Orbis
Who let the gods out?
Designer: Tim Armstrong | Artist: Davide Tosello
ORBIS
Despite its circular-sounding name, Orbis is all about building pyramids. Well, we say pyramids, but what we actually mean are universes. Pyramidshaped universes.
Confused? Don’t worry about it. While the game’s cosmic theme is a bit loose and tatty around the edges, it thankfully benefits from tight-knit tile-laying mechanisms that makes it a pleasure to play.
Each player is tasked with creating their own cosmos, consisting of 14 pyramidically-arranged floating regions, which will ultimately be topped with a 15th tile depicting a deity of their choice. These hex-tile realms come in five different colours, each representing a different kind of territory (blue for water, yellow for farmland, etc.), and, once your five-tile base line is established, can only be placed so they colour-match either of the two tiles directly below.