Educational Insights Rumis Review

When you combine building blocks with strategic game-play, you get the game of Rumis.  The challenge of Rumis, is to build four different structures that mimic Incan architecture.  This is done using 4 different game-boards, each of which you can choose to use, and up to 4 players can do battle to become the best builder at Rumis.  The trick, in the end, is to have the most visible pieces when looking down upon a completed structure, and the one who does, is declared the winner.  That is where the ultimate strategy lies, in making sure your pieces are closer to the top of the structure than anyone else.  This might take some time to figure out, but after a few tries, you may have a definite strategy laid out in front of you.

The game board takes no real setting up, as the Rumis actually comes with 4 different boards.  Each of the boards is set up so that you are building a different structure on them, with those structures consisting of a pyramid, a tower, stairs, and a wall.  There is only one final way that each structure should look like, and there are pictures provided so that you know exactly how high to build in each of your games.  Each player takes a turn placing one of their 11 color-coded pieces on the game board, and then the next player takes their turn.  This continues until the structure has been completed, and if someone cannot play a piece that fits anymore, they are skipped.  When the structure is finished, the blocks visible from the top are counted to determine the winner.

All of the blocks are not the same size or shape, so you have to think out your strategy when you are placing the pieces.  Some might not fit in a given puzzle because of their shape, and thus you want to plan ahead to have pieces closer to the top of the puzzle.  It can be difficult to figure out the game if you are just starting out, but the strategies are revealed pretty soon after you have played a few times.  The colored Rumi's (stones) are split up into 4 groups of 11, with the colors of the stones consisting of green, yellow, blue, and red.  The one thing that I didn't mention, is that you also get a turn-table with the game, so it is easy to set the board on the table, and each player can then turn it around to find their best possible angle.  You can choose to just play 1 round, or to see who can win the most rounds using each of the different boards once.

At first Rumis can be a tough game to master, and as such it has a high interest level for nearly everyone at the start.  However, as you start to figure out what pieces are best to place higher in the structures, you can almost become a master of the game, which will take away a little of the fun in the end.  If you play intermittently though, and have other games in the house, this may never become a problem for your household.  I still think it is a pretty cool game though, because you have to almost think "outside the box" when determining how you want to play your pieces when it comes to your turn.  I think its a fun game, and it is one that is recommended for its ease of game-play, the fact that all ages can enjoy it, and because it has so many variations.  The cost of the game is right around $20.00, and well worth it in my humble opinion.