Qawale Mini Review

This isn’t a mini-review of Qawale. It’s a normal review of Qawale Mini, a smaller version of the hit abstract game from Gigamic. That said, it won’t be a long one, as it’s a quick, light abstract game.

I’m a big fan of a publisher taking an established game and making a smaller, portable version of it. Being able to take games like that on holiday, on the train, or even just to the pub for an hour is a real boon. Qawale Mini manages to do just that. It’s the same game you might already know and love, but smaller.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of negative points to consider when you’re deciding whether it should join you backpacking around Europe, or down at the Dog and Duck for a swift jar or two on a Tuesday night.

Stone me! That’s easy

Qawale takes all of two minutes to explain to someone. On your turn you take one of your stones (or wooden pebbles as they are in reality) and put it on top of any other stack on the board, even if it’s just a stack of one. Then you pick that stack up, move around the board orthogonally, dropping a stone from the bottom of the stack onto each space as you go. Possibly filling blank spaces, possibly covering other stones. If you make four in a row of your colour, you win. Go you! Ring your mum and tell her the good news.

Each space on the board is actually a little raised bump with a flat top. It not only makes the game more interesting to look at, but serves a practical purpose too. Because each stack is raised off the board, it makes it easier to get your fingertips under the bottom stone to pick the stack up. It’s a clever bit of the game’s development which I admire.

The board itself is only 4×4, and it means that games don’t last long. You’ve only got 8 stones each, so there’s a maximum of 16 turns in a game, but in reality, you’ll normally finish with a winner before that happens. It reminds me of games like Kamisado, which I previously reviewed. Play the game, win or lose, and setup again a few minutes later. Games like that are great. They never outstay their welcome and give you the chance to try to adapt your strategy again straight away. Qawale is fast, easy, and a lot of fun.

But…

There are a couple of sticking points which, while not enough for me to not recommend the game to you, are things you need to consider. First of all you’ve got the smaller size to contend with. The wooden stones are smaller and lighter than their full-size counterparts which makes them far easier to knock over. They’ve got a lovely sheen on them, but it reduces the friction to a point where the slightest nudge can knock a stack over. If that falling stack knocks over another, forget about it. There’s no way you’ll remember exactly what was where, and in what order. Comparing Qawale Mini to its big brother is like having a stack of Mini Cheddars next to a stack of Rich Tea biscuits. Which is more stable?

This might be a non-issue for you. I’ve got great big strangler’s hands, however, which turns playing Qawale Mini into a mixture of abstract and dexterity all in the same game. The diminutive size of everything also means the whole game is more susceptible to being ruined if someone bumps into your table, or plonks a bowl of chips down next to your pints. It’s not the end of the world, it only takes a few seconds to set up again, but it can be very frustrating.

The other issue I’ve come across is the colours in the game. One player has the light stones, which are nearly white, and the other has the dark stones, which are a dark teak colour. There’s a third set of stones on the board, the neutral ones, which populate the board to get the game going and to later act as blockers, and all-around nuisance pieces. These neutral pieces are a sort of tan colour, and if you’re playing in dim or warm-white lighting they become almost impossible to tell distinguish from the light pieces. Again, it comes down to setting. Qawale Mini is a game to play anywhere, but on the sofa with the lights dim in the evening, or on my son’s bed before he goes to sleep in my case, or a dark pub, and you’ll end up taking a black sharpie to one colour to make marks to make the game playable.

Less than ideal.

Final thoughts

There’s no need for a long review here. Qawale Mini is a quick, easy, two-player abstract strategy game with a ton of scope for tactics. Despite my moans above, I really, really like the game. My whole family really likes it. It’s how we ended up in situations like playing it in bed, which is where both problems happened together.

If you’re looking for a fast, fun two-player abstract game which you’ll normally play on your normal table, go for the normal version of Qawale. It’s really enjoyable and you won’t suffer from the same problems I mentioned above. But if you really want that cute little box and board you can take anyway, Qawale Mini is a great choice. Just make sure you’ll play it somewhere well-lit and somewhere stable.

Review copy kindly provided by Hachette Boardgames UK. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

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