Cathedral - Wooden product reviews

Now this is a blast from the past. I can remember my mum owning this (must get in touch and find out if it's still gathering dust somewhere). The rules are pretty basic, but the amount of time that you can spend on it.... hours, and you don't even realise until you look at the clock and realise that a few hours have gone by, not just minutes.

While it's not something that I would buy at almost $100, it is something that I would see if I can find somewhere 2nd hand (or borrow my mums if she does indeed still have it).

Made from wood means that it is a hardwearing game, that will last for years and years, so if you're happy to spend the money on it then at least you know that it will last for many years.

Chess for those with a twisted mind is how I would describe this game. I like strategy games like risk and chess, but this whilst easy is also devilishly cunning. After a few games of this I wa hooked and I am now attending Cathedral Anonymous.

But all seriousness aside this is a nifty little game and it is so easy to competely lose track of time that you can spend an entire afternoon at it and then wonder where the day went.

This is yet another quality game and has rightfully earned it place on the shelf of Honours.

Strategic and deep-thinking games are not something I have been very good at conquering.

I have only played this game a couple of times before, so have a limited scope of experience.

I daresay, the more I play, the more I will appreciate the intricacies of the strategic placements.

I couldn't wait... I just couldn't wait until Games Night to try this out. So, grabbing a willing neighbour, we sat down and read the rules (very easy to understand) and began play.

We figured that a short game would last about 15 minutes, and a strategic game could go on for about half an hour. That was about right... so we were a little surprised to find we had been playing for over 5 hours before we even noticed!

This game is deceptive... it looks and sounds so simple, yet depending on where you place the Cathedral, you have a huge array of strategic options available. If the Cathedral is near the center of the board, your main strategies are either 'fight for half the board' or 'steal the corners'... but if the Cathedral is placed near a corner it becomes a fight for the biggest chunk... and there are even more options if the Cathedral is placed in the middle of one edge of the board... very mind-engaging.

Overall, I can easily see why this game is a massive hit in Europe and the States... so now it's time to bring it back home to where it all began, right here in NZ. It's our game, let's play it! Faster than 'Risk', as strategic as 'Chess' and as easy to learn as 'Checkers'... it's simply one of the best.