1-5 Players 20 Mins Ages 8+
Jump on board the good ship Tranquility and set sail for paradise...
Take care though; in a land where the day blends into night it’s easy to lose track of time and you still need to find that special little island to call home.
Tranquility is a co-operative strategy game for 1-5 players suitable for players aged 8-100 and games last around 15-20 minutes.
Players must fill the sea with islands and guide the ship home before any player runs out of cards. In the world of Tranquility though, the only way to play is in silence.
HOw to Play
The goal of the game is for the team to complete the grid before any player runs out of available actions. Cards must be placed so that the grid ascends in numerical order from bottom left to top right.
All players will win if they manage to complete the grid having placed both a Start and Finish card.
However all players lose if a single player can no longer play or discard any cards legally following the instructions given below.
But here’s the kicker… players may not communicate!
Play passes around the table with actions of either playing a card or disposing of 2 cards and bringing your hand back to 5 cards.
Playing a card requires a card to be placed in the grid in ascending values from bottom left through to top right.
If the card is placed next to an existing card then a player must discard the difference between those values – however if it exceeds the number of cards in the users hand then it can’t be placed.
Play continues until either the grid is complete and a START & FINISH card is in play, in which case the game is won – or if there are no cards remaining or no valid moves exist in which case the game is lost.
Tranquility available HERE
Our Tranquil Thoughts…
Tranquility is a game that evokes story through its art and wow what artwork; courtesy of Tristam Rossin you have a game that lives up to it’s name… Tranquility!
Each card is beautifully illustrated to depict both day and night in a contrasting reflection and vibrant style adding character and versatility to how you layout your cards.
As for the game play, well this is a first publication for James Emmerson but just like those artful reflections here we have a simple objective that’s mirrored by a frustratingly addictive mechanic…
While working co-cooperatively in pure silence may be metaphorical in its representation of your serene voyage, in reality it ironically brings glorious frustrations to the experience.
Tranquility will find you holding in the urge to hint to other players at a game plan, or worse suppress exasperation as a team mate plays a card which now makes your entire hand redundant and your only play is to now draw from your ever dwindling deck – like a leaky boat destined to sink beneath the waves…
The added beauty of this ever decreasing card mechanic is that when discarding cards you do so with them face down…
This means no one else at the table has an inkling as to whether your team has just thrown away invaluable cards such as the essential START or FINISH which are needed to complete the journey…
This results in the finish line being at the horizon, just in sight and ever so close… but wait hang-on there is no finish line!
Crash and the games caught you out again!
It’s punishingly cruel to witness, but totally sublime when you finally manage to pull off a perfect grid.
Because of this aspect we’ve found Tranquility is a game you want to keep coming back to and conquer. Just like a frustrating video game boss you want just one more go at defeating it and next thing you know just like these beautiful cards, day has turned to night…
Overall when combined with several play styles, a solo mode and expansion cards Tranquility is a game that can take you to the limit, but rewards you with so much in playability and challenge… and that’s fine by us!
On a final note, the portability of this game is fantastic but the stunning playmat makes for a far swifter setup, and for the easily triggered provides essential and perfect grid lines…
