Images are of prototype components. Rules and components subject to change (final dice will have custom engraving). I was provided a prototype copy for review. No compensation for this review was provided.

Even if you’ve never been to Latin America you’ve likely seen the common market handicrafts made in the region. They’re common souvenirs - from knickknacks to sculptures to tapestries – and are a real symbol of the region. My house is full of them. They’re from my home country of Guatemala, not Oaxaca, but I was still drawn to this game of crafts. I’m happy to say it’s a fun little game.

Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture is a light game of building crafts and building an engine. It clocks in at about 45 minutes including rules and plays great with new gamers and old gamers alike. Light Euro games are not normally my go-to game, but I found myself digging this one for a few reasons. The goal of this game, like many games, is about scoring points. In Oaxaca points are scored by building handicrafts like pottery birds or wood carvings of snakes.

This is accomplished rather simply. In each of three rounds a pool of dice will be rolled. These dice are used to put cards of various types into your workshop or to work on those cards. If a die rolls the Pottery symbol, for example, you can use it to draw Pottery cards into your workshop. Once there you’ll put a number of cubes on the card equal to the points it’s worth at the end. Alternatively, you can use it remove one cube from each pottery card in your workshop.

As all of these are Tin Crafts, each card can have a cube removed by using a Tin die.

What makes Oaxaca fun is these little moments of success. There are various ways to manipulate your dice or mitigate rolls, almost always done in service of efficiency. This isn’t uncommon to engine builders, but I found Oaxaca to be uncommonly good at making me feel successful. Because it’s light, the efficiencies are easy to work toward. When you roll a few Textile symbols and can see the way to leverage those common rolls, it’s a light bulb moment. Each time you resolve a die in service of that strategy, it’s a little moment of success that builds on the next one. Each time you combine a special ability or Tourist card to act on that strategy, it’s another. When that culminates in successfully crafting one or more cards, it’s yet another.

Crafting is important for scoring points, but each handicraft also provides a benefit. They’re varied, though each handicraft category has a focus which you can leverage. Jewelry, for example, scores bonus points while Tin Art focuses on dice manipulation. The bonus abilities printed on each handicraft are important and a big part of the craftwork engine you build, though Oaxaca is not a game that turns into a few players sitting around twiddling their thumbs while someone steps through action after action.

You’re limited to 2 Handicraft Actions and a Tourist Action (if you haven’t already used it this round) per turn. It’s just enough to hit those moments of success and happiness I’ve referenced, without leaving others behind. One of my first games of Oaxaca was with family who, while happy to game with me, are not gamers. What helps make Oaxaca so approachable is that no one ever feels snowballed. Even when someone has a rather efficient engine going on, their turns don’t last too long nor can they run away too quickly. You’re rewarded for building efficiencies and identifying clever plays but others aren’t punished when you do; I wish more games felt that way.

The included solo-variant deserves a shout out as well. It feels in no way tacked on and is compelling in its own right. Rather than play the same, you have to sell your handicrafts to tourists (a pool of dice is involved here) requiring you to break down your own engine as you’re building it. The tension lost by racing opponents for points is provided by the balance of deciding when is the right time to sell your crafts at the expense of your engine. I typically find that “solo-variants” are anemic and included just to say it’s soloable, but that is not the case here. It stands alone and holds up very well.

Overall I’m impressed by Oaxaca. It’s light and approachable, and has broad appeal. The art is cute and I appreciate the choice to use stylistic interpretations of Mexican art rather than photographs or literal patterns as it shows a respect for the culture. Appropriation of traditional art is a real problem and I absolutely appreciate their sensitivity around the issue. I’m happy to recommend this one, and look forward to building crafts and chasing high scores in the future.

Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture will launch on Kickstarter on June 12th.

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