Trio Vision product reviews

This was another multiplayer game that I really enjoyed. Again the rules sound so simple but the gameplay is anything but boring. This game was explained to me as one that would "show whether you are a creative or a logical thinker, by what kind of solutions you see and dont see." Turns out I am a creative thinker and spent most of the time playing against a logical thinker. This made for some very interesting situations where we were each itching to dive in and jump the gun hoping the other player didn't see the amazingly obvious one right in front of them, and of course we didnt.
With a crowd of spectators growing around us as we played, this was a game I know would go down very well in my household where we are all creatives and the challenge will probably turn into civil war!
All in all, for the price this game is simply an unbeatable Winter passtime.

Though I found this game to be very challenging, despite it's easy to understand concept - a great signature of many Dr Wood games - it wasn't entirely to my tastes. When having a quick test-play at the Dr Wood warehouse with the NZ territory manager, it quickly became apparent that my brain is wired in just too 'analytical' a fashion to get the most from this game.

Human brains are basically wired with analytical, and creative, circuits. Some people have a hefty bias to use one set or the other, with most people falling somewhere in between - making the best of both sets of circuits to see, study and solve everyday conundrums. For those of us who sit on the edges of the scales - wired far more strongly for one set of circuits - this game rapidly becomes predictable. And all too easy to get stomped at by a more dynamic, balanced brain.

So, despite the gameplay being a little too one-sided for my tastes - I enjoy a battle to the end rather than a total butt-whupping thank you - I was still able to appreciate the amazing design of the game. A complex game can come from a simple set of rules and materials... just look at the ancient oriental game of "Go" or even "Conway's Game of Life"... and this is another example of how a basic set of pieces - 8 small plastic markers, comprising four coloured pairs, and a piece of cardboard, plus some playing-card sized templates - can be made into a brain-bending game of observation, analysis and sheer bloody-mindedness.

Overall, I still liked the game, but I couldn't find it in me to "love" it... it has a lot going for it, and the right players will spend most of the night moving towers and calling out "DON'T TOUCH THAT... oops, I mean 'VISION'... see, it matches this card... OK, now you can have it..."