I remember in 2018 when Welcome To… was released, and it reignited the roll and write craze (even though it was a flip and write). We started seeing all kinds of “X and Write” games, some amazing, others… better left on the shelf. But while the deluge of roll and write games has slowed down as publishers have moved on to other crazes, there are still plenty of X and Writes being released each year that catch our attention. The latest for me is TEND from IV Studios. Are you ready to take on the role of a pioneer working for the Zenith corporation to start a homestead on a new alien world? Let’s find out.
Gameplay Overview:
When it comes to X and Write games, TEND is definitely on the heavier side. I’d put it on par with Hadrian’s Wall or The Anarchy if you’ve played either of those. Regardless, I’m just going to give you a brief overview of the gameplay here. If you want the full ins and outs, you can download a PDF of the rulebook here.
TEND is played over 12 rounds, with each round giving you two actions to take. There will be a few phases at the start of a round (that do some basic maintenance), but the bulk of the game happens in the Task phase. Here, each player chooses two actions from the 5 available cards in the Task Row.
Different things you can do include Mining, Chopping Trees, Fishing, Planting Crops, and Animal Husbandry. Each action has kind of its own focus in the game. For example, Mining and Chopping will have you scratching off squares on a card (like a lotto ticket) and uncovering resources and other bonuses. Planting and Animals let you work the land to provide you with a consistent stream of resources that happen over the course of the game. And Fishing is the outlier where you’ll roll two dice and look at a grid to see what you catch.
Every few rounds, an objective card will be evaluated for you to score bonus points, with the bulk of your points coming at game end. These usually come from the items you’ve put into your cargo manifest. It’s a series of 3 grids that you fill with polyomino-style shapes that you earn from the task actions.
In general, work the land to provide you with items, which you convert into more powerful actions and victory points.
Game Experience:
Despite my super simple overview, TEND has a lot going on. Expect to feel a little lost for your first game as you stare at 2 fill-in sheets and an extra icon board. It can feel overwhelming to see tons of icons and not know where to start. But thankfully, the task cards can help you focus on those first few turns. Since you can only do actions that are available on the task cards, it can help ease new players into the game.
But what’s interesting with those cards is that each round, after the first, you add in two new task cards. These always have one or more basic task icons on them, but also have a bonus action. The bonus action is tied to a condition, which, if you meet it, you can also do the bonus action. For example, after you do the Fish action, if you have the upgraded fishing lure unlocked, you might get an extra free fish. Or after you Mine, if you have 2 upgraded tools, you might get a bonus Fish action.
Optimizing for these actions is the best way to win in TEND. Since the action economy is so tight, anything that can provide a bonus action is as good as gold here. What’s interesting is that at the end of the round, the cards are sent to the discard pile, and when the deck is shuffled, they will appear again. This means that even if you can’t meet the condition on the card when it first appears, you can plan for it and try to meet its goal when it comes back around.
That’s also why I found you can’t just decide you want to focus on one area at the start of the game. You might say, I’m going to go all in on mining this game. But if the task cards don’t have any bonuses in this game (the added cards are random), you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. That being said, it is good to focus on a few areas instead of trying to do everything. That’s because getting upgraded tools is crucial, and you won’t be able to afford them all. The upgraded mining pick, for example, gives you two mining actions every time you take one. So again, anything that provides bonus actions you definitely want.
For those curious about player scaling, TEND can be played with an almost infinite number of players. As everything happens simultaneously, you are only limited by components. That’s nice if you have a large group because you can play this without worrying about being at the table for 2-3 hours. But on the other hand, this game is mostly multiplayer solitaire. Other than granting a resource here or there to a neighbor, there isn’t anything in the way of player interaction. For me, I enjoy multiplayer solitaire games, so I’m ok with that, but others may feel differently.
Finally, I want to talk about the components a bit. TEND has a few different ones, but some of the standouts have to be the mining and chopping sheets. They are made of scratch-off material, so they are one-time use. Yet they give you 100 with the game, so you should have plenty to last you (and sell more on their website). That being said, I have found that they are pretty messy and leave scratching shavings all over my table. Also, if you are not careful, you can accidentally scratch a bit of an adjacent box, giving you a clue as to what’s in it. Fortunately, IV Studios offers a digital version of the scratch pad you can use on your phone or tablet. Personally, I like these a lot. It’s not messy, there is no chance of accidentally scratching part of another box, and you have an infinite amount of them.
Final Thoughts:
I could talk about TEND for a while, but I’m already way over my word count. Suffice to say, I think it’s pretty great. It definitely has a learning curve, but there is so much to do in the game, and you never feel like you have enough actions. And since many of the sheets you use are somewhat different from game to game, TEND has a ton of replay value.
While it’s not a light game, I’d slot it up next to Hadrian’s Wall (which I really like) as one of my favorite heavy X and writes. It has an interesting theme, unique mechanics, and even has an upcoming game found for an expansion. If this sounds like your jam, definitely give it a look.
Final Score: 4 Stars – A great flip-and-write game with lots of replay value.
Hits:
• Lots of different areas to focus on
• Great components
• Feels pretty unique
• Good amount of replay value
Misses:
• Scratchers can get messy
• Minimal player interaction
