We were kindly sent the Print and Play preview for Nujum, a future two-player release from Purple Plant Games that will be released on Kickstarter. As it is a preview, it is not representative of the final components, rulebook, flavor text, or general product. However, we found this Print & Play to be impressive even in its current, non-final state, and look forward to the final product coming out. You can sign up for Purple Plant Games’ newsletter here to be notified when the Kickstarter campaign goes live.
In two sentences, what do you do in the game: In Nujum, both players are 10th Century Arabian astrologists who play cards to anticipate star movement, attempting to move a Star Token across the board according to the suit and number on their chosen card. If the Star Token is able to make its full movement across the board, the current player scores the points on the card, however the other player can try and derail this in their own favor.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: This is Purple Plant Games first title, which is surprising, because it doesn’t feel like a first game. The game has a complete feel to it even in preview stage, with clearly structured rules and gameplay flow.
What was surprising about this title: Nujum seems like a very simple game but it has more layers to the strategy than you would think. The strategic layers add a light competitiveness that steers the game well.
How likely is this to return to the game table?: Very likely. This is the type of game that is perfect for us when we want to play something two player, don’t have a lot of time, but still want lighthearted competition. Nujum pairs well with a cup of tea to either start a game night or give you a mini-game night on those busy weekdays.
Game length: The game is surprisingly short. The rulebook estimate of 15-20 minutes is accurate, but it can be slightly faster paced too. You can play multiple games of this to make it feel longer but the game length felt well balanced to us.
Language Barrier Playability: Once the rules are learned, this game can absolutely be played with a language barrier for the most part. The Nujum cards all have suits indicated by the artwork (sun or moon themed) and roman numerals to indicate the number of spaces to move towards that suit. The only cards that won’t work as well with a language barrier are the Eclipse Cards, as they have special abilities that require reading the flavor text. There are only five types of Eclipse cards however, so it is possible for players to memorize the abilities based on the artwork, or use Google Translate to roughly translate the explanations ahead of time.
Artwork: The artwork is gorgeous and what makes this game really stand out on the table. The Nujum cards are boldly decorated in their rich blue moon theme or golden sun theme, and the Eclipse cards encapsulate both color palletes. The playmat has simple, elegant sun and moon designs which make the more decorative cards pop when they’re placed nearby.
Quality: As a Print & Play, quality should not be judged at this point as these are not the final product materials. However, we will say that the Print & Play that was provided to us was on sturdy cardstock, and the cards felt almost complete already, and we felt that if this much care went into their Print & Play then we can imagine good things for the final product.
Strategy: Great! The rules are simple but the strategy is not always simple! Each card indicates how many spaces the player moves towards the depicted suit, and that player only gets points if they can complete the movement. However, each player’s card is chosen at the same time and played facedown prior to any movement, with the opposing player always revealing their card first and moving first on the player mat. This means the current player is always taking a bigger risk when it comes to being able to complete their movement across the playmat as that depends greatly on what the opposing player chose as their card. So the current player always has to try and predict what the opposing player is going to do ahead of time. For example, the playmat has an eclipse space (center), and only three sun and move spaces on either side of it. If an opposing player chose a card that moves the token all the way to the end of the sun side, and the active player also chose a card that moves towards the sun side, the active player would not get any points that turn as they can’t complete the movement because there are no sun spaces left to move onto. Another element that makes strategy difficult is the luck of the draw when it comes to the cards in their hand, some movements are easier than others when you move towards a suit one space, but it is harder when you have cards that ask you to move towards a suit five spaces on such a small playmat. Thus, players have to strategize what cards to use when and what cards are safer to save for later turns. The last part of strategy to consider is that players may want to aim to land on the center Eclipse space whenever possible, as doing so will earn one of the Eclipse cards that gives them a special ability for future turns. The Eclipse cards are especially good when you would otherwise be stuck without any useful moves!
Instruction Manual: The instruction manual is also in progress, but it is light and short, just like the game itself. The current rulebook has explanations for all the necessary symbols, cards, setup, etc. and useful examples that aren’t overbearing to the text.
Organization: Organization can’t be judged for this preview as the final box is still in progress. However, even without a box, the game would be pretty to display on a shelf.
Final thoughts: We are looking forward to the final release of Nujum but still found the Print & Play very enjoyable and will happily continue to play it in the meantime until the final copy comes out! It is rare to find a two player title that is short, competitive, and as well balanced as this game is.
Sushiball Games 