Trails Board Game for Family Fun and Outdoor Strategy 2-4 Players

what our customer say this product:

Powered by

1. Andrew Rodriguez Verified Buyer – 30 March 2024

   I’ve played this game probably 20-25 times now and its still a blast and very easy to take with you on the go and play anywhere. Amazing travel game as its small.
   

2. Neal Verified Buyer – 28 July 2024

   Great game! Excellent gift idea 🙂
   

3. Reasonable Reviewer Verified Buyer – 5 October 2024

   Summary: Trails is a game by Keymaster Games for 2-4 players, ages 10+, and it plays in around 40 minutes. (Please see the enclosed pictures and video.) All in all, this is relatively easy to learn, family friendly, and quick to play. One caveat, this is actually a strategy game. It seems like a game of chance, but after the first time you play, the advantage will go to those that can see the connections between the badges and can keep track of how many there are of each type. We added a house rule concerning the effect of the bear that significantly increased fun for the group. The goal of the game is to collect as many points as possible by scoring badges and pictures. Each turn you move either one or two tiles (you choose) towards the trail end and then back to the trail head. Each tile lets you do something like collect acorns or rocks, take a picture, or exchange resources. Multiple players can occupy the same tile. When any player reaches the trail end, they trigger the sun track effect. The first few are on the trail end marker, and then the sun moves back towards the trail head, one tile at a time. As the sun reaches the tile, it is filled over to its night side, and its effects are enhanced. The player who triggered the sun move gets to take advantage of the new effect. There are two other mechanics. One is the canteen. Each player starts with a full canteen, and they can use the canteen (emptying it) to move all the way to the end of the track or onto any intervening spot. The canteen only refills when you get back to the trail head. You will likely get multiple round trips on the board as there are a minimum of eight sun moves, and these are only triggered when someone lands on the trail end. The final mechanic is the bear. If you land on a tile with the bear, you roll the special dice and send the bear to the corresponding tile. Then, you get to use the tile’s effect. Some of the badges have synergistic effects that will not be obvious until you play a few times, and the pictures might not be worth many points, but the number of birds on them matters. The player with the most birds in their photos gets a special boost at the end. On to the Dr Games’ Criteria … GO/NO GO Criterion • Complexity: (GO) It is not complex, but there is more to the interactions between the panels than there seems. It takes a few times playing before you start to know which combinations of tiles will produce high scores. • Balanced: (GO ) The game is completely balanced, but an edge goes to those than know the cards and can keep a count of which cards are left in their heads. This seems like a family game of chance, but it is actually a strategy game. • Chance (GO) The card draws for the badges and pictures are random as is the bear roll. All in all, this is much more of a strategy game than a game of chance. • Clarity: (GO) The rules were fairly clear. You will want to take out all the components and run through a few sample turns before explaining it to the family. • Reasonable Time: (GO) The box says 20-40 minutes, but after the first game if you have a competative set of gamers the time will be closer (and sometimes over) 40 minutes. Bonus Criteria • Social: This game is surprisingly competitive. It looks like a family game, but there is a significant strategy aspect to it. You will find that people will recognize when someone is about to score a trifecta with certain badge combinations, and the competition for a particular badge can become intense. • Unique/Interesting Mechanics: The use of the sun and bear to get multiple rewards per turn is a nice twist, and it means that using your canteen hyper move on the right turn could snag you the badge that drastically increases your score or prevents your enemy, er … fellow player, from getting the badge they need. • Informed: No. I would have thought that you would learn something about the parks, but there are just pictures on the tiles. • Rewards Throughout: Yes, once you get a badge, you keep it. • Variant Home Rule: There is some interaction between players, but we added a house rule that made the game more fun and also lessened some of the strategic competition. When we rolled the bear die, if the bear landed on you, rather than get the resource bonus of the tile, any players on the tile had to discard one resource during the day and two at night. It really helped balance the game and made the bear a more integral part of the strategy as opposed to an add-on.

   

4. WjH Verified Buyer – 7 October 2024

   Compact game and materials makes it perfect for travel. The beautiful graphics and game pieces makes for great conversations during play. Easy to learn and teach others. The relative short playing time makes this game a good choice for those with shorter attention spans.
   

5. Sarah Verified Buyer – 15 January 2025

   Was looking for a travel-friendly boardgame for my partner’s birthday and chose this based on gaming reviews. Size-wise it’s not a pocket-sized travel game, but is certainly smaller than a usual boardgame and not too heavy, so possible to take away.
   The counters are made of wood (nice sustainable feature, plus nice to hold), and there’s some beautifully-designed artwork for both the park stops, and ‘photo’ cards. The graphics on the other pieces are pleasant too. An aesthetically pleasing game overall.

   We’ve played it 2 or 3 times so far and have found it fairly easy to get into (after watching a how-to video online first). There are different scoring elements, some which are hidden during play, so it’s the kind of game that it can be anyone’s to play for (we’re big fans of Wingspan and enjoy that feature there).
   It doesn’t take up much room to play; we managed to fit it on a small coffee table, so could be easily played at a pub.
   We haven’t played as more than 2-player yet.
   

6. Shawna Verified Buyer – 27 February 2025

   It was a little difficult to get going like some previously stated. We read the whole book and then watched some YouTubers play the game in order to understand fully. Once we got it down it was kind of fun! But I’ll admit it was a little anti climatic. We will play it again, but other games would be chosen before it. It is VERY beautiful and I love the details.
   

7. Syd Smith Verified Buyer – 2 March 2025

   Cute and exactly as described. Pieces seem well made
   

8. Anonymous Verified Buyer – 2 March 2025

   Excelente para disfrutar un rato con la familia y amigos
   

9. M Lee L Verified Buyer – 8 March 2025

   I love this game, it’s very similar to the parks game. very easy once you get to know how to play it.!
   

10. coasteray Verified Buyer – 9 March 2025

    The upgraded components for Trails are quite nice, and thematic. The price is okay, but these components should have been a part of the game to beegin with.
    

11. MTH Verified Buyer – 23 March 2025

    On aime beaucoup le jeu Trails, les cubes fournis avec le jeu font bien l’affaire, c’est juste une question d’esthétique.
    

12. Alistair Verified Buyer – 27 March 2025

    Trails: A Parks Game from Keymaster Games offers a serene tabletop journey through four iconic national parks. With stunning artwork and simple mechanics, players draft tiles and cards to create scenic routes and score points. Each game is a unique adventure, blending strategy and exploration. It’s a must for nature lovers and gamers seeking a rewarding experience.
    

13. Mr A. Verified Buyer – 1 April 2025

    We have really enjoyed playing Trails and found it very family friendly too. Our 7 year old even picked up the rules quickly and won our first game!