twice. If this is the start of the game, the player to the right of the First Hiker receives the Camera, and all players draw a Canteen. Once a player’s two Hikers reach the Trail End, they will no longer take turns for the Season. When only one Hiker is left on the Trail, the player must move the Hiker to the Trail End on their next turn and choose an action there. Then, it is the end of the Season.

At the time of writing, we’re still in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Trips away and idyllic plans got put on pause. We’ve had to cancel holidays, and travelling to far-flung places is a case of fuhgeddaboudit. It’s fortunate then that Parks allows you to visit national parks around the US, from the comfort of your own home. If you're not familiar with this game already, fear not. I'll be explaining how to play Parks from set-up to conclusion. Alongside this artwork, you get a production value that is second to none. The first player token is a metal token with an enamel finish, itself being a beautiful addition to the game. The wooden tokens are well-produced, with the 12 unique wildlife tokens being a particular standout component. Everything about this game in terms of its looks and quality has been developed in such a beautiful way. I would say to most that this game is worth getting just for the artwork alone, but of course, a board game has to play well in addition to looking good. So, does it play well? Though the components aren’t necessarily element-proof, I can definitely envision this being played whilst camping or after a long hike, in the comfort and warmth of a fire-lit cabin (or pub!) Its travel friendly size means it has joined my list of holiday games. My Thoughts

If you gain a Water token on your turn, you can place it in an empty Canteen that you have (and only when gaining water), to gain the benefit shown on the Canteen card. Finally, I think PARKS has a nice amount of variety in the game. What helps is not only the changing of the trail each season, but the large amount of gear cards that let you break the rules in various ways. Speaking of the gear cards, I do wish there was a way to sweep the market of them. Too many times we’ve had cards no one was interested in languishing from round to round. It would be nice for them to clear out at the end of the round to see more options because there are a LOT of gear cards and usually, only 2-3 are bought in any one game. Spaces will either provide resources or an action. Final Thoughts:Pay the cost shown on any face-up Park, or one you have reserved, to gain the indicated number of points, and the card is placed vertically in your player area, refilling the board if necessary. It’s a very easy game to understand and even easier to set up and play thanks to the aforementioned tiny footprint, exceptionally well thought out storage solution and components that allow for a super-fast set-up time. Gear gives ongoing abilities for the rest of the game, and some also have an instant action, denoted by a lightning bolt.