First Impression: Glik

By W. Eric Martin
October 10, 2007

Publisher: Portal Publishing
Designer: Adam Kaluza
Players: 2-4
Release Date: October 2007 (revised edition)

Glik, an abstract strategy game, was previously released in Poland, but Portal Publishing is releasing a new edition with much improved graphics and components at Spiel 07. The game can be likened to a multi-player Ricochet Robot or Lunar Lockout, in which each player wants to maneuver his seven pieces from a starting point into contact with his destination field.

On a turn, a player can place neutral blockers on the board, introduce a colored piece on his start space, or move one of his pieces already on the board. Pieces move until they hit a barrier, and your goal is to have all of your pieces touching the destination field or other pieces that have made it home. You have five action points to use each turn, and each of the actions listed costs one point, which gives you freedom to block others from an easy route home or set up a path for yourself.

The game with two is more of a race than anything else as you have only a few obstacles in your way and are just trying to slip by the other player. With more players, you’ll have more pieces blocking your way, which forces you to slip around the edges of the board into area that go untouched with only two.

The starting points and destination field are the same each game, but the other blocks are placed on the board by the players, which allows you to create mini paths to aide you. It’s hard to see the strategy of the board placement after only a couple of plays, but I’m sure there’s more to it than I’m seeing now.

If one player constantly destroys everyone else at Ricochet Robot, but you like the style of play, then Glik might be ideal for you as it keeps the spatial element and introduces direct competition while eliminating the need for speed.

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	The cover

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