Around the Tiwanaku Wheel: Deduction in a Farming Setting
Use deduction to explore a landscape of different terrains and figure out the ideal crops to plant in Tiwanaku.
Of all of my solo games, there are many that stand out for having very unique components. Near the top of that list is Tiwanaku, a clever deduction game that combines elements of Minesweeper and Sudoku. Very cool! I haven’t played since I first brought it to my table last year, though, and it was finally time to put my thinking skills to the test!
Game Overview
Game Name: Tiwanaku
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Olivier Grégoire
Artist: Raphaël Samakh
Publisher: Sit Down!
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
A scenario provides a starting assortment of terrain tiles and crops. The goal is to explore a diverse landscape and deduce the correct crop on each tile. A unique wheel provides the answers, while a solo opponent slowly moves across the play area to take away scoring opportunities.
First Play
March 23, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 12, 2024
Expansions
1
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
119
Game Area
24" x 24"
Low Score
77
Delightful Meeples
Many of the components are simply wonderful, although I should note I have the deluxe edition with wooden tiles.
Gameplay is very much a deduction puzzle, with meeples moving across the landscape to reveal new terrain. On each tile, there is a specific crop type to discover.
In the solo mode, it’s important to time these guesses. Waiting for more tiles and crops to be revealed is crucial to guessing correctly… Incorrect guesses are penalized!
Setup certainly felt like it took a fair amount of time, despite my delight at seeing this lovely play space.
Using the Wheel
This wheel is what really gives the game its own unique flavor! It has a pair of windows that slide open to reveal either the terrain or crop located in the grid.
Scenarios switch things up so there isn’t a way to easily memorize where certain crops will end up.
But I must say that as cool as this component is, it requires unscrewing the middle to replace a scenario disc.
My windows are also a little too loose, and one will easily fall down if I slightly tilt the wheel. No accidental cheating has happened yet, but this does feel a little fiddly.
Diverse Terrain
Keeping track of discovered terrain tiles is an integral part of scoring. It’s possible to make deductions about where to go to diversify, thereby gaining more victory points.
It pays to go up in each type at roughly the same rate. But this is the part that can be left up to chance a little bit, particularly during the early rounds with an open area.
As I found out, everything felt a bit repetitive at the start, and it was only near the mid-point that I had fun.
But what fun it was! I made my deductions and loved opening the window to find out I was correct.
Beautiful Spaces
Terrain always comes in groups of 1-5, but matching areas will never touch… Not even diagonally! So there is a bit of reasoning and logic involved in figuring out the tiles.
Crops can be trickier, though, as they are dependent on the terrain groups and surroundings. The same crop will never touch, even on the diagonal. Clever, clever.
In each terrain group, there are crops matching the number of tiles, which is where the numbers come in.
For example, a 2-tile terrain group always has level 1 and 2 crops, and no others. So it goes for the entire puzzle!
Novelty Components and Usability Issues
Don’t get me wrong: I loved when I was actually playing! But the awesome wheel, which is the centerpiece of the game, is probably going to be an issue for me at some point. Unscrewing it doesn’t seem to be wearing it down, yet it’s not a particularly easy function. My fingertips hurt at one point when I couldn’t get a good grip on one side.
I don’t want to make it seem like a negative for trying something new, as I don’t particularly enjoy using apps or digital programs for deduction games. Maybe I’m the worst type of audience… Never pleased. Ha ha! It’s just a shame that the wheel is so awesome to use, but not exactly the most practical to use for a quick setup process.
Keeping things simple in the components realm is what often does well, calling back to familiar designs and proven usability standards. Yet I appreciate designers and publishers that go outside the box at times, trying something new that may or may not work. Seeing this work so well to reveal the answers for each space is pretty amazing!
Planting the Crops
There is a very pleasant theme that can quickly disappear amidst the abstract mechanics. However, look at how awesome these different meeples are! So cool!
Ah, and here’s a fun example for you! See the meeple in the bottom left? This is the only tile without a crop. Can you figure out which crop is supposed to go there?
Arrows are used for the solo mode, purely to move the other meeples to reveal more tiles and crops. Easy!
The only real downside is the amount of work needed to set this one up. Such a shame, because I would play more!
Covering the Play Area
From a mostly empty space, this is the amazing final appearance of everything! Look closely, and you can see the different terrain groups and all of the crops.
The act of plugging in coordinates on the wheel and looking behind the windows is so much fun! Yet it can move a little slowly with the amount of disc rotating.
I almost feel like it would have been nicer to have more of the play area filled in to really focus in on the deductions.
I still had a great time with this one! It’s a unique sort of game that does a lot of neat things in the deduction realm.
Session Overview
Play Number: 3 & 4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Scenarios 3 & 4
Outcome: 116-106, 119-101 (2 Wins)
After struggling during my first couple of plays, I earned a couple of back-to-back victories! It’s hard to gauge which scenarios are more difficult, although a hard mode might be what I need to try next. This one most likely won’t be coming back to my table that often, yet the logic puzzle and deduction skills make it a very enjoyable time! Plus, it has adorable alpaca scoring markers. How can you resist?!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Figuring out the different types of crops and making guesses is a lot of fun, especially when chained on a turn.
- The component quality is excellent with the meeples and wooden components that add to the table presence.
- With the multiple ways to score, the solution isn’t just about finding a single answer, but working at scoring well.
- Although the theme may not be too prevalent, it’s all about planting crops and exploring in a very calm way.
- Manipulating the wheel and opening up the windows adds a nice layer of suspense and discovery to gameplay.
- Not much space is needed to play, with the boards and wheel taking up practically all of the required area.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Setup can sometimes feel a bit lengthy with the way the wheel needs to be disassembled and reassembled.
- Early turns feel repetitive with the way the terrain is slowly revealed without enough information to make guesses.
- There is a challenge with the solo opponent, yet once victory is achieved, there aren’t new strategies to try.
- Additional scenario discs do not fit neatly inside the box, making the lovely insert more of a hassle than a help.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 100 points.
Score at least 110 points.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Tiwanaku? Do you remember a play when you managed to get some difficult guesses correct? I found a way to balance guessing early on and waiting a bit… Haven’t gotten anything wrong so far! Safe deduction is apparently my specialty. Ha! This is one I would love even more if I could bring it to my table more often, yet it’s still a lot of fun!
I played this multi-player a little while back when it was new on BGA. As I recall it, quite fun, but it didn’t feel as though it had much staying power—and that was without concerns about the longevity of the components. (I’ve seen similar systems set up with no axle, and instead a half-circle solid rim to hold the inner disc in place, which might perhaps work better in this case.)
As for the game, I enjoy deduction and there are interesting tricks to be played with the adjacency rules, but as the options shut down towards the end of the game it seemed as though it was dragging out for too long. Still, that’s only a reaction to a single game with other novice players.
We all found the rulebook a little rough, so I’ve written my own and added it to the Roger’s Rules project (link from my name, no advertising/tracking).
I share your concerns! I’m also not sure what else I could do to improve my strategies, besides making more guesses. Maybe it has some Sudoku elements where you may not know the exact number, but you can narrow it down and then base some other guesses on this. Only… I’m really not good at that level of deduction. Ha!
The rulebook confused me, too, before I realized how simple gameplay is. Great idea for creating your own, and thanks for sharing! Just looking at it confirms how easy the rules should be. Excellent work!
I wish I hadn’t backed out of this Kickstarter. The retail version is readily available, but I would want those beautiful meeples! The gameplay mechanics also really calls out to me. After seeing your lovely photos, I’ll have to hunt down the deluxe edition now.
It looks like some of the upgrades are available as separate purchases from the publisher… Just not the meeples! Oh, dear! They really do look quite lovely and their unique poses make them feel like they come to life a bit. Hope you’re successful in tracking down a copy of the deluxe edition!
I found a KS copy for a reasonable price! And from a reputable person, so it should go through fine. Yay!
Hurray! Enjoy playing when it arrives!