It’s basically Carcassonne, but a single-player puzzle toy.
The positive energy emanating from the discussions I heard when Dorfromantik was released on PC made me interested in a Switch release of the game. These good vibes are true because Dorfromantik is a systemic delight and worth your time as long as you expect a toy that is more than just a truly deep experience (although it still has depth).
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An easy comparison is the tabletop game Carcassonne, but Dorfromantik is more oriented towards multiplayer competition and polishes the solitaire aspect. Place hexagonal tiles underneath and piece them together to form a countryside. You can earn more points and sometimes more tiles by completing different challenges. Some are always present and some appear when you play certain tiles. For example, there is an assignment to create a forest of 50 trees, and in the forest he bundles 50 trees, adding 5 more tiles to the total. Continue playing, completing forests, towns, rivers, rails, etc. until you run out of tiles.
Different modes add tweaks to your experience. A typical classic mode play can take 30-60 minutes or more (depending on how many tiles you have won). If you want a short session, there is a quickplay mode that uses a limited number of tiles. There is also a hard mode for less chances of getting tiles and a monthly mode where you can improve your score based on a consistent selection of tiles. On top of all this, you can set up your own custom play mode and endless sandbox to create a beautiful country just the way you want it.
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Quests that focus on both single games and total play typically offer more goals to unlock new tiles or new biomes. Biomes offer different aesthetics for tiles, from winter tones to bright glowing lights. None of these are game-changing, but they’re more visual ways to get lost trying to get the longest rail possible, or to complete other goals and add tiles to your hand. Change is fun.
The Switch version’s only real drawback is the controls. They’re doable, and you can use the buttons to rotate tiles, zoom in/out, pan the board, but they’re not as fluid as PC mouse controls. Touchscreen support is also clunky and poorly explained. I’m 90% sure it’s completely unplayable on a touchscreen because I have to press buttons to place tiles, but I’m not entirely sure because the game isn’t fully explained. It is not customizable, which helps alleviate some issues.
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Despite the control issues, I’ve been fascinated by Dorfromantik. If you’re looking for level-based puzzle challenges or a raucous multiplayer experience, Dorfromantik isn’t for you, though. , if you want to tinker with discreet tiles, this is a gem.