Collecting Crystals and Freeing Creatures in Crystallo
Travel deep within a puzzling cave to free magical creatures and face an enormous dragon captor with Crystallo.
Almost exactly a year since I last played, Crystallo finally made it back to my table! Perhaps the word “finally” isn’t needed, though, because we all play at our own pace. The most surprising element wasn’t the length of time since my last play, but my rather low initial rating. Maybe it didn’t work out early on, yet I was excited to give this another whirl!
Game Overview
Game Name: Crystallo
Publication Year: 2018
Designer: Liberty Kifer
Artist: Liberty Kifer
Publisher: Zafty Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Amazing artwork for the different creatures certainly stands out, but the giant crystals are simply awesome! The goal is to collect 3 of each type by making sets in an ever-expanding cave system. Not so fast… The second half involves cleverly escaping from a huge dragon!
First Play
February 4, 2020
Complexity
2
Latest Play
October 8, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
25 Minutes
High Score
1,050
Game Area
36" x 32"
Low Score
50
Into the Rulebook
I own an early version that had some issues, although I try to appreciate all of my games! This is stored in a cloth bag rather than a box, so the rulebook is a bit crinkled.
However, the inside of the bag is marvelous! The exterior is a fuzzy black fabric, and I almost felt like I discovered something new when I flipped it inside out.
Reading through the rules, I wasn’t entirely sure what didn’t make sense during my first plays. Mere confusion?
In any event, it all made sense and I had a pretty good idea of how to collect the crystals. That was good enough!
Through the Caves
Never underestimate the size of a cave! This card-based system is no different: It looks compact at the start, but it quickly spreads out to every corner as cards are laid out.
If an orb is surrounded by 3 crystals of the allowed patterns, a matching crystal is placed and captured. Yes!
This made so much more sense and flowed rather easily. That’s not to say the decisions were easy, though. I saw the deck running out and still needed about 4 crystals.
Yet I persevered and somehow pulled off a success during this first phase. For it all doesn’t simply end here…
Uncovering Treasures
Most cards only feature crystals and orbs on their edges, but this is a cave system. What to look for? Treasure!
A small subset of cards shows items in the middle of the cards. If both orbs can be lit up to collect matching crystals, then the treasure is collected. Very simple!
Oddly enough, I think this was the rule that really tripped me up. And I’m still baffled as to why it just didn’t click.
Sometimes, this is why I hesitate to part with a game that doesn’t seem to work. There are times when the only fault lies with me in what I like to call “operator error.” Ha!
Against the Dragon
The second and final phase of play involves a showdown with a dragon so large, it spans a pair of cards!
Rather than using the entire deck, a small set of cave cards must be used to collect 1 crystal of each color. This often means that about 10 cards are used for 6 crystals.
It’s an interesting challenge, although it can feel a little too similar to the puzzle in the first phase.
Triumph! I actually didn’t expect to do so well and managed to score much better than I thought possible for my skill level. All the magical creatures were freed!
A Rescued Unicorn
Now that’s how to escape the darkness of the cave as a brave adventurer! OK, maybe the crystal “hat” was a bit much but it matched the magical top hat. So awesome!
I definitely love the theme here. It’s not particularly strong nor does it create stories, but that’s not a bad thing.
It’s just fun to make matches between the different types of cave crystals, free magical creatures, and see how the final score measures up. Simple and effective!
But what’s this? Some may notice this unicorn was looking off in the distance, ready to race home at once…
Into the Clouds
Whoa! This little rider had to hang on tightly as the unicorn set her sights on the clouds and followed a magical rainbow path back home. Hold on, little guy!
First, bonus points for anyone who can identify the game shown in the background. It was the only box close by!
Second, I present a perfect example of gravity and physics. This is no trick photography, although maybe she’s a trick pony? Ha ha! This is a perfectly balanced setup.
No assists. No anchors. Just me fiddling around for 30 minutes to get the perfect shot. Mission accomplished!
Session Overview
Play Number: 7 and 8
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 1,050 and 1,050 (2 Wins)
The scoring system is a little strange with scores ranging from under 100 to well over 1,000 based on a pretty small set of criteria. At least these consistent victories worked out well with some collected treasures! I was named a prosperous knight on both occasions. This was a much better experience, although a little more time is needed before I can figure out the proper rating. At least I rescued all of the magical creatures, though! Very exciting!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
3
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
5
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Rescuing magical creatures is a charming theme that comes to life through a handful of lovely illustrations.
- The giant crystals have an excellent table presence and look stunning as they spread out across the sea of cards.
- Creating patterns takes some planning and thinking, yet it’s generally interesting and not too complex.
- Treasures provide additional goals that don’t show up with every play and can add a bit of unpredictability.
- Dual phases mean that the game isn’t drawn out when the first phase goes poorly and guarantees a loss.
- Gameplay flows nicely with a single card added at a time and the total time needed to play goes by quickly.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Using a bag as a storage solution is a little awkward and means the rulebook can’t lay flat to stay undamaged.
- Being able to see the crystal patterns is a little tricky since the icons look a little too similar at times.
- Gameplay is quite repetitive and doesn’t change from play to play, so the main goal is to simply score well.
- The play area feels unnecessarily enormous and might have been better managed with square cards or tiles.
Victory Conditions
Score 1,000+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 80%
Goals and Milestones
Collect all 3 Battle treasures.
Collect all 3 Magic treasures.
Score at least 100 points.
Score at least 1,000 points.
Collect all 3 Riches treasures.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Crystallo? This was a great session, despite a few concerns I initially had. It’s hard to tell for sure if this will have staying power in my collection, yet I enjoyed it! Have you given any other games another chance? I try to like every game for at least a single reason, and this is more than a one-trick pony! Except for said actual pony. Ha!
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