Review of Scythe Modular Board

Game: Scythe

Designer: Jamey Stegmaier

Accessory: Modular Board

Expansions Necessary for Use: No

Overview

**This is a review of the Modular Board Accessory for Scythe, my review of the base game can be found here.**

Positives:

• Replayability
• Provides New Challenges to Seasoned Players
• Edit Board to Player Number
• New Bonus Tiles

Negatives:

• Tiles Could Move
• Some Configurations be Challenging for New Players
• Same Size as the Regular Sized Board
• Not Compatible with Rise of Fenris Campaign

The Scythe Modular Board is an upgrade that allows Scythe players to rearrange tiles on the Scythe board to create a new layout. The Modular Board includes a double sided board, 4 double sided hex tiles, home base tiles for the factions in Scythe and Invaders from Afar, 8 bonus tiles, and a rule book. The Modular Board is the same size as the original Scythe board. While the game now has 8 home base spaces, the game still only plays up to seven players.

As someone who mostly plays Scythe with 3-4 players, the Modular Board provides the best game play experience in my opinion. It gives players the capability to rearrange the board to fit their needs, and encourages higher player interaction in two to three player games. Players are able to structure the board to have less hexes with the modular board, ensuring that players are not starting across the map from one another, and putting more tension in the game. Even if players choose to make use of the entire board with all hexes in use, it allows players to space themselves according to the number of players across the board.

That being said, some configurations of the hexes could really put some factions at a strong disadvantage. This could be great for players who are looking for a challenge to work around having limited or different resources than normal, but could pose problems for newer Scythe players. One of the things I love the most about the Modular Board is the new challenges it can provide seasoned players. Many Scythe players get into habits of what to do on the first few turns according to which faction they have selected. By implementing the Modular Board system, those players are forced to adapt and think differently about game play.

The Modular Board also places different factions next to one another. This poses new challenges as well because it can move the factions that encourage aggression next to more aggressive or passive counterparts. With all the different resource arrangements and faction arrangements, there are a million possibilities for how the board might look. Players would have the opportunity to decide how challenging of set up they would like to have. The Modular Board really boosts replayability.

In addition to the board itself bringing replayability, there are also new Bonus Tiles that can be used with any version of Scythe. These provide new challenges for players and encourage players to play differently than they may have in the past. The tiles can be played on any board and with any of the expansions present.

While I do love the Modular Board overall, I do wish that the board had some sort of in lay to place the hexes into. The hexes are fairly stationary, when players are moving pieces around the board it can be easy to bump one of the hexes causes a disturbance on the board. The movement has yet to cause a significant disturbance during our game play but I could foresee it being a problem. That being said, I having an inlay would increase the price significantly, and the board is functional without it.

Overall, I feel the Scythe Modular Board adds a lot of value to the base game. I would suggest picking up the Modular Board if you are a person who often players with a lower player count or your are a seasoned player who is looking for a new challenge. Those who are looking for more flexibility in set up will be happy to have the Modular Board. If you are someone who is new to Scythe, the Modular Board can be accessible, but may provide some additional challenges. I would suggest trying to original board first for a few rounds to understand the basics before implementing the new board.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the Modular Board, you can do so through Stonemaier Games’ website starting today. Anyone can pre-order through Stonemaier Games, but Stonemaier Champions will get a discount on shipping. It will be also be available through other retailers within a few months.