Sometimes, reviewing board games begins with a preconceived notion of how a game is going to be. Well, that’s most of the time, just to be transparent. Reading descriptions and seeing the pieces and parts develops this assumption about whether a game is going to be good or bad. It’s a common habit with reviewers. The trick is to be open-minded, while starting positive and thinking it’s the best before you even touch it. That’s a trick a good (and late) friend of mine, Rob Smith, taught me while he was still on this earth. That was his strategy to review material, and it’s always a good way to approach any type of game.
I’m blabbering about this because I went into reviewing Take Time from creators Alexia Piovesan and Julien Prothiere, as well as publisher Asmodee, thinking that the game sounded too simple to be fun, but it could surprise me. On the surface, Take Time is a math and logic game, but on a wholly other level, it’s also about communication and trust in your fellow player. That last part is important because it moves Take Time to an entirely different level of fun entertainment.
Let’s get right into it.
The setup
Take Time is not that difficult to fall into on a basic level. It comes with cards that players deal (solar and lunar), a series of clocks that are ordered by chapter number, additional cogs/tokens that come into play if the player does poorly, and a strict dose of rules that, when followed correctly, make this game amazing. We will get to that last part in the next section.
How the game works:
Players take out a clock and lay it down on the table. The clock is labeled with a chapter number (10 chapters in total), and the players play said clock in order of chapters. Each clock contains a clock hand, which dictates where players will begin, and beyond that clock hand lies several notches where players can lay down cards.
Two sets of cards (solar and lunar) are mixed and dealt to players, and the cards range from 1-12. The cards are dealt face down, so players can’t see what they have until the game begins. Players must discuss a strategy to best win the game, and that is a heavy amount of communication and trust. Once the game starts, strategy talks must stop, as players have to be silent, and then the players must make card decisions based on pre-game strategies.
The goal of the game is simple. Get the cards around the clock from lowest to highest (or whatever rules the clock chapter is indicating). Since everyone has more than one card, which is dictated by player count, multiple clock notches might get multiple cards laid on them. If that happens, the cards must be added together to reach a single number, and the overall goal is to get the lowest-to-highest number range. Oh, and by the way, the cards have to be face down, so not one player knows what the other has played at a clock notch. See where this is going?
If the players succeed in this, then they can move on to the next clock. If they do not succeed, then they turn over a cog token and are granted permission to turn a single card over (determined by the number of cogs and losses) and reveal the number in hopes of helping to finish the clock chapter. The players can also slide a difficult clock into what is called the sleeve of regrets to come back later. No one likes regrets.
As each new clock chapter is reached, the clock hand shifts its position, and spaces might have different goals/rules to them. Players might start later in the numbers game, or have spaces where specific cards (and multiples) are required to be played. And trust me when I say this, the game gets far more complicated as players dive deeper into the chapters.
The game is easy to get going on, and that only bodes well for the entire experience.
The experience
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from Take Time. It looked incredibly simplistic on the surface, and I was concerned about its longevity over time (pun intended). But as the game went on, I understood the amount of complication that was created within the experience.
Since the 24 cards are always shuffled, how you approach a clock chapter will always be unique to the hand dealt. While there is a heavy amount of randomness to the game, that randomness creates new experiences each time the game is played. It’s never played the same way, especially when it contains a large array of different clocks in unique configurations (and with their own rules). Playing the game on a Monday doesn’t guarantee it will work or feel the same on a Tuesday. It’s always going to be a new experience and challenge because of the card shuffle, different clock chapters, and how players can play those cards.
In other words, this has quite the longevity to it.
In addition, the surprising element during my time with Take Time (pun intended again) was how heavy and intense teamwork plays into the overall experience. Not being able to look at cards while you discuss strategy with teammates is complicated. It helps knowing that everyone is on board with a plan before a clock chapter is initiated, but chaos can easily ensue once the game actually starts. Once a game begins, while a plan has been verbally created, players have to logically work out assumptions of each player’s hand of cards, while weighing decisions on whether they throw down a card on top of another. At the very least, it’s unpredictable fun.
Once the game gets going and is understood by players, the communication will be vital for overcoming chapters and guaranteeing victory, and there is no guarantee of that based on assumptions. I was surprised by how involved the conversations with other players became. Talking to them, throwing out strategies and logic, and trying to find the perfect plan to overcome the complicated clock without being able to communicate with each other during actual gameplay, and before knowing what cards were dealt, was an intense and fun process. After the first two games, I actively sought out more chapters, while having a fun time berating teammates that clearly weren’t listening during the pre-game strategy sessions. Don’t worry, I berated myself at times.
I’m not sure I’ve ever had this much fun talking to people and trying to make teamwork make the dream work. It was serious, silly, and entertaining as hell.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap up this review.
The results
Take Time, from creators Alexia Piovesan and Julien Prothiere, and publisher Asmodee, is one fun experience. It won’t take long to jump in and understand how the game works, but it will be complicated to find the best logic and team communication. That’s the biggest entertaining part of the entire gameplay experience, and a good reason to purchase this game. It is made for groups of friends that won’t hold grudges.
In addition, the game has a long shelf life, as it works to make each clock chapter repeatable each time you reach for the box. It’s that type of game. It is brilliant and worth your time, effort, and money.
