Alright, folks, buckle up for a review that might just save your game night (or ruin friendships, but that’s on you). Today I’m talking about Amazons, a game that looks simple but can make your brain sweat like it’s running a marathon. If you’re into clever moves and plotting against your friends, you might love it. If you like luck and wild dice rolls—well, you might want to look elsewhere. Let’s see if it deserves a spot on your shelf or in the back of your closet!
How It Plays
Setting up
Grab a square board and put four Amazons each on marked starting spots—one color per player. Everyone gets their own batch of arrow markers. Get ready to fence off the board like a medieval landlord!
Gameplay
On your turn, move one of your Amazons like a chess queen—any direction, as far as you want, but no Olympic pole-vaulting. Then, shoot an arrow from your Amazon’s new spot, again moving like a queen, and plop an arrow marker where it lands. Arrows block spaces, so the board gets tighter and tenser every move. Keep dodging and blocking until the board looks like a hedgehog convention.
Winning the game
The game ends when no one can move any more Amazons. Now, count up how many squares each player has managed to fence off for themselves. If you have the most territory, congratulations, you’re the Amazon overlord! If you lost, blame your friends, not the rules.
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Amazons.
The Rules of Amazons: Simple to Learn, Surprising to Master
I remember the first time my group sat down to play Amazons. The board looked like the love child of chess and checkers, and my friend Dave claimed it would be “just as easy.” Well, Dave was half right. The basics of Amazons are dead simple. Each player has four Amazons (no horses, much to my disappointment), and you move them a bit like chess Queens—any number of spaces, any direction, as long as you don’t bump into something. After moving, you shoot an arrow from that Amazon, blocking a space. Easy, right?
But simple does not mean easy to master. The first few turns, everyone at my table zipped around, firing arrows like Robin Hood on an energy drink. But soon we realized every arrow makes the board tighter. You see, arrows stay put for the rest of the game, turning the board into a web of blocked paths. This is where new players trip up. You can make one wrong move and two turns later, find all your Amazons trapped in a sad, wooden prison of your own making. It’s hilarious. Well, unless it happens to you.
The rules sheet is merciful: only a couple of pages and some small print. No random luck, no unfair tricks—just pure logic. My grandma could understand the rules. Winning, though, is another matter. In a nutshell, Amazons is easy to pick up, but it’s like learning to dance on a shrinking floor—one false step, and you’re boxed in for good.
Next up, get your thinking cap because we’ll be talking about strategy depth and whether Amazons keeps the odds fair or leaves you crying into your meeple collection.
Mind Games and Fair Fights: The Strategy Depth and Balance of Amazons
Let me tell you, after playing Amazons with my regular group (the self-declared ‘Masters of Board Games and Snacks’), we all agreed—this game packs some serious brain burn. The strategic depth feels almost bottomless. Every turn, you need to carefully plan where to move your queen, and where to shoot your arrow. You’re not only thinking about your next move, but three, four, maybe even five moves ahead. It’s like playing chess… if chess had arrows. Literally.
What really struck me is how balanced Amazons feels. There’s no dice, no drawing cards you hope aren’t cursed, nothing like that. A win or loss? That’s down to your skill (or, in my case, sometimes catastrophic mistakes). Nobody can blame the dice gods. I’ve watched an eleven-year-old wipe the floor with a forty-year-old (me, of course), which speaks volumes for the fairness, but also for how quickly some people see the possibilities on the board.
There’s no hidden information, so no one can pull a sneaky trick out from under the table. You win because you out-thought your opponent, not because you were handed a lucky break. Everyone has an equal chance from start to finish—except, of course, when you’re stuck in a corner surrounded by arrows. Then you’re basically toast (been there, done that).
Now, you might be wondering, do players in Amazons actually talk to each other, or do we all just stare at the board until someone blinks? Prepare yourself for the social (and sometimes chaotic) world of player interaction and engagement in the next section!
Player Interaction and Engagement in Amazons: Outwitting Your Friends!
If I had a dollar for every time my friend yelled “Noooo!” during a tense game of Amazons, I could afford deluxe meeples for life. The player interaction in Amazons is not just present—it’s the whole enchilada! Every move feels personal. You’re constantly watching what your opponents do, worrying they’ll block your precious escape routes. There’s something special about the way Amazons turns each player into a sneaky mastermind, plotting paths and blocking others.
It’s like chess with arrows, but way less stuffy. You don’t just mind your own business. Nope, you’re forced to get in your friends’ faces (figuratively, unless you’re playing at my house, then maybe literally too). The tension ramps up as the board fills with arrows and space disappears. I’ve seen alliances form and break within seconds. “I’ll let you have this corner if you don’t block me over there,” someone will say—and before you know it, the double-crosses begin! I once got so caught up in one of these alliances that I forgot my own queen was stranded. Talk about a rookie mistake.
No player gets left out, either. It’s always your turn to worry or to pull off an epic move. Amazons keeps everyone glued to the board, always scheming and hoping for a miracle route. This makes for a lively, even raucous night of gaming (especially if you have snacks on hand—greasy fingers only add to the chaos).
Next up, get ready, because I’m about to judge the looks and feel of Amazons like a runway critic with a board game obsession!
Chunky Pieces, Sleek Boards: Amazons in the Spotlight
Let’s talk about the stuff you actually touch every game night: the bits and the board. Amazons doesn’t try to wow you with a thousand plastic minis or shiny metal coins (leave that to games that cost as much as a small car). Instead, you get a solid wooden board, chunky pawn pieces, and a rainstorm of little arrow markers. It’s classic, clean, and gives me strong chess vibes—if chess also involved shooting arrows at your enemies, which, to be fair, would absolutely spice up my family’s holiday tournaments.
The board is sturdy and sits flat, which is more than I can say for half the games on my shelf that are now shaped like a potato chip. I played one round with some salsa nearby and, thanks to a quick reflex, the game survived both me and my notoriously clumsy friend Pete. The pawns are chunky enough that no one will eat them by mistake (Pete, again, I’m looking at you). The arrows are simple discs, easy to move and not a pain to pick up, even for my friend who claims to have the world’s sweatiest hands.
Artwork? Functional. No dragons, but at least you won’t get distracted admiring the scenery and forget your next move. If you like games that look good without needing an art degree to appreciate, Amazons has you covered.
Do I recommend Amazons? Yes, unless your idea of fun is burying your hands in a box of 600 plastic gems. Go for it, especially if you want a stoic, smart-looking game in your collection!
Conclusion
Amazons packs a punch for folks who love pure strategy and fair fights. The game’s easy to learn, but if you want to win, bring your best brain. There’s no silly luck—just you, your moves, and maybe a friend who blocks you out of spite. The bits won’t win any beauty contests, but they’re sturdy and do the job. If you like chess, but wish it had more fire (literally, arrows), Amazons is your jam. For those who want more chaos or excitement in the art, you might look elsewhere. But if you want a smart, tense battle of wits, this game belongs on your table. That wraps up my review—may your arrows always land true!
