This is a great summer title, it’s hot outside, the theme is the Sonora Desert, there’s animals! It’s like a scirocco really, a nice breezy blast of hotness to land on my game table!
Flicking this review off, let’s slide into the good. Almost everything about this game is good. It’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s chaotic! It’s built on the shoulders of board game giants, Crokinole and Ganz Schon Clever (That’s Pretty Clever), and it’s better than the sum of its parts.
In Sonora, players are flicking discs (5 each) onto a board in quadrants with bonus spaces that double the disc and move it to a different quadrant. Players are effectively “drafting” their 5 or so actions to play 4 mini-games. Each disc is numbered, which will mean something depending on the quadrant.
The first quadrant, which is competitive and should be completed first each round, is the Lizard. In the lizard game, players sum their disc values for this quadrant and fill in spaces equal to that value in one of the areas to gain points and/or bonuses. If you complete it before your friends, then you’re getting a bigger reward. The other quadrants can be completed simultaneously as they are not competitive. The Fox has players using their specific value of disc to fill in a polyomino shape earning any bonuses covered up. The player can take a polyomino of lower value instead. The Owl has players use individual values to start down a path in the creek bed marking out spaces equal to the value of the disc, then circling the next space for points or a bonus. The Jackrabbit has players again summing their discs then using the total sum to mark spaces out creating triangles for bonuses or points in the triangles.
All of the quadrant actions create nutso combos that can really get going in a bonkers way — especially in a long game of 7 rounds. Very fun!
It also has a great solo mode with a brutal AI. The trick with solo is you are flicking 15 discs. 1 of the colors is discarded from the board, one of the colors is for the player, and the last color is for the AI to mess with the player. I found it easiest to dump a color in a quadrant and focus on the other 3, letting the AI chew up real estate with the Owl or with the Fox positioning the AI away from where I wanted to go. Also with the Jackrabbit because the player can go in the opposite direction, but be aware too many AI moves in Jackrabbit ups the cost to play on the outside where the big points are. For all that is good and helpful, keep the AI away from the Lizard. The AI creates spaces that have to be filled before the player can work on their areas.
We’ve played this game a ton — like a whole lot. It’s fun, it’s wild, it’s a bit of a hot mess with flicking discs. Mostly 2 players because of COVID-19. That said, the board feels good with 2 players when flicking discs. I noticed playing solo that you’ll bump discs a lot more because you’re flicking 15 of the 20 discs in there. Just for fun, I ran a 4 player game with us each playing 2 colors of discs. The experience was like playing Colt Express or Galaxy Trucker. You’re holding out hope that at least 1 of the discs you landed in just the right spot will stay put. In that case, aim for the middle if you can! There is no planning with 4 players, it’s just tactical, hope for the best, like Colt Express and Galaxy Trucker, but know that your plans are shot!
I said it on twitter after about 3 plays, this game is going to receive SdJ level attention, and I still firmly believe that. It has great table presence, it’s fun, and it’s chaotic! If that sounds like your canteen of tea, go grab it! If not, maybe play a friend’s copy to at least have the experience of this very entertaining game!
Full disclosure:
I have no affiliations with Pandasaurus Games or Rob Newton. This game was a gift from my good buddy Derik, who also has no affiliations with the aforementioned Pandasaurus Games or Rob Newton.