Canvas | A Review by Tabletop Meeple

 Canvas

a review by Tabletop Meeple


Info:

  • For 1-5 players
  • Ages 8 and up
  • 30 minutes to play
  • BGG Weight: 1.65

Game Overview

    Ah yes, paintings. That is just one of the phrases that can be used to describe Canvas, a light little drafting puzzle game designed by Jeff Chin and Andrew Nerger and published by Road to Infamy Games. In Canvas, you play artists putting together your next work to win an award at an upcoming art competition. You do this by attempting to fulfill as many of the goals as you can, while abiding by the very tight 3-card limit for paintings. Does this little puzzle game live up to the hype? Let's find out.

Beautiful artwork in this game, and the box can double as a decoration.



Theme

    The theme in Canvas is light, but woven in. Which is a little bit hard to explain, but here goes. The game makes no true effort to wow you with its theme, but it is there. This isn't a thematic game, but it has a theme. Let me try to put it into the form of an analogy: all thematic games have themes, but all themes do not necessarily symbolize thematic games. That is where this game fits. It's theme is quite clearly there but it isn't thematic.

    They did a brilliant job theming this one.

TM Score: 16/20

Components

    They did a pretty darn good job with the components in this one. Not only does the box double as a decoration, the box itself provides a pretty useful guideline on how to pack it all back away when you're done with it.

    You also receive nice translucent art cards, as well as a really nice play mat that, while it isn't UltraPro level quality, it is still a very nice quality.

TM Score: 16/20

The components are a joy. Nothing too special, but for the price point this game excels.

Gameplay

    Canvas's gameplay is pretty simple. On your turn, you choose a card. As you collect cards, you can select 3 to put into a painting to try and earn awards, which get you victory points. The game ends once all people have completed three paintings. However, this isn't an easy feat to play paintings, as you have to fit only 3 cards into each painting, making a spatial puzzle where you have to sort your priorities, because something will overlap. 

    It's a brilliant way of making the game both simple yet full of depth. It is such a brilliant combination.

TM Score: 18/20

About to assemble a painting.



Overall

    Canvas is an amazing puzzle game with a nice blend of mechanics, theme, and components. In the past few years of board gaming, a new type of game has emerged. Games of depth-filled strategy with classy themes and nice components. Games like Wingspan and this, for example. And, honestly, I'm here for it. I may be a sucker for mid-heavy weight Eurogames, but these games are a refreshing breath of air when I need something new. Brilliant stuff.

PROS:
  • excellent production
  • classy theme
  • gameplay has depth
  • the card arrangement puzzle scheme works really well
CONS:
  • We've had some trouble with the liner on the art peeling off, which is disappointing.

FINAL TM SCORE: 17.6/20

 And that's it!

    I really enjoy this game, and I really enjoy writing these reviews, and I hope you enjoy reading them as well. Playing games is a great way to spend time, and I hope my reviews make an impact on whether or not you decide to purchase the games covered in them. If you are a publisher or a designer and want to send a game my way for review, contact me! My contact info will be at the bottom of the page. See you next time!

Contact Info:

Email Address: tabletopmeeple@gmail.com

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