Capture the Tower: A Review of Six Making

This two player strategy game borrows from Chess, is easy to learn, and plays fast.

Gameplay

The game board is made up of a five-by-five grid and each player starts with fifteen wooden disks. On your turn you can add one of your disks to any empty space on the board. A tower is composed of one or more disks. On your turn, rather than placing a disk you may instead choose to perform a capture. A capture is done by moving one or more disks from one tower onto another tower. A tower moves based on how many disks it is made of and follows Chess rules. If there are four disks for example, it is a bishop and moves diagonally. If there are two disks in it, it is a castle, and moves in straight lines.

You can only move a tower to capture another tower. You can split a tower and only move a portion of it, but it will move based on the number of disks in the tower before you began the move.

Whenever a tower is created with six or more disks, the player whose disk is on top of the tower wins the game. Alternatively, you can play the game with the extended play rules. In this version of the game, when a winning tower is completed, you remove it from the board, give the disks back to their respective players, and the player whose disk was on top scores a point. The first player to six points wins the game.

Review

The rules of Six Making are incredibly simple and straightforward. You either place a disk or move one or more disks. The only part that gets a little tricky is remembering how many disks in a tower equals which type of movement. But the game comes with a nice reference sheet for this and it’s pretty easy to keep track of as you play.

Turns are really quick and the game itself goes by fast. If you don’t play with extended play it actually feels a little too abrupt, but if you’re playing to six points, the game is a tense, clever strategic puzzle as you set up future moves and keep trying to think several towers ahead.

The game quality is also good, coming in a nice wooden box with the board printed on the underside of the lid. The pieces are a nice, light wood and fun to play with. In addition, the game comes with a sealed bag of special pieces to be opened once you feel you want to add an extra twist to the rules!

If you enjoy abstract strategy games, Six Making is a great option for your collection. From the clever addition of special pieces, to just how easy the rules are to learn, there’s very little wrong with Six Making and quite a lot right.

Pros: Great production quality, special pieces are a fun touch, easy to learn and quick to play

Cons: Too short if not played with the extended play rules

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.