Tatsumi Components Overview and Impressions
When I first pulled the box for Tatsumi out of the shipping container I was immediately impressed with the overall look. It was giving me some serious Tsuro vibes! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I cracked open the box, but what was inside was incredibly impressive.
Tatsumi comes with a nice insert with spots for everything, and a bit of room to spare. I assume this was either for some crowd funding extras that I don’t have, or for future expansions; either way, there is a spot for everything, and it doesn’t move around much easier, which was nice to see.
The game has a number of player boards which are made from a cardstock like material. A few years ago you probably would have seen me complain that these player boards weren’t made of cardboard, but at this point I’m a fan of making games cheaper and lighter. By using thick cards for player boards instead of cardboard, this can be easily achieved. The artwork on these playerboards is phenomenal, while also keeping the iconography necessary to play the game front and centre and easy to distinguish.
The game has a few cards you’ll be using game-to-game, and I think the quality here is pretty solid. Since it’s not a ton of cards, sleeving the game wouldn’t be overly costly; while not required, I still like ot recommend sleeving games where it’s only going to cost a few dollars to do so. They are an odd size, though, so make sure you check out measurements online before ordering!
There are a few cardboard tiles and cardboard chits as well, all of great quality. I had some minor issues punching them from the punchboard, but with a bit of care I got them all out, and only have a slight tear on one single token.
The game comes with a ton of wooden – perhaps recycled wood? – tokens and pieces. Some of these are screen printed, and a bit too small. I understand when used in context of the game – when laid out on the boards – their size makes sense, but perhaps beefing up these components might have been a good choice. This might be an issue that goes away with multiple plays, but these markers are not ideal for my fat fingers!
The large dragon player pieces are really nice to look at, and while some may wish they had some screen printing on them (I think maybe it was an option in the crowd funding release), I’m actually really happy with how they look. The colour choice here is phenomenal – they aimed to use traditional colours like blue, yellow and red, but did so with slight variations that make the pieces pop. It’s not red, it’s coral. It’s not blue, it’s turquoise, etc.
At the bottom of the insert you will find the tray of wooden rings, and there is nothing exceptionally impressive about these rings except for the fact that they are wood. I’m sure plastic rings might have been a cheaper option, but would not feel as good to handle. What I’m more impressed with is that we get a nice insert to hold them all, that also functions as a setup mechanism and gameplay mechanism for the game. I love when games do this, and Tatsumi is right up there with the best of them.
I’m really excited to get Tatsumi tabled and reviewed, but rest assured that if you are looking for a solid production, you will find that here!
Article By Adam
