Tatsu

The guys at BlueLine games have done an amazing job with my new game Tatsu (I'm the designer of the board game). The graphics are wonderful, the animated dragon stones look fantastic and the AI is now quite aggressive on the hardest level, it's beaten me 5 times in the last 12 games I played with it. That is really good, considering I beat it 64 times in a row before it was updated. Really looking forward to seeing the community grow with this game, as it has with my other game Hive. The physical board game is going to launch in the USA in about a week, so I'm really pleased to see that BlueLine games have managed to release the Steam version in time for that. A lot of hours, hard work and love has gone into this version, you can really see that when you play the game. Well done guys. John Yianni

游戏分黑白两方，双方各有：绿子四枚，蓝子三枚，红子两枚。 ◆游戏版图中央由二十四块双槽的长方形围绕成圈，可看成内圈和外圈，其中包含带有绿、蓝、红颜色的双槽长方形各两组。双方在自己面前各有一组标着“①②③”的长方形组。 ◆游戏版图左下角和右上角的三角木盒为双方的“备用子区”。 ◆游戏版图右下角和左上角的红色三角区域为双方的“死亡子区”。（也可以理解为“战利品区”，因为该区存放的是对方的死亡子，进入该区的子本局永久弃置。） ◆游戏版图上下边缘中央两块麻布长条为双方的“待上场子区”。 游戏开始时，双方在自己的“①②③”长方形组的内圈槽每个槽内各有一枚绿子，也就是双方起手场面上各有三枚绿子。黑方子只能顺时针移动，白方子只能逆时针移动。当己方的子移动后停留于有颜色的长方形槽时，便可将该槽对应颜色的一枚己方子，由自己的“备用子区”移动至“待上场子区”。 每个回合开始，投掷两颗骰子，如果投掷的点数中有1或2或3，便可将己方“待上场子区”的任意一枚子放置到己方“①②③”长方形组对应点数的数字槽内，前提是当前长方形至少有一个空闲槽。之后，可用该子或其他己方子按另一颗骰子的点数进行移动，移动后结算子触发的特效并结束回合。（也可以先移动子，再把“待上场子区”的子上场，然后结束回合。） 如果投掷的两颗骰子中没有1或2或3，或者“待上场子区”内为空，或者暂时不想将“待上场子区”的子上场，那么以下两种行动二选一： Ⅰ用一枚子，先后进行两次按两颗骰子点数的移动，可自己选择两颗骰子对应点数移动的顺序。（例如，你掷出的两颗骰子点数为4和5，那你可以用一枚子，先移动4步，再移动5步；也可以先移动5步，再移动4步。） Ⅱ用两枚子，分别进行一次移动，两枚子的移动顺序和分别使用的骰子点数可自己决定。 也就是说每个回合，每个人可以按两颗骰子的点数分别进行两次行动，要么上场一枚子，移动一枚子；要么一枚子移动两次；要么两枚子各移动一次。 子移动结束时默认停留于内圈的槽上，当一方的子移动后停留的位置上已有对方的子时，便停于此长方形的外圈槽，同时按颜色触发自身特效（无视对方子颜色）： ★绿子：缠绕当前长方形内圈槽的对方子，同时自己的绿子停留在长方形的外圈槽。（被缠绕的对方子在对方回合对方要移动时只能选择两颗骰子中数字较小的那个点数移动，且移动后立刻结束回合。也就是说要移动被绿子缠绕的子需要耗费当前回合的两次行动。） ★蓝子：将当前长方形内圈槽的对方子移动回“对方”的“备用子区”，同时自己的蓝子移动至当前长方形的内圈槽停留。 ★红子：将当前长方形内圈槽的对方子移动至“己方”的“死亡子区”，同时自己的红子移动至当前长方形的内圈槽停留。 绿子只能牵制对方子，蓝子则能把对方子打回家，而红子能完全消灭掉对方子。越厉害的子数量越少，上场所需要达到的颜色槽也越远，而游戏的胜利条件就是把对方的一种颜色的子全部消灭，也就是将对方四枚绿子或者三枚蓝子或者两枚红子送进自己的“死亡子区”。 P.s. ▲当己方子移动后将停留的长方形内圈槽里有其他己方子时，便停留于其外圈槽，且不触发特效，两枚子分别停留于两个槽内，形成不可被进攻的安全阵型，其他子无论敌我，只可经过，不可停留于此长方形内。 ▲当两个骰子投出的点数，无论哪个己方子用哪个点数移动后都会遇到安全阵型，那么不做移动，直接结束回合。 ▲安全阵型的内圈槽子必须在外圈槽子移走后才能移动，否则不能移动。 ▲当有子可以移动，无论想不想移动，必须移动。 双方顺时针和逆时针的子移动设定，形成了两相交错的局面，有那么点道家阴阳太极的韵味。就像游戏图中黑白双龙相互扼着对方脖颈一样，咽喉要害，最关键的地方，是红子，也就是毁灭性怒火的产生地所在。“螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后”，当你觊觎更多东西的时候，小心你的背后。“否极泰来”，交锋最初的艰难日子一旦度过去，后面就是一片坦途，然而“物极必反”，如果你不能把握好当前的自己，那么安逸的时光稍纵即逝，人生偶尔会回到原点，但是只要你胆大心细，越挫越勇，那么最后的胜利属于你。当然，或许有时候需要些运气，“三十年河东，三十年河西”，不过这不正是桌游的魅力所在吗？！ 附送一句广东话的俗语：“宁欺白须公,莫欺少年穷，终须有日龙穿凤，唔信一世裤穿窿。” 因为是日本黑白双龙大战的故事背景，游戏采用的是由日本传统乐器三味线演奏的BGM，听起来比较静心。 对了，这个公司的游戏都是可以热座和网战的，推荐两个[url=store.steampowered.com/app/251210/][h1]Hive[/h1][/url]著名的「昆虫棋」和[url=store.steampowered.com/app/312720/][h1]Khet 2.0[/h1][/url]用光线对抗法老王狮身人面像。

After more than 100 hours playing this game, I owe it a review. Blueline developed this digital version of the game, but it was a board game first. I believe it came out last year (2016), and it's from the mind of John Yanni. He also designed the very very fantastic Hive. Blueline also developed the digital version of that game. I know Tatsu won't appeal to everyone, but I really dig it. It's my come home from work, turn on some music/podcasts, and relax game. As much as I love Hive and other abstract strategy games, they can be very stress inducing at times. Tatsu certainly rewards strategy and skill, but it's much more chill for me. The first thing to know about this game is that it's kind of like Backgammon. Rolling the dice and moving the pieces works the same way (except there is a limit of two pieces per space), and the opponents are moving in opposite directions. Tatsu has some very clever twists that make it feel unique and modern, but also like something I'll be playing with my grandchildren years from now. There are two ways to win the game: eliminate all of one of your opponent's color or get all of their pieces out of play. Your pieces or *dragons will continue to go around and around the board; they don't leave play like in Backgammon. There are three color dragons, and they each do something different. The green pieces trap your opponents piece underneath (they can free it by using only the lower of the two values rolled), blue pieces wash your opponent’s pieces out of play, and the red pieces eliminate your opponent’s pieces from the game. To bring a new piece into play, simply end your movement on a green, blue or red space and the matching color piece will enter the ready mat. It can be brought into the game on a 1, 2 or 3. There are a few other itty bitty rules, but that's really all there is to it. You can learn everything you need to know in just a minute or two. The AI isn't that tough (I've won 68% of my games against the hardest AI), but I enjoy playing against it. It tends to make suboptimal moves now and then, and there's a certain tactic that it doesn't seem to know how to handle. When I've created games to play asynchronously, someone always joins. There have been a few bugs here and there, but the developer has been pretty good about updating the game and responding to feedback from the players. The game looks just like it's physical counterpart although I kind of wish it was 3D like Hive is. *The theme of the game is about dragons and a Japanese legend. I like the dragon patterns on the pieces and "Tatsu" is a pretty cool name, but it has about as much theme as Backgammon. I'm perfectly OK with that; I just thought it was worth mentioning. OK so if you like Backgammon, definitely give this a try. If you discovered it because you're a fan of Hive or maybe checking out digital versions of board games, this is a very approachable abstract-strategy game that has some real depth but can be played on a chill level because the luck of the dice kind of takes the edge off compared to something like Hive or Chess. But make no mistake, just like in Backgammon, the more skilled player will win most of the time.

The stuff that needs to be covered: The controls are good (obviously), it's point and click. The visuals are pretty, easy on the eyes. I like the theme. The "roll" box looks a tad out of place as just a green box, perhaps a little bit of style on that and the dice, but not a complaint just a suggestion. The music is good, decent variety. The game itself: I'd never heard of this boardgame but it looked pretty fun, so I got this. The "how to play" tells you what you need to know; how to move, what does what, how to win (or lose :P), and it all became clear after a game or two. Pass and play works fine, haven't tried online multiplayer but I suspect there's a small community at the moment (whatever could tell you that, oh single english review?) The AI is, from what I can tell, good. I played against the easy AI and lost twice then started beating it and noticing where it could've done better moves and moved on up the chain. You pick this game up pretty quick. I like the probabilistic element, some may not; the dice can screw you or give you the win, you have to play risk management but that's any dice game. I still, however, despite the dice felt ultimately skill is in control of how the game plays out. A few times I completely missed a really good move. As they say, easy to learn, hard to master. It doesn't take too long to play a game, certainly well under half an hour. If you're a fan of different sorts of boardgames, I'd go ahead and give this a shot. It's a tad like backgammon, but it's got a better theme and has more elements to the gameplay, not as dice-dependent. The dragon theme is nice although I personally would make the dice and some of the other elements fit said theme a tad (the board itself and pieces all have an excellent easy on the eyes look though), the visuals feel ever so mildly miicrosoft ships-with-windows-y, but it is early access after all and I would rather they improve the AI (not that it needs it from what I can tell, but the AI can *always* be improved) or something than a silly little thing like that. Oh one suggestion would be to add a way to undo what you did with your first dice or undo your move or something, I frequently made a rash decision with my first dice and then saw a much better move. I could, alternatively, just learn to take my time so perhaps I shouldn't have that button :P So yeah, go ahead and try it out. If the only (ever so mild) complaint I have is a knitpicky one about some visuals, that's a good thing. A fun boardgame to add to my list to pass and play with friends for something different or relax with for an hour or so.

[h1]Что же это за игра такая?[/h1] Разработчик "BlueLine Games" специализируется на создании цифровых копий популярных настольных игр современности, как более, так и менее известных. Конкретно эту игру я впервые встретил именно здесь и очень удивился, когда попытался загуглить правила игры или прочую информацию. Я нашел ровным счетом ничего, что хоть как-то помогло бы мне, так что пришлось "учиться в бою", используя так же внутриигровую поддержку. Итак, игра расчитана на двух человек, каждый из которых владеет определенным количеством фишек-драконов. Способ перемещения более всего напомнил мне нарды: бросаются кубики и на основании результатов броска делается ход одной или несколькими фишками. Или же ставится новая фишка. Цель игры - уничтожить всех драконов противника на игровом поле и в руке. Или же просто уничтожить всех драконов определенного типа (огненный, водный и стелящийся(?)). Так же фишки могут взаимодействовать между собой, если фишка ставится в поле, над уже поставленной фишкой: - огненная - навсегда удаляет фишку из игры - водная - отправляет фишку в "руку" - стелящаяся - оплетает фишку так, что она не может ходить Если поставить фишку на поле её цвета, то вы поместите дополнительную фишку этого цвета себе в руку. Ну кое-как с правилами разобрались. Теперь пару слов конкретно по поводу игры: + режимы игры - человек-человек (онлайн, один комп) и человек-комп (5 уровней сложности) + обучение + открыл для себя эту игру именно в стиме, про настольную версию даже не слышал - один раз игра просто закрылась с ошибкой ни с того ни сего Судя по запросам в гугле это не самая популярная настолка для людей, которые любят подумать или просто скоротать время, однако это не делает её хуже тех же "Улья" или "Отелло".

I like this game so much after playing a few hours that I bought the physical version. It's a nicely designed game, most similar in concept to Backgammon, but with a few twists. In Tatsu you have three different types of counters each having a different effect if they land on an opponents counter. You travel infinitely around the board attempting to "take" all of your opponents counters of one type. Either that or place your opponent in a position where they have no tiles to move on the board. It's as simple as that. The interface serves its purpose, but has a very basic feel. There's no flashy dice roll graphics, the sound effects are slightly annoying and the game could do with a serious amount of polishing. BUT, it all works as it should. It's a fun casual game with a similar balance of luck and strategy to the aforementioned Backgammon. You might need friends that play it if you want to play online as the playerbase seems fairly small. I've tried to find an online match a couple of times without success. The game is cross-platform, so maybe I was searching wrong? There is the option of async but I'm not sure how well this will work compared to live play.

Великолепная абстрактная стратегия, пропитанная духом Востока! Отличная реализация одноимённой настольной версии, созданной Джонном Ианни. Хочется сказать отдельное спасибо разработчикам этой игры, ребятам из BlueLine Game Studios, за предоставленную возможность участвовать в создании русской локализации Tatsu. Шон, Джеф! Спасибо! :)

*PLEASE READ TO THE END* From what i've seen the game is based on a boredgame, which i love and is why i bought it. I've been playing vs. the AI on medium dificulty and have noticed two very annouying things. The first of which is that the AI sometimes jumps spaces full on the inner and outer ring, giving it an extra move. The game is young so glitches or mistakes are bound to happen. The second being the AI seems to get just the right rolls to stay one step ahead of you. In my opinion i think the strategies of the AI should become increasingly difficult, not how lucky it gets. I also noticed the same in turn for the player facing the AI, always one or two numbers short or too many to make any kind of a decent move. I know some out there arent going to like that fact that i'm downing this game based on this, seeing as it's luck based, but i feel like the AI just gets too perfect of moves too often. Best thing i can say is incorperate a log players can go back to reference too that shows what piece does what per turn. A lot of digitalized boredgames do it so i was actually suprised to not see it here. Lastly i'm NOT asking for my money back. I'm not saying i wont play. the game has a great concept to it and what i've mentioned above could be adressed in the future. Oh, and the please read to the end is just for people who only like to pick and choose what they read beore commenting and yelling. Thanks for the game!

Game could be really cool but has one fatal flaw. Creating fire dragon "towers" on both sides can lead to a mexican standoff with both sides waiting for the oponnent to open up, with absolutely zero reason to do it first and no way to flush opponent out of his ambush.

I have to cosign some of these negative reviews. I bought this game because I'm a fan of Hive (the physical game, anyway), and Tatsu was designed by the same guy, and has won awards. I bought Tatsu solely for the aforementioned reasons, and ignored the reviews because I paid less than $5. However, even at that super cheap price, I still wish I hadn't bought the game. I played vs the lowest CPU difficulty maybe 5 times in a row after reading through the tutorial (it's non-interactive, which is fine, but it's hard to conceptualize what it says about the board when it doesn't show the board during that tutorial, which is pretty dumb). The first time, I didn't really know how to play, and lost almost immediately. I thought that was weird, as any game set to its lowest difficulty should basically be like playing vs a potato, IMO, but maybe my lack of understanding of the game rules really was that bad. The next four games, though, as I thoroughly learn the rules and some strategies, I start to realize that I'm losing because not only am I not realizing my mistakes as I make them, the CPU is frequently rolling exactly the dice they need in order to fully punish whatever mistakes I make. If I see a juicy target lined up for my fire dragon, and I destroy it, then on their next turn, the CPU will roll the exact combination of dice to spawn their own fire dragon and eat mine. The "1-turn spawn and kill" or "sudden snipe from the other side of the board" move has happened so many times over the course of just those few games that I can't recommend this at all. They don't even attempt to even the power levels by giving you the option to move with both dice at once. You have to use them one at a time. That means you have to manually count how much spaces, rather than the game simply saying "hey, you can go here, there, or if you wanna use both dice, there or over there." You have to manually click the "roll" button every turn. There doesn't seem to be a hotkey for rolling the dice. No option to make it automatic. It's just kind of a mess, and I don't feel the love an indie game should get. It should be a love letter to Tatsu. It plays like it was made by a dude who developed a template for implementing a certain type of board game, then used it to meet the requirements he received from his client. If it was his baby, like indie games tend to be, then maybe the production quality and usability would be a little better. To be clear, it's not a bad game per se, and I might actually recommend it simply because it has a slick interface and technically lets you play Tatsu on your computer. But if you're trying to play primarily vs CPU, because you aren't coordinating the purchase with a friend to play online with, then forget about it. Look into games made by companies you recognize.