Framework Review

I'm a simple man, I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Uwe Rosenberg abstract games.

Framework has players attempting to complete jobs by placing tiles that fit the criteria printed on them. Some will need players to simply chain a certain amount together and others will let you use a combination of colors. Players will draft tiles and place them in front of them. If they meet the criteria they place a token on the tile. If the tiles run out or a player is the first to complete 22 tasks the game ends. It really is that simple.

The Good: The game plays very quickly but there is a lot of interesting choices to be made. When I played, I rarely felt like I couldn't do anything or was unhappy with the choices I was making. The solo game plays really smoothly as well. Simply get all of your pieces out and anything outside of a 5x5 grid is negative points. It's something you can set up and play and play again.

The Okay: Framework isn't really a looker. It's tiles with different colored frames. It does do exactly what it sets out to do though. To make up for it, the components are very nice. The tiles are thick and there is a nice bag to store them in. Even the inside of the box is printed. Completely unnecessary but it's always a nice touch.

The Not So Good: The game is an updated version of Nova Luna which is only 3 years old to begin with so I don't really know that it needed to be updated. I haven't played Nova Luna so I can't say if it's better or worse. All I can really say is that if you have Nova Luna already then you may not need Framework.

Final Thoughts: I love me some Uwe Rosenberg and tile placement. This is no different. I don't know that it's going to take my top spot of tile placement games but it has a place in my collection. One of my big struggles with my groups that I play with is that a lot of games are too complex or rules heavy for them and Framework is light enough and quick enough to keep their interest while also providing nice choices to optimize your tableau.

Thank you to Pegasus North America for providing me with a review copy.