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By: Kim, Devin, and Ronnie
October 15, 2022
Glow is a 2-4 player drafting, dice-rolling game with cute, surreal, and sometimes disturbingly spooky art, which is why we included it in our Spooky themed month! If you want to read just our thoughts on the game, skip to the bottom!
Overview
At the beginning of the game each player chooses an adventurer that corresponds to the color of big dice that you get. Often these adventurers will also have abilities and/or end game scoring on them.
The game is played over the course of 8 days (or rounds) with the first phase being a drafting phase. Each player in turn order chooses a new companion from the 5 face-up available cards and gets the small dice associated with them. After each player has chosen, everyone will roll all their dice and start applying the symbols they rolled to the abilities their companions have. Each die can be used by multiple cards, but only once per card. The card's abilities can be anything from point generation, resource collection, or even negatives such as having to kill off a companion. After everyone is done resolving their abilities, the movement on the board starts!
According to the symbols you rolled earlier, you can move your adventurer meeple along any connected path. If you reach a village you can choose to camp there, which means you move your encampment meeple to that location and end your movement phase, even if you still have movement left. The further you move from the starting location, the more points you get for camping in a village, but you only score for where your encampment is at the end of the game, no matter where your adventurer meeple is.
The end of the game happens after the 8th day is over. Everyone scores their final points from companions (you can also lose points from companions), where your encampment was at the end of the game, and 10 bonus points if you have as many fireflies as companions.
The main board is reversible, and the opposite side offers an alternative ruleset for movement and scoring related to board position. This is more than just an alternate layout - the rules for moving on this board are completely different, and the players control several pieces here. We have not played with this side yet, but it’s good to know there’s a whole other module waiting for us!
Thoughts
🔴Kim🔴
This one was Devin’s pick and to be honest he was first drawn to it because of the art. Neither of us really knew how it played, but I’m so glad we bought it! Devin and I have played this game 9 times so far! We’ve had plays at 2,3, and 4 players and I’ve had fun at each count.
Since this game is also available on Board Game Arena we’re able to play with family members who live in another state. This is a pretty lightweight drafting, dice chucker, but it’s a lot of fun to play and there is still strategy in the way you choose to draft your companions to essentially build your engine for the type of gameplay you’re going for. I have a great time every time we play and I think this is a great game to introduce new gamers, too
🟣Devin🟣
The art is a huge factor in this one. The bold choice to go for a primarily black-and-white color scheme, combined with the surreal sketch-like art style, really makes this one stand apart from other small, light games. It’s a truly unique visual treat every time we play.
The game itself is very, very easy to learn and play. Since most of the game happens simultaneously (dice rolling, ability resolution, and board movement), play flows quickly and naturally. Despite being a luck-heavy game, there are still interesting decisions to be made. When you choose your companions, do you try to spread out what dice results will earn you points? Or do you go all-in on for big points on very specific die faces? Maybe you really want one companion for its scoring ability, but the dice you would draft along with it aren’t the best. Do you stop your movement early to camp in a convenient village, or do you press on until you hit the high scoring campsites toward the corner? Despite how light and family-friendly the game is, it still manages to keep things engaging.
One thing to note: Glow is a very small board game. The box is little, and the board and wooden pieces are quite small. This can be a boon and a bane. It’s easy to transport and store, and it can be played on smaller tables. However, some people may find the small central board a hassle to reach and read if playing across a large table. The art style really helps in readability in this instance - the colors can make important board information easier to identify.
I would highly recommend this game if you want something you can play with friends or family who aren’t really into board games, or if you want something to play when the night just isn’t calling for Super Space Empire Builder 7, you know?
🟡Ronnie🟡
As Kim and Devin said above, the game is easy to pick up and extremely fun to play and learn. What I would like to add is how cute the pieces are, especially the camp pieces, though I find meeple pieces endearing in general. I love how the whole board game is in black and white but the dice are so colorful, it's a contrast that works superbly!
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