Are you ready to brave the icy elements to help build the largest temple anyone has ever seen? Then you’re ready to build Nunatak – The Temple of Ice! Collect cards, place blocks, and score big to win. Let’s check it out!


Drafting – Players draft a card each turn which will determine where they can build that turn

Set Collection – The different types of cards score differently. Players want sets of all different types for points, some score better the more you have of that type, others multiply by how far you’ve moved on a track, and so on

Area Majority / Influence – As players build the temple, they will score for majorities in square areas when placing new tiles, and for supporting blocks of their color when they place on higher levels


  • 1 to 4 Players – Solo is okay, but I like the multiplayer interaction a bit more. I think 3 is ideal. 2 players has a dummy player element, and 4 has special rules for the final 2 turns, so 3 is my favorite
  • Ages 12 & Up / Family-Weight Gamers – Light strategy, but overall pretty simple gameplay
  • Fans of drafting, set collection, and a little it of area majority

Solo – Set up for 3. The 2 dummy players will take specific cards from the display on their turns, and place them according to what would give them the best score. At the end, the player can compare their score against a chart to see how they did. – I thought this was okay, but overall, I thought it was too much upkeep for me as far as solo plays. It’s worth a try though if you like the multi-player game, and you’re also a solo gamer in general.

2 Player – In the 2-player game, each player takes 9 blocks of a third color (Siku – neutral 3rd player. They arrange the blocks in groups of 3 – 2 of their own and 1 of Siku’s. They must play a full set of 3 before moving onto the next set, but can play those 3 blocks in any order each time. Your blocks play normally. Siku doesn’t score, but their blocks are counted when doing majorities for squares – Not bad at all. It can be tricky because you always think you’re going to get something on your turn, but you don’t collect the cards on “Siku’s turns” which can sometimes be give a disappointing feeling, but it makes sense. It works well.


  • Aesthetics – Nice art and graphic design; incredible table presence
  • Components – Great quality ice blocks; nice tiles and cards
  • Rules – Clear and well-written
  • Smooth and quick turns + smooth overall gameplay
  • A lot of ways to score points
  • End game blessing cards seem much better than the one time/immediate ones
  • There is definitely luck in what cards are available on your turn, sometimes you can’t quite get what you want
  • I don’t love how there’s unequal turns in a 4 player game

It’s a fun game! The overall flow is excellent and smooth, and it just makes for a pleasant experience in my opinion. There’s no deep strategy, as there is some luck of the draw, so I think it comes across as light-weight and relaxing. But, there’s still opportunities to block players from cards or spots, which increases the interaction a bit as well. I definitely think that 3 players is the most ideal count for this one, but the other counts work well too. I certainly recommend this one!


Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designer – Kane Klenko
Artist – Kwanchai Moriya
Publisher – KOSMOS
MSRP – $39.95
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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