Sagrada: How-to-Play and Review! (My #3 Most-Played Game!)
Hey there, it’s Board Game Dave! Today we’re
looking at the third most-played game in my
collection, Sagrada. Sagrada is a dice-drafting
and window-crafting game for one to four players
that takes about 30 to 45 minutes to play. In this
game, players are artisans attempting to complete
their own stained glass windows while also scoring
for certain public and private objectives. The
player with the most points at the end of the game
wins. The game plays over the course of 10 rounds,
and each round works like this: the starting
player reaches into the bag and draws out dice
equal to two times the number of players, plus
one. (So in a three player game they draw seven
dice.) They draw those dice, they roll them, that
becomes the supply. From that supply, the first
player takes a die, the second player takes one,
and the third player takes one. Then the third
player takes their second die, the second player
takes a second die, and the first player takes
their second die. The seventh and last die ends up
on the round track showing that the round is over.
The starting player rotates clockwise and you’re
done with that first round. The first die that
you place in this game has to go somewhere
perimeter of your window; each die after that has
to be adjacent to a die you’ve already placed:
either orthogonally or diagonally. And that’s
it… except there’s more. You see how some of the
spaces on your windows have colors or numbers in
them? Those indicate what color or value die you
need to put in those spaces. Furthermore, dice
that have the same value or number can never share
sides on your window, but they can be diagonal.
In each game, there will be three different tools
that you can use to either mitigate some of those
bad dice rolls, or get around some of those
pesky rules. At the beginning of the game,
you’ll get four different windows to choose from.
Depending on the difficulty of that window, you’ll
get anywhere from three to six favor tokens.
The first time a tool is used, it costs just
one favor token. Each subsequent use, however,
costs two favor tokens. Each game will also
have three random public objectives, things like:
six points for each row with no repeated colors,
two points for each pair of ones and twos anywhere
on your board, or four points for each column with
no repeated numbers. You’ll be working toward
those goals throughout the game, but you’ll
also have your own private objective. Your private
objective card will show one of the five colors in
this game. During the scoring phase, you’ll look
at all of the dice of that color in your window,
add up all of their values, and add that to your
score. You’ll also get one point for each unused
favor token. And that’s it! I hope that wasn’t too
long winded, but now you know how to play Sagrada!
I should mention that this game does include a
solo mode! In order to win, your score has to be
higher than the sum of all of the dice left over
on the round tracker, and most rounds you’re going
to have two dice left over so it really makes you
think about not only which dice you’re taking,
but which dice you’re leaving behind! It’s a
very clever and fun solo game, and I’ve only
beaten it one time on medium difficulty. I should
also mention that I love the five- to six-player
expansion for this game. Obviously, this lets you
play up to six players so it comes with more of
everything, but it also includes this cute little
dice tray to roll your dice into and also these
private dice pools. They recommend using these for
higher player counts and the way it works is: at
the beginning of the game, you roll your own ten
dice, that way each round you’re only choosing one
from the dice tray and one from your own private
pool. This speeds up the game and mitigates some
of the luck factor because you can see ten
of the dice that are going to end up in your
window. I like using these at any player account
but that’s just a personal preference. Anyways,
let’s get to the ratings! On this channel,
I have seven criteria I use to score a game:
let’s quickly go through each of them. First
is the art and components. Sagrada gets a 10
out of 10! I love the bag, I love the dice,
I love these windows, I love these boards…
all of the components are fantastic and in the
base game, you get 90 of these little translucent
dice, I mean… that right there is awesome!
Next is the complexity and audience. This game
is categorized as a family game and although it’s
a bit on the heavier side, it’s a game I’ve really
enjoyed playing with my parents and my siblings…
it’s a game many families would enjoy. I give it a
9 out of 10. Third is thematic integration. Now,
this is a very abstract game and I was going to
give it a low score for theme initially, but
then I thought: at the end of the game you
look down at your board and you’ve got these
window spaces that are filled with these small
translucent colorful pieces… and that’s
pretty thematic, right? It’s nice to be able
to look down at the board and see this beautiful
window that you created at the end of the game,
so I give it a seven and a half out of ten for
thematic integration! Next is intuitive mechanics.
While placing the dice itself is pretty simple and
straightforward, some of the objectives can be a
little bit tricky and the tools can be a little
bit wonky too. I give it an eight and a half out
of ten. Next is replayability and Sagrada gets a
nine out of ten. You’ve got all these different
objectives, you’ve got all these different
tools, you’ve got all these different windows
you can choose from… each game is going to feel
different. They did a great job with replayability
on this game! Next is the length and fun factor.
Personally, I think this game is a great length:
it’s fun throughout and it doesn’t overstay its
welcome. There can be some downtime between turns,
especially at higher player counts, but even what
other people do on their turns is interesting
because that determines which dice will be left
for you to choose from. I give the game a 9 out
of 10 for length and fun factor. And finally, the
cost versus value quotient. I was amazed that this
game is selling for under 30 right now! Under
30 bucks! For 90 dice, for these great, thick,
heavy boards… that is a steal! Great bang for
your buck, 30 bucks is a bargain! I give it a 10
out of 10! Overall, this game gets a solid 9 out
of 10, and it’s a game that my family has enjoyed
many, many, many times. If your family likes
puzzly, abstract games like Splendor or Azul,
I bet they’ll love Sagrada. By the way, I
mentioned that Sagrada is my third most-played
game, you can check out the other games that my
family really enjoys playing by clicking right
there. In the comments, let me know what you
think of Sagrada! Or, if you’ve never played,
what’s your favorite dice game? Maybe Coimbra? Or
Rajas of the Ganges? Or The Castles of Burgundy?
(This is a great one!) And in the meantime, have a
wonderful week, take care, and happy gaming. Bye!
And in the meantime, have a wonderful week, take
care, and thanks for watching… that’s not what
I say, that’s not… Personally, I think this
game is the… ouch! That’s not how it goes…
and thanks for watching…
