A Quiet Journey Through the Peaceful Realm of Tranquility
Set sail to explore a land of peaceful islands and arrange an ordered map on a beautiful journey with Tranquility.
In a rare turn of events, Tranquility managed to get introduced to a few different game groups before joining me at my solo table! The simple act of ordering cards may sound like nothing special, yet this is a wonderful little puzzle that offers some clever decisions. I set out on my sailing voyage across these beautiful cards, ready to reach the finish!
Game Overview
Game Name: Tranquility
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: James Emmerson
Artist: Tristam Rossin
Publisher: Lucky Duck Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The goal is to create a 6×6 grid of cards in ascending order, which might sound easy, but adjacent cards require the difference to be discarded. Everything is simply lovely, with little scenes that change from day to night. And planning for the right cards takes a bit of practice!
First Play
August 28, 2024
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 28, 2024
Expansions
1
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
26" x 26"
Low Score
N/A
Where are the Cards?!
It took a little bit to lay out the border cards, and I second-guessed myself a few times when I thought I needed to use a 5×5 grid… Nope! I had this correctly set up, thankfully.
Although it might look like a lot of space, this is still a pretty compact play area. The bordered edges actually make gameplay really nice as the space is filled in.
I didn’t just randomly place cards and hope for the best, but could pick out exact locations to build out from. Neat!
Just keep an eye on me in the future… I’m liable to try to use a 5×5 grid instead of the 6×6 grid. Habit. Ha ha!
Gorgeous Landscapes
Look how beautiful all of these cards are! The play space quickly fills up and the scenery is simply gorgeous.
Cards don’t need to face the same direction, although I like keeping things orderly. Both ways work, and I can rotate everything for a slightly new artistic experience.
I loved it! There were moments when I thought it was a bit too easy to win, but I still had to reach the very bottom of the draw deck for the right cards. Plus, I could level up…
Yet it was still so much fun to try to get the right cards to fill in the spaces, particularly during the final rounds.
Empty Spaces
The earlier rounds were more about plotting the general area with cards in roughly the spaces I figured would work. But with a lot of discarding, I couldn’t be sure!
Waiting for the perfect card near the end was rather fun and slightly tense, owing to me not remembering if a card that worked was still located in the deck.
I managed a loss once, thanks to not keeping track of all the cards and getting a little risky with my placements.
But even those losses didn’t feel like I set myself up for disaster! No… I already did questioning the grid size. Ha!
Difficulty Adjustments
Since I felt like I saw enough at the standard difficulty level, I moved on to start with the simplest way to make gameplay a little harder: Discarding cards during setup.
This added more uncertainty, since the perfect card might not be at the bottom of the deck. I really enjoyed this challenge, and expect to keep moving up the levels!
There are variants and expansion content to try out, too, so this feels like it has a lot of customization potential.
Yet the base game is delightful on its own, offering a quick challenge that doesn’t create any stress. Simply lovely!
The SHow Must Go On: Moving Past Mistakes
I make my fair share of mistakes with solo games, courtesy of myself being the solo arbiter to notice when I miss some rules. I almost tried to play with a 5×5 grid, and had I actually done so… No worries! I would have played a version that was close to the spirit of the game, and it wasn’t like I wouldn’t enjoy myself. Just another reason to laugh a little bit!
Over the years, I’m sure I made plenty of rules mistakes here and there. I think the important part is to make sure that those don’t impact my overall rating of the game, though. If I gain a few extra victory points or miss a tiny step, that isn’t likely to affect anything to a significant level. Using 25 vs. 36 cards is more significant, but not that important.
The idea of playing for the sheer enjoyment means that it’s OK to make mistakes with board games. Maybe you have a better track record than me. Ha ha! Mistakes are less about negating the experience and more about learning. Now I know, and won’t question myself again… Or so I say. Even if I make a mistake in the future, it will be worth a laugh!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard and Galateia Difficulty Levels
Outcome: 3 Wins & 1 Loss
Setting aside my slight debacle with the starting grid at first, this was a lot of fun! I found myself making a lot of choices about how to place the cards. Later rounds were a lot more challenging than I expected, but in a very good way! I’m looking forward to increasing the difficulty level and also trying out some more content to add even more to gameplay. Just need to remember it’s a 6×6 grid. Ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the artwork is delightful and helps reinforce the relaxing atmosphere with flippable cards and tiny scenes.
- Changing the difficulty level is very easy to do during setup, and additional variants add a lot of other options.
- Learning the rules is very straightforward, and these are usually very easy to memorize during the first play.
- Gameplay moves quickly and the total time needed to play is minimal, making this a fun puzzle to work in.
- Making decisions, especially during the later rounds, feels very strategic and meaningful without being stressful.
- Start and finish cards offer their own unique challenges when they show up randomly and present new choices.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Keeping the play area neatly organized with the border cards can be a little difficult at times, but this is minor.
- The order of the cards plays a major role in how easy it is to fill in certain areas, and luck can be a bit prominent.
- Including 5 finish cards in the solo mode offers some easy discards, but this doesn’t always feel like a hard choice.
- As the difficulty level increases, setup requires a few extra shuffles, which can add on a few more steps and time.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Map
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the Galateia difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What do you like the most about Tranquility? Have you tried out any of the expansions or variants? I like that I questioned the setup grid initially, but the calm nature of the game kept me on track without getting worried. There are many more aspects to explore, and I’m excited to continue my journey through this beautiful little island landscape!
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