Review – Positano

Positano is a game about building houses on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Players bid on lots, place tower blocks, and try to get the best seaside views, all while working to prevent others from doing the same! Let’s check it out.

Review

Positano has a few aspects that drew me to it. For one thing, I’m a sucker for games with 3D towers. For another, I tend to enjoy cutthroat games, and this one seemed to be quite in-your-face. Lastly, while I don’t usually like auction/bidding mechanisms, Positano’s take on them sounded unique and interesting to me.

This game is played on a display resembling a four-tiered bleacher. (Thematically, it represents a coastal hillside.) Each row of the display has four spaces, and a supplemental auction board contains spaces for three rows of tiles.

The object of the game is to earn the most points, and points come from placing tower blocks with unobstructed views. Each round, a number of tiles are dealt to the auction board, which will guide the turn action. Players bid to take these tiles and resolve their effects.

The tiles come in three types:

1. LOT TILES: Determine which space the player can build on that turn.
2. BLOCK TILES: Determine how many building blocks the player can take into their supply.
3. BUILD TILES: Show which kind of roof the player’s building will have, and may offer additional bonuses.

Players bid using cards, and herein lies one of the cleverest aspects of Positano. Everyone begins with the same set of bid cards — each card shows three bid values, one for a Lot tile, one for a Block tile, and one for a Build tile. Everyone also plays a modifier card, which increases each of their bid values by the indicated amount.

Once cards are chosen, players compare their Lot bids and draft Lot tiles in order from high to low. Then, using their Block bids, players likewise gain Block tiles (and take the corresponding building blocks). Lastly, they use their Build bids to gain Build tiles.

When a player takes a Build tile, they must place at least one block on their chosen Lot. They may place more, as long as they abide by “regulation height” restrictions. Normally, a building cannot be taller than its row number (e.g. 1 height in row 1, 2 height in row 2, etc.). However, some Build tiles allow their owner to exceed these regulations.

Build tiles also show players which roof to put on their building. Roofs come in three types, and they pertain to endgame points. At the end of the game, each level of a building with an unobstructed view scores points — 1 point if the roof is copper, 2 if it’s silver, and 3 if it’s gold.

The game continues until all lots are built. At that time, the game ends and players tally their scores. Besides points from buildings, players gain an additional point for each gelato icon on cards and tiles they played, and they may also gain points for fulfilling public objectives. The player with the most points wins!

---

I really enjoy Positano, from its clever take on bidding to its terrific table presence. This game is very quick to play, usually just a half-hour from start to finish, and it packs a lot of punch in that time.

The 2-card bidding system is very interesting, and it asks players to consider what is most important: location, blocks, or roofs. Rarely will a player be first in all 3 tile drafts, so they’ll have to make concessions each round. They are also incentivized to use less powerful bidding cards, as they can gain extra points from gelato. Mechanically, the bidding is super simple, but it makes for some very engaging decisions.

Positano has excellent production quality, the main draw of course being the pastel-colored building blocks. They fit together snugly, and they feel great to handle. Unfortunately, the 3D stand doesn’t fit in the box assembled, so players will have to build it and take it apart every game. It’s easy to do, but still kind of annoying. Besides this, though, the art and components look awesome.

Bidding games are very hit-or-miss for me, but Positano is a definite hit. It’s a slick design, one that I think will appeal to fans of light bidding games, as well as folks who love tower building mechanisms. If that sounds like your thing, check this one out.