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Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition
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Unlur
2002
Rules assistance for Unlur
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Unlur
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Unlur is a board game released in 2002 for 2 players and 20 minutes per game. It was designed by Jorge Gomez Arrausi and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Pattern Building, and Increase Value of Unchosen Resources.
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About the game
Unlur, the winner of the 2002 Unequal Forces Game Design Competition (sponsored by About Board Games, Abstract Games Magazine, and the Strategy Gaming Society), is an abstract strategy game played on a hexagon-shaped tessellation of hexagons with eight hexagons on each side. Unlur is also a game of unequal forces -- each player has a different objective. Black wins if 3 non-adjacent sides are connected, white if 2 opposite sides are. Thus black's goal is harder; to compensate, black will begin with some pieces already on the board. Initially, players do not yet have assigned colors; they take turns each placing a black piece on an empty hex. Either player may instead pass to become black (when they feel black has enough pieces on the board); the other player becomes white and places a white piece, and they continue alternating turns placing their own color. Black wins by forming a Y (connecting 3 non-adjacent sides) but loses by connecting 2 opposite sides without a Y. Likewise white wins by connecting 2 opposite sides but loses by forming a Y without connecting 2 opposite sides.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
- Consorci de Biblioteques Universitàries de Catalunya
Questions and answers
Unlur supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Unlur is 20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Unlur has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Unlur belongs to these categories: Print & Play and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Pattern Building, and Increase Value of Unchosen Resources. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Unlur are: Jorge Gomez Arrausi. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Unlur as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.