Kids Say:

“Element is about trying to prove your worth by trapping another sage through the power of the elements. It’s generally well-balanced, though the water element is a little overpowered, because you move it anywhere like a snake and change directions to surround your opponent. I think it is best with 2 players, although I haven’t tried it with 3 or 4 yet.”

Adults say:

“My childhood memories of chess and checkers are mostly sour. Perhaps that’s why, after purchasing a strategy game played on a grid, it took me an embarrassingly long time to open it up and actually read the instructions. These misgivings were, of course, undeserved. There is nothing sour about Element. You create, shape, and manipulate the four basic elements of nature to trap your opponent’s sage, while sending your own sage into the most open area possible. You can reach into the bag and draw out up to five element tiles, but the rest of the game is purely strategic with no hidden information. In other words, hoping to draw the luckiest elements is the only element of luck in Element.”

“It’s the board game version of Fortnite. The world gets smaller and smaller around you, and you have to decide whether to fight or hide.”

“Element has the rare elegant simplicity of a timeless game. I’ll go back to it happily. It doesn’t overwhelm you with rules but gives enough variety of movement to make playing fun, and invite you to play over and over, to capitalize on the best attributes of each element.  It’s also a quick play, which makes you feel like you’re accomplishing something interesting in just 5 or 10 minutes for a 2-player game.”