The Picts, an ancient Scottish culture, were among several groups to have a hand in thwarting the Roman Empire’s expansion, including the building of Hadrian’s Wall. They were accomplished sailors, traders, and even pirates.
Standing Stones is a blind bidding domino placement game by Benny Sperling. Yep, you read that correctly! Players will use one half of a domino to bid on an action card and the other half to complete a numbered action. The action cards will award resources, change how you use your domino, or allow you to do specific actions better. Players can even send a diplomat to visit another player’s land and utilize one of their actions. Not only are you using diplomacy to do something you might be unable to do on your own, but you are also effectively blocking that action from their use that turn!
The dominos are surprisingly tactical and wonderfully tactile. They really capture the theme for me when I stand them up on edge, looking every bit like the standing stones described in history and carved by the Picts. The stones represent your power and offer you more goods to feed into your resource converting engine.
If you’re like me, a major reason you love roll and write games is because they usually have solitaire modes of play. We have a special second sheet which drives an AI opponent designed to make your solo experience an engaging challenge. Princess Eithne will draft dominoes against you and send her emissary to try and slow you down every turn.
Missed the Kickstarter? It’s not too late! You can buy the PnP from The Game Crafter.