In the days of the famous gold rush, whenever you heard the jubilant cry, ?Eureka!? it meant that some lucky prospector had struck it rich. And today, in the offices of Find It Games?, makers of the best-selling ?Find It? Game, the cry of Eurekameans they?ve discovered something incredibly valuable, too. It means they?ve discovered some new, fun game that will bring hours of pleasure to kids and families. And to many in the toy world, that’s even more valuable than gold!
I was given the opportunity to review an incredibly challenging game, so challenging in fact that No One playing singularly has ever beaten it alone in 6 turns since the dawn of time. I couldn’t help myself, I was drawn to this game and it’s complexity like a moth to a flame. What exactly was so difficult? I mused and then I sat down and tried to prove the ancestors of the Celts wrong…
…weeks later and I still can’t get past 4 moves on my own.
How the Celtic Challenge is played seems simple enough. When playing on your own you have 6 rounds, rounds are kept by the Celtic Staff that works like a peg and you move downward each time you place a turn. You set the stone on the symbol which you are going to work at removing first. In this case I chose the Shielded Knot (the one above the stone) and so I remove that piece. After removing it I can only flip over the tiles that are not touching any visible piece. Then I move my Celtic Staff peg down and go to round 2, choosing another tile and removing those. The Celtic Challenge is to remove ALL the tiles in 6 turns alone. However, you can play with 2 people.
Players alternate play over the game’s six rounds. In a round, a player chooses one of the five symbols, scores all face-up tile(s) showing this symbol, then reveals any tiles with a free edge that are now completely uncovered due to the removal of one or more tiles. Any tiles showing the chosen symbol are also scored and removed from the board. This process continues until no more symbols of that type can be scored. (Some tiles bear two symbols, and they are scored if either symbol is collected.) The player who has removed the most tiles after six rounds wins.
The Celtic Challenge board is beautifully crafted real wood. The pieces appear rustic as if they’d been used for centuries and gives a great feel to the game. I love that it not only offers a challenge that is never frustrating or boring, but more calming as though you were playing Chess, but also offers the chance to play with another. My eldest and I have a lot of fun trying to find ways to beat the challenge, although we have played together multiple times. I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘Family Game’ as in the games you depict a whole family playing. It is more a single person game or a one on one. A game you can keep set out on your coffee table as a center piece and every so often find yourself drawn back to it.
The Celtic Challenge would be the perfect gift for any busy family, for people who love challenges or puzzles or have older children. The pieces are too small for little ones so keep out of reach of your tots! And enjoy it, the calm and meditation of thought while trying to figure out your next move or the move of your opponent.
Celtic Challenge is an ancient game beautifully crafted with a handsome hardwood board, 45 rustic tiles bearing traditional Celtic symbols, a Celtic staff to designate rounds, and embossed marker stone. Few if any have dared to clear all tiles from the board in one game, but who knows? You could be the first.
Connect: You can connect with Find It Games on Facebook!
Gift It! You can buy the Celtic Challenge for $40.00.
The Giveaway: How would you like to win your own Celtic Challenge Game? I have one to give away to one lucky contestant!
To enter the giveaway please follow all of the directions below! If you don’t follow the rules, you can’t win!
