Zenith Board Game Review

Stats:
No. of players: 2 or 4
Amount of time to play: 30-45 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: minimal

Zenith is a two player or two-vs-two board game. You (and your teammate in the team mode) are fighting for influence on planets. This is a tug of war type game with a bit of take that too. But you need to manage your resources, play smart and get a bit lucky to win.

Zenith Rules Description:

To win Zenith you must gain three influence disks from one planet, gain four influence disks from different planets or gain five influence disks from any planets. You start the game with four agent cards, twelve credits and one zenithium.

The board has 5 planet tracks, Mercury, Venus, Terra (Earth), Mars, and Jupiter. Each starts with an influence disk in the middle of the track. Each planet track has three spaces toward the edge of the board. To gain an influence disk you must pull it off your side of the board.

On your turn you must play an agent card from your hand to either recruit, develop a technology, or become the leader. Each agent card is color matched to a specific planet. They have a cost in their upper left corner and their type, either human, robot, or animod, in the upper right.

When you take the recruit action you play the agent card by the planet it matches. You must also pay, in credits, its cost. You get a discount of one credit for every agent you have previously played on that planet. Recruiting an agent can be free. Then you apply the agent’s effects at the bottom of the card from left to right. The first of these effects pulls the influence disk of the matching planet one space toward your side of the board. The other effects on the card vary. Some let you move other influence disks, get you credits, steal agents from your opponents, and more.

If you use your played agent card to develop a technology, you discard one card. Then, depending on that card’s type you pay zenithium (based on the tech level from one to five) to move up the corresponding tech track. You apply the effects of the new tech level plus retrigger any effects from the previous ones. Again the effects vary, but you can move influence disks, gain credits, remove your opponent’s agents, and more. If you advance to the same level on all three tracks you also gain additional influence disk movement.

To become the leader you discard a card and take the leader badge. This increases your hand size to five. If you take this action and already have the leader badge you flip it over which increases your hand size to six. You also gain either a zenithium, three credits, or add two agents from the deck into play (without resolving their effects) depending on the discarded card’s type.

At the end of your turn, if you have not won, you draw up to your hand limit and it is your opponent’s turn.

The rules for the 2-vs-2 game are generally the same. One major change is that each player may only play on the two planet tracks by them and Earth. One team takes their entire turns in whatever order they choose. You also share a pool of credits and when taking the leader action you may also give up to two cards to your teammate.

Zenith Review:

Zenith is a lot of fun. It is easy to teach, plays quickly, and I really enjoy the 2-vs-2 mode. There are not many games that have this configuration and Zenith does it well. You need to balance gaining influence on planets with developing technology. Be aware there is a lot of iconography on the cards so playing with the player aids is a must.

The components for this game are very nice. The art matches the whimsical sci-fi world it creates. The chits and cards are durable and the rule book is easy to follow and understand. As mentioned above there is a bunch of iconography that is explained on the player aid. You need this to interpret what the cards do. It is pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it, but there is so much you probably still need to use the player aid in certain situations.

I like how easy Zenith is to get to the table. It is straightforward and can be explained in minutes. It is not too complex so new gamers can enjoy it. There is some take that in the card actions and just in the nature of the tug of war mechanic.

In my first few games I did not think the technology was worth climbing. But the compounding way you get the new level you research plus all the previous ones again can make it payoff and swing outcomes. You might regret ignoring the technology track as it could cost you the game.

Playing with two or four players is fun. It is different from many four player games in that it is two-vs-two. I really like the team play. It can make getting the right cards a bit more important but it makes the leader action better by letting you give cards to your teammate.

If you are looking for a fun game that is easy to teach and learn and can be enjoyed by gamers and non-gamers alike, try out Zenith.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6