The Oracle at Delphi Board Game

I think this is one of legendary game designer Stefan Feld's best games....but, unlike many of his more famous games, this game goes against almost everything a 'Feld-designed board game' has stood for in the last 20 years or so. Oracle is a dice-driven, HIGHLY RANDOM, ROLL AND MOVE (sorta'), NON-POINT SALAD, light, almost family style, board game! Yes, Stefan Feld-THE STEFAN FELD- has drifted dangerously close to....Ameritrash (or AmeriTHRASH, depending on your point of view) style board games! The end of the world is at hand! Seriously, though, Feld deserves a lot of credit for creating a solid, fun game out of his normal 'comfort zone.' Yes, it is dice driven. Yes, it CAN be random. Yes, it is NOT a point-salad style game (a mechanic Feld used to build his great reputation as a designer over the last 2 decades..) Yes, it is light. Yes, it does have a sort of roll and move mechanic-one of the worst sins in game board design ever. And yes, it does feel Ameri-THRASHY....but it's also a damn fine game! And like ALL of Stefan Felds famous games, EVERY seeming weakness in the game design can be mitigated by the games mechanics and/or clever game play. Oracle Of Delphi is basically a race game. Zeus has given the players 12 labors...er....tasks to complete. The first player to complete the 12 tasks and return to Zeus wins! Each player has a ship, not unlike Jason and the Argonauts, that they will use to travel across the board doing various labors...er.....tasks. The tasks include such VERY Greek things as slay monsters, make offerings, build statues (to Zeus of course!) and so forth. Along the way, you may encounter another hero or heroine that will join your crew and give you special powers and abilities....just like a Greek myth! Of course some of the other gods/goddesses on Mt Olympus are watching this contest and can be called upon to help the players from time to time! Now, I love Greek Mythology, so on theme alone this game grabs me! The core mechanic of the game is a set of 3 dice each player has. The dice each represent a set of 6 colors (red, blue, green, yellow, black and pink). Everything else in the game (game pieces, game board, tokens, etc..) are also of the same colors. Basically, to interact with anything and everything in the game you need to play a die of a matching color. Wanna' move to a space with a 'blue' symbol, use a blue die; wanna slay that red monster...use a red die; wanna build this yellow statue...use a yellow die; wanna use this black cube to make an offering, use a black die; wanna' explore this island outlined in pink....use a pink die. Of course, I'm over simplifying, but the game really is that...simple. And, there is actually quite a bit of strategy underneath the seemingly simple mechanics of the game. Long time Feld fans, expecting a medium to heavy Euro-style board game with complex mechanisms within complex mechanisms that require a chess-like strategy to score the most points, may be turned off the game. But I think they might be selling Stefan a bit short. Oracle Of Delphi is a great, light game that any gamer could enjoy.

First, the game does not support 5 players, with components only for four. Apart from that, it is an excellent game for those who like having to choose between many short term goals. This a low conflict, Euro-style game, where this very little players can do to affect each other's strategies. It has a moderate to high level of complexity, with multiple rules to learn, but each is fairly straightforward. The rule book does a good job of explaining all the options players have open to them. However, the rule book does do an awful job of telling you how to set up the board, but once you get past that it is fine. There is one typo with the start of turn rewards that is inconsistent with what is printed on the board - the board is correct and the book is wrong. There is some luck involved as you roll dice, but you will always several options. Will probably play under and hour once you are familiar with the game. Replayability comes from the ability cards which really alters how a players approaches the game.

I first fell in love with this game on the board game site yucata.de and can be found with 10+ games going at any given day of this game alone. Compared to Castle of Burgundy (CoB) it is brightly colored and looks good, imo. The setup is a bit tedious, so count that in, when bringing in new players. (We usually play several games in one sitting) There are no points to be had, which is a bummer...but it does allow for some awesome combo moves that one appreciates with CoB. Everyone is given the same goals to complete and return to Zeus. first.. to be deemed the winner. If you utilize your gods and oracle cards, while balancing your injuries, you can stretch your turn further. Just yesterday, I was able to pick up 2 additional statues (along with the 1 already in my ship) and by the end of turn, had places all 3 statues. It was a killer move. I had to utilize the right gods and oracle cards. I was standing between some statue pickups, as well as a drop off place. And although the rules are a bit unclear in some spots, if you play the online version, it helps to fill in the discrepancies and helps familiarize yourself with the mechanics, as it highlights your options on your turns. If you make it back to Zeus at the same time as your opponents, be sure you have more oracle cards than them, followed by favor tokens. This is also a fun game to play solo, operating 2 players, fwiw. The game also comes with funny looking pieces that the rule book fails to explain. They are pillars and the extra rules can be found at boardgamegeek. I have yet to play with them. I hope an expansion comes out for this game that might add some point fun to it or an additional player..either way, I have already played over 50 games of this and still LOVE it. It gets a lot more complicated with more players, but scales well from 2-4. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. My top 5 games are 1. Oracle of Delphi 2. Castles of Burgundy 3. Concordia w/expansions 4. Stone Age w/expansion 5. Five Tribes w/expansions (for reference)

Game play is fun: a solid pick-up-&-deliver with a race to finish your goals first. Modular set up and variable player abilities. Rules are well laid out, though some finer points required several plays to fully understand. Components are nice: wooden pieces, thick cardboard, & dice. Certain aspects to the game play may turn some people off, but multiple plays should help you avoid them later.

I bought this as a gift and it was exactly what they wanted, but when it was opened, there was a broken piece and missing pieces so they can’t play the game. Trying to figure out how to replace this or get new parts. *only option is to return it and purchase another as German and US distributors Sco not have extra parts.

We have played this several times and love it! The first time took HOURS as between setup, learning, and playing it was ALOT. and everytime we have played since we are learning something still! Love that it is never the same game twice and can be tweaked slightly for younger crowds.

Excelente y entretenido juego de mecánica pick up and delivery, el setup si toma un poco de tiempo pero vale mucho la pena. No depende en absoluto de idioma para jugar y hay muchos videos para aprender a jugar