Journey to The Otherworld, the place where fairies live and heroes quest, in Tir na n0g. This is a Celtic themed, somewhat abstract and mathy, strategy board game that has been a big hit, with the first print run quickly selling out.
Place your storytellers between cards on a grid, draft cards and build your tableau, trying to best match your randomly determined geas. Everyone will be trying to score the same things, so watching what your opponents are doing is as important as trying to plan for yourself.
Disclosure: Thank you to Grand Gamers Guild for hooking us up with a review copy of Tir na nOg and for being a sponsor of The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast. You can Save 10% off at Grand Gamers Guild by using our code BELLHOP. Some links in this post are affiliate links, using them costs you nothing extra and helps support our show.
Table of Contents (click to Jump to that section):
What is Tír na nÓg all about?
Tír na nÓg comes from the design team of Isaac Shalev and Jason Slingerland and features artwork from Marlies Barends and Brigette Indelicato. It is being published in North America by our sponsor Grand Gamers Guild after a successful Kickstarter.
The first print run sold out quickly with the second printing hitting store shelves this year due to a second successful Kickstarter for a new print run, that also includes some expansion content (which I won’t be covering here).
You can currently pre-order the second printing of Tir na nOg direct from Grand Gamers Guild where you can use our code BELLHOP to save 10%.
This abstract, tableau building, card game plays one to five players and works well at all player counts, being surprisingly good solo. While the box lists play time as under an hour, every game we’ve played has gone longer than that due to AP (analysis paralysis).
There’s a lot to think about in this game with plenty of options, which is where the age recommendation of thirteen plus comes from. I think younger players could also enjoy this game, as the mechanics are not complicated, it’s just the variety of options that really makes up this game’s weight.
In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg is The Otherworld, the realm of the fey. In this game, the path to The Otherworld has opened and players are sending storytellers out on journeys to the other side. Players draft cards to represent these adventures and then use those cards to build a saga in the form of a card tableau. At the end of the tale points are scored based on how well their final tableau matches three Geas or destiny cards, as well as for having the largest group of cards in the same colour.
You can get a look at the components in this Celtic themed game through our Tír na nÓg Unboxing Reel on Instagram. There you can see how great the component quality is, but that there is a lot of air in that box. This game could have come in a box one quarter of the size.
However, there is a reason for this. There are expansions planned for this game, one that will be coming out with the second printing. The extra space is so that you will be able to keep everything in one box as the game expands.
What you get inside this oversized box are some really lovely wooden storyteller pieces, cardboard counters that are clear and easy to read, oversized Geas cards and a rather thick deck of adventure cards. The card quality is good and the rulebook is clear and concise. There is also a deluxe version of Tír na nÓg that includes even more wooden components.
The only complaint we have, component wise, is that the Geas cards could be a little clearer, and the examples printed on them could be significantly better. Our printing has some some cards where the math on them was wrong. Thankfully the publisher is aware of this, and has already fixed the issue in the second printing.
For those who have the first printing, the text on the destiny cards is correct, it’s only the example images that are an issue, so always go with the text on the Geas cards and not the pictures.
Tír na nÓg overview of play
To start a game of Tír na nÓg everyone grabs the playing pieces in their preferred colour. The group decides which set of three Geas cards to use; selecting one top card, one middle card and one bottom card. This can be done randomly or you can pick and choose. Every player should have the same set of three cards.
There is a starting set of three recommended Geas cards for your first game, but after that there’s no listed difficulty rating or scale, or suggested combinations you just pick any three. Players place these in front of them, stacked top above middle above bottom.
As noted earlier you should read through each Geas card and make sure everyone understands how they score. Everyone needs to be on the same page and you should make sure there’s no ambiguity before the game starts.
Everyone starts with a hand of five cards and you build an initial grid of story cards on the table to represent The Otherworld. The size of this grid is based on the player count. Each story card has a value from zero to eight and comes in one of four elements each represented by a colour. Most of the cards also have a special abilities and rules printed on them. I recommend reading each of these off as the cards are placed, and whenever you add new cards to the table.
Starting with the player who last told a story, players place one of their wooden storytellers on an open spot between two cards in the grid on the table. The other players follow in clockwise order until each player has placed three storytellers. By open spot I mean that you can’t play between two cards if someone else has already placed a token there.
Next, following the same player order, players each draft one card that one of their storytellers is touching, taking the card into their hand and collecting the storyteller. If a player’s storyteller is no longer touching any cards because other players have drafted them already, they are considered lost in the Otherworld. Players with lost storytellers get to select from the left over cards once everyone else has finished drafting.
Anytime anyone drafts a card from the table, they must immediately play a card into their tableau. This can be the one they just drafted or it can be a card from their hand.
A player’s tableau is a grid of three rows, to the side of each of their their three Geas cards. Newly placed cards must be placed left to right but can go into any of the three rows, with a maximum row size of five. Note some Geas cards may include additional placement rules.
Most cards also have special rule text on them that goes into effect once they are played into a player’s tableau. This makes Tir na nOg very much an exception based card game with many cards breaking the basic rules in some way.
Some card effects include changing the cards value based on other cards in your tableau, changing the attributes of cards next to them, letting a player swap or move cards in their tableau, giving players more options when they place their storytellers, and more.
After each player has drafted and then played three cards into their personal tableau, the round ends. Remaining cards in The Otherworld are discarded and each player discards one card from their hand. Start player passes to the left and a new grid of cards is laid out, unless you just finished the last round of the game.
A game of Tir na nOg ends after five rounds with players drafting and playing exactly fifteen cards each. Most players will end the game with a three by five grid of cards in their tableau, though some cards allow this pattern to be broken.
Players score each of their Geas cards. Each card features a unique scoring system which can include things like adding up your even cards and your odd cards and scoring the lowest total, getting points for having matching colours of cards in the same column, starting with twenty five points and subtracting points for each card placed but not counting duplicates, scoring the value of every card you played but they have to be placed highest to lowest, and many more. There are a total of twelve different Geas cards, four for each of the three spots, top bottom and middle.
Next players earn points for the elements, or colours of their cards. Points are awarded based on a players largest set of orthogonally adjacent cards of the same colour. Each of the four elements awards points for the largest, second largest and third largest set with the exact point total being based on the player count.
Add everything up and the player with the most points wins.
Tír na nÓg also includes a solo mode where you compete against an AI opponent that plays very smoothly and quickly. The automaton get a set number of points depending on the Geas cards you choose to use and then also competes for colour majority at the end. One bit of warning, this AI is tough to beat as they tend to score each Geas as if they missed the maximum points by only one or two cards.
Tir na Nog review, Or if I’m going to play a math heavy game, it might as well have a cool theme.
The big thing you need to know about Tír na nÓg is that it’s a mathy game. Despite what the back of the box says, this isn’t an epic storytelling experience. Rather, it’s a somewhat abstract strategy game about drafting and building patterns.
While this game has a great theme, very cool artwork, and even some thematic tie in with the card abilities, in the end, it’s all about building a grid of coloured and numbered cards following a randomised set of rules and scoring opportunities with additional points scored for completing sets of the same colour.
This is a very thinky game with a lot of options each turn. The card distribution is known and strategic card counting can come into play. Then there’s learning the card abilities and figuring out how to best use them together. At the same time, to play well you are going to have to pay as much attention to what your opponents are doing and what cards they are drafting as to what you are collecting yourself.
Tír na nÓg is a game that tends to cause analysis paralysis in most players, even those who don’t normally spend a lot of time thinking when playing games.
I think Deanna said it well on episode of 244 of The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast (where we originally reviewed Tír na nÓg):
“I feel like, if I’m going to play Math The Game (and don’t get me wrong, I really dig this game), than I might as well play it with some pretty artwork and Celtic folktale tie-ins — the theming sold this one for me.”
Now I hope I haven’t scared you away, as the math in Tír na nÓg isn’t hard. This is just basic addition and subtraction and maybe some multiplication by numbers less than ten. Where it gets a bit complicated is if you have multiple cards whose value is based on other cards in your tableau, where adding one card to your tableau can change the values of many other cards.
To help with this the game comes with counters to track these values. There are also tokens to indicate if a card changes element (colour). I know in one game every time I added a single card to one row it affected up to three other cards, and the last round it took me a long time to figure out my best option.
This mix of math, drafting, maximizing card abilities and figuring out card combinations gives Tír na nÓg a very puzzlely feel. Trying to best score your three Geas feels like trying to solve a logic puzzle, but one with a lot of possible options due to the randomness of the cards.
One thing that keeps me looking forward to playing again and again is the variety of different Geas cards. Even playing with each set once is going to take some time and then you have all of the possible combinations between them. I also like that the game includes a suggested starter set that is good for learning the game, and that doesn’t feature any of the more complicated calculations.
That said, the Geas cards do bring with them the biggest problem we’ve had with the game. You have to be very careful when reading the cards. If you misread something you can spend your entire game working towards the wrong goal. Some of the wording on the Geas cards could be better and as noted earlier some of the examples on them are actually wrong in the first printing of the game.
I strongly recommend going through each of the three Geas cards you are using at the start of a game and making sure everyone understands them fully before you place your first storyteller. Realizing part way through that you’ve been building your tableau all wrong can really remove the fun from the game
With players who know what they are getting into, Tír na nÓg has been a big hit for us. My family enjoys deduction and puzzle style games so this was right up our alley. The game has also been a big hit at our local public play game nights, though I often have to recommend the game and sell it, to a group rather than people just picking it up and giving it a go.
While I do wish there was something more thematic happening, I do love the game for what it is. I’ve enjoyed every play of Tír na nÓg and I’m looking forward to more. Sean on the other hand would have liked the game to be a little more light and casual. It’s a game about fae and mysticism, yet in order to play you need to be fixated on details, calculating various options and doing math as well as working to block and steal cards to prevent opponents from achieving their goals. That doesn’t quite fit the epic storytelling theme the game pushes. Deanna who adores all things Celtic, fairytales and folklore, loved the theme, it’s what initially drew her in, but she also noted this was one of the most “insert theme here” games we’ve played in some time.
Overall I really dig Tír na nÓg. It’s a great card drafting, set collection, tableau builder. As a one to five player abstract game it’s fantastic, you don’t usually get games with this feel that work so well with up to five players. Where it fails to me is on fulfilling it’s storytelling premise and promise. You aren’t actually telling any stories here, you are just playing sets of cards and getting points for doing it well.
If you dig abstract strategy games, especially math heavy ones and/or if you are fan of Reiner Knizia’s games or games of that type, you are going to love Tír na nÓg. For some reason I can really see Lost Cities fans digging this one. Just watch out for AP issues if you’ve got an entire group of math game fans on your hands. Figuring out the best move every time is going to take a while.
I also strongly recommend this game for solo gamers. When playing alone you have all the time you want to try to maximize each move, plus the AI is nice and difficult, giving you a real challenge.
If you are looking for a storytelling game about Celtic myths you are not going to find that in Tír na nÓg. While each Geas card does have a story on the back, and the cards you put in your tableau are all mythological places, heroes and characters, none of that really matters. In this game you are drafting and play cards for their numbers, abilities, or colours and not because you are telling an epic tale of Cú Chulainn.
For everyone else, this review has probably told you if the game is right for you or not. If you get a chance I recommend giving Tír na nÓg a shot. When we agreed to review this one, I knew it was going to be perfect for some of the people we game with, but it also won over a couple I wasn’t so sure on.
Just make sure if you do sit down to play Tír na nÓg that everyone knows what kind of game they are sitting down to. As long as you don’t let the game start with mixed expectations, everyone should have a great time!
If you are looking to get a copy you can pre-order the second printing of Tir na nOg direct from Grand Gamers Guild (and don’t forget to use our special code BELLHOP to save 10%).
FAQs
Where can I buy Tir na Nog the board game?
Currently the game is only available via pre-order direct from Grand Gamers Guild (and don’t forget to use our special code BELLHOP to save 10%).
Is Tir na Nog a good solo play experience?
Yes! Tir na Nog has a very strategic “solve the puzzle” feel to it, and sometimes the multi-player game bogs down in AP. When playing alone you have all the time you want to try to maximize each move, plus the AI is nice and difficult and gives you a real challenge.
Do you tell stories in the Tir na Nog board game? Do you act as a storyteller?
No, there are no storytelling aspects to this game. It is a strategic abstract board game with a Celtic mythology theme where you are sending your storyteller into The Otherworld. There is no roleplaying or storytelling built into the gameplay.
My biggest concern with Tír na nÓg is that people aren’t going to get what they expect out of it. If you are interested in more talk about mismatched expectations in board gaming and how to avoid it happening to you, check out Episode 248 of The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, Clickbait Board Games.
I’m a fan of mathy games and that’s part of why Tír na nÓg was a hit for me. What’s a math heavy game you enjoy? Leave a comment below and let us know what your favourite mathy game is!
