Reef Project Board Game Review

Over the past few months I’ve had the great opportunity to table the Reef Project a number of times. At different player counts, and no matter who I am playing with, the experience has been phenomenal each and every time. Board and Dice is quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers in the board game space, and there is a good reason for it! Let’s take a look at the Reef Project – time to save those reefs!

In the Reef Project, players will be moving their ships through the islands above a reef, collecting various benefits, dropping bait balls, researching technologies, hiring staff, and doing all the good things a reef saving dive team would do. With a bunch of different scoring routes to work on, there is something for everyone in the Reef Project.

There is one caveat to that statement – if you hate multiple ways to score points in games, and find the decision space too crowded, Reef Project is not going to be the game for you. There are a lot of things to consider when playing this game – who has the most bait balls in a given area, who moves up the various tracks fastest, what crew gives you the best benefits, which bait ball should you drop. The list goes on – there is a TON going on here, and while I personally find it all pretty intuitive, it can be a lot for less experienced players, or those not looking for a lengthy experience.

It is, however, an experience I’m looking for, and it delivers. All of those things I noted above play a huge impact on how the game works. It’s a lot, and for those first few games you might be diving into the rulebook a lot to clarify things. But like with most games that are a bit heavier, the more you put into the experience, the more you get out of it. At its simplest, though, there are only two actions you take in Reef Project – refresh, which will allow you to obtain a variety of bonuses based on the position of your scoring token, or move off the island you currently occupy.

I’m not going to do a full How to Play for this game as there are too many things to consider, but I do suggest checking out this How to Play video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyjskKu_jig

I think the thing that makes Reef Project such a unique experience is the accumulation of in-game victory points. Since the stuff you get when performing the refresh action is tied to where you are on the victory point track, neglecting in-game points will hurt you each time you take the refresh action. If other players are getting 2 or 3x the number of benefits as you when they take the refresh action, it’s probably not going to end well for you. But you need to find a balance as well – focus TOO much on end-game points, and you won’t have what you need to research, add crew, etc.

I’m sure this concept exists in a game somewhere, but it felt so refreshing for me. Reef Project has all the trope of being your run-of-the-mill EURO experience, but this one mechanic changes my opinion of the entire experience immensely. It’s yet another decision space to think through, yes, but it’s one that you don’t find in a ton of other experiences. I think there are those that will hate trying to balance in-game benefits versus in-game victory points, but I think it breathes fresh air into a board game genre that can be pretty beige overall.

Another reason I love the Reef Project is that it plays really well with 4-Players. I don’t generally suggest people play EURO games at more than 3 as it really does extend the length of the game. I think with Reef Project, turns move so quickly that adding another player isn’t really extending the game all that much. Further, having more people competing for an area majority on the central board is much more interesting than just 3. With 3, you can have instances where two players compete on one side of the board, leaving the other side wide open for a solo player. It’s not a huge deal, but it is definitely more interesting at 4 players.

Further, I love how Board and Dice make their games, but when I play Windmill Valley or Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age, I refuse to play these games with more than 3 people – they are just WAY too long, and not worth the length of time you spend playing them. To that end, having Reef Project as a Board and Dice option on Game Night that plays GREAT at 4-players is phenomenal.

Overall, I’m really impressed with Reef Project – it’s a EURO experience I would quickly recommend for those that love the genre, but want something a bit different. Not only does this have a cool refresh mechanic tied to in-game points, but it’s colorful as well. When you look at all the EURO games from Board and Dice, you’d think they are trying to buck the EURO game trends! If so, I hope they keep it up!