Parks Review

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but some of my fondest memories of childhood are our family vacations to various National Parks around the country. The opportunity to see such natural beauty, to spend time outside having fun, and to experience it all with my family made for a perfect vacation every time. So imagine my excitement when Keymaster Games published a game celebrating America’s national parks! Combining my love of board games with my nostalgic memories of past vacations? A match made in heaven. Naturally, I had to get this game. And I’ve got to say – even without my vacation memories, the game holds its own extremely well. If you’re looking for relaxing gameplay, excellent artwork, and just a nice experience all around, Parks is the game for you.

Parks is a game of worker placement and track movement in which players are traversing the trail, collecting resources, and visiting various National Parks. At the end of the game, players will score points for Parks they have visited, any photos they have collected over the course of the game, and for their secret Year card dealt at the start of the game. The player who has amassed the most points is declared the winner!

To setup for a game, the main game board is placed in the middle of the table. Shuffle the Park cards and Gear cards separately, and deal 3 face-up to their respective areas on the board. Shuffle the deck of Canteen cards, deal one to each player as their starting Canteen, and place the rest face-down on the Canteen area of the board. Take the deck of Year cards and deal 2 randomly to each player. Players choose one of the Year cards as their Personal Bonus for this game, place it face-down in their player area, and return the other to the game box. The deck of Season cards is shuffled and placed onto the Season slot of the board, revealing the topmost card as the first Season of the game. Create the Trail deck as described in the rulebook and create the first Trail of the game consisting of 6 Trail Sites. Place the Trailhead and Trail End on their respective sides of the Trail Sites. Each player collects 2 Hikers and 1 Campfire token in their selected color, and places their Hikers on the Trailhead. Choose a player to be the First Hiker, and the game is ready to begin!

Parks is played over a series of 4 rounds, and each round represents a Season of the year. Seasons affect certain elements of gameplay for the round, and all provide different effects. To begin a round, check the current Season for its effect and Weather Pattern, and place the extra resources on the Trail as indicated. Now, beginning with the First Hiker, players will take their turns. On a turn, you will choose one of your two Hikers to move down the Trail. Hikers may only ever move forward on the Trail, and are not permitted to backtrack. Select your Hiker and move them to a Site on the Trail. Whenever your Hiker lands on a new Site, you must perform the Site’s action. Most Site actions allow you to collect Resources, and others allow you to perform more advanced actions, which I’ll explain below. If you cannot perform the action listed on a Site, you cannot stop there. Each Site can only be occupied by one Hiker at a time. If you wish to visit an already occupied Site, even if it is occupied by your own Hiker, you must extinguish your Campfire – flip it over indicating that it has been used. So strategize wisely on when to use your Campfire, as it doesn’t reignite (refresh) until one of your Hikers has reached the Trail End. In total, you can use your Campfire two times each Season.

Here is a finer breakdown some Trail Site actions. To fill a Canteen in your tableau, place a Water token gained this turn onto the Canteen card, and perform the Canteen’s action – usually collecting specified Resources. Once a Canteen is filled, it remains filled for the rest of the Season and cannot be used again. If you choose to take a Photo on the Trail, return 2 tokens of your choice from your tableau to the supply and take a Photo token. Any time a player takes a Photo, they also collect the Camera marker from whomever has it. To Buy Gear, pay the requisite cost in Sun tokens and collect the Gear card to your tableau. Gear cards provide benefits that last for the remainder of the game. If you choose to Visit a Park, choose a Park from the market row and take it, returning the corresponding Resources from your tableau to the supply. To Reserve a Park, simply take a Park from the market and place it sideways in your tableau, indicating that it hasn’t yet been visited. On a later turn, you may Visit a Reserved Park by paying the required Resources. So Reserving a Park just lets you save it for later, while keeping it from opponents.

Once your Hiker reaches the Trail End, you must choose which area to place them in. The Trail End choices are: Reserve a Park, Buy Gear, or Visit a Park. The first player to Reserve a Park at the Trail End performs that action as described above, but they also take the First Hiker marker for the next round. The first player to Buy Gear at the Trail End gets a discount on purchasing a Gear Card. There is no added benefit for being the first player to Visit a Park at the Trail End. Once both of your Hikers have reached the Trail End, you will no longer take turns this round, and the round continues with the other players. Once only a single Hiker remains on the Trail though, they must move to the Trail End on their next turn and finish the round. This just stops a player from moving Site by Site, collecting all resources and getting lots of extra turns, after all other players have reached the Trail End. When all Hikers are at the Trail End, the Season is over, and the cleanup phase begins. First, the player who has the Camera marker may take a Photo, paying only 1 Resource instead of 2. Next, all players empty their Canteens, returning the Water tokens to the supply. And finally, all Hikers are moved back to the Trailhead.

To prepare for the next round (new Season), a bit of setup takes place. Pick up all the Trail Sites from the previous Season, add one new random Trail Site, and shuffle them together. Lay out a new Trail as in game setup, placing the Trailhead and Trail End on either side. Reveal a new Season card, checking its effects and applying the Weather Pattern to the Trail. The player with the First Hiker marker may now begin the new Season. The game continues in this fashion (moving Hikers, collecting Resources, taking Photos, Buying Gear, and Visiting/Reserving Parks) until a total of 4 Seasons have been played. At the end of the 4th Season, players will then tally their points. Each visited Park has a listed point value, every Photo token is worth 1 VP, and players may have earned points from their secret Year card. Having the First Hiker marker at the end of the game is worth 1 extra VP. Players do not receive points for Reserved Parks. Once all points have been counted, the player with the highest score is declared the winner!

It probably comes as no surprise that I really quite enjoy Parks. The gameplay itself is strategic and engaging – you’re constantly thinking ahead to which Trail Sites you need to visit, which Parks you want to Reserve/Visit, how to take advantage of the Season benefits, and how to maximize end-game points for your secret Year goal. There are many different aspects to consider, and it keeps you engaged even on other players’ turns. That being said, the game feels pretty relaxing to play. Each player is doing their own thing and that allows you to focus on your strategy and enjoy the game without necessarily being on the offensive. There will be times when an opponent lands on a Trail Site you wanted, or Visits/Reserves a Park before you’re able to snag it for yourself, so that keeps you on your toes for sure! But usually these interactions aren’t malicious and just give you the opportunity to see how adaptable your chosen strategy really is.

Let me quickly touch on components for a moment. These components are great!! The cards and board are sturdy and have a nice finish on them that will definitely hold up to many plays. The wooden Resource tokens and Hikers are chunky and fun to have in hand. The First Hiker marker is a neat medal that definitely feels prestigious. And I can’t forget to mention the custom Gametrayz for housing the Resources, Wildlife, and Photo tokens. Another major thumbs up from me is for the diagram on the box detailing exactly where everything goes in the box when putting the game away. So many times you’re just left to guess where things go, but this diagram definitely reduces the amount of time it takes to put the game away. Ok, so the components are great. But the artwork?! It truly is one-of-a-kind. Featuring art from the Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series, each Park in the game is illustrated by different artists capturing their unique perspectives of the Parks. When I initially opened the game after buying it, I spent a good chunk of time just sitting and looking through all the Parks, blown away by the quality of the artwork. Major props to Keymaster Games for their decision to partner with the Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series. It truly is a *chef’s kiss* of perfection.

If you’re looking for a game that is strategic and engaging, yet relaxing to play, I would highly recommend Parks. The theme is serene, the gameplay keeps you thinking while not completely frying your brain, and it’s just plain fun. I have yet to play Parks with anyone who has not had a positive experience with the game. When such a small game delivers such a big punch, you know you’ve got a winner. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to play Parks, get your hands on a copy ASAP. I promise you won’t be disappointed. And if you are, shoot me an email – I’d love to hear your perspective on it! Purple Phoenix Games gives Parks a grand 10 / 12.