Torres family review of the family version of the classic test

That evening, our toy collection was greeted by the friendlyly designed box from the Torres Family (HUCH). The name may sound familiar to some, as it is a remake of Torres, the game of the year 2000. Like the big original film, Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiessling also sat at the development table for the Torres family.

The Torres family – not just for families!

Of course our gaming group wanted to get started right away. So they pulled everything together and then went to study the grammar. Although the somewhat thicker rulebook was a deterrent at first, the group was able to immediately breathe a sigh of relief. So the grammar seems a bit thicker because it's available in more languages. Torres Family also offers two ways to experience the game, each with its own rules.

Build and rule castles

The first game mode revolves around building castles and competing with people playing. Each person takes turns rolling the dice and collecting the towers on their tray. It can then be placed in the appropriate place on the game board for the knights to climb on. Finally, the currently active person gets points for the tower they built before passing on the scepter.

This is where the Torres family deviates from the original because there were no dice and the point calculation was a little different. Overall, the innovations were fun and allowed the game to flow faster.

Our group also noticed positively that there was something to do outside of our group. A total of three dice are rolled for each die roll. Two of them are for the person currently working, but one is for other people in the group. This simple game mechanic ensures that the entire play session is focused on the Torres family.

One package – two games

After playing several rounds with knights and castles, our gaming group also wanted to try out the second game option. The rules for this are explained simply and easily in a further two pages. The Envoy variant uses the basics of the standard game, but changes some elements and adds new ones.

In contrast to the Knight version, the building rules are somewhat relaxed. It is now possible to link castles to score points. Knights have given way to Emissaries who no longer belong to just one player. This way, each person can specifically plan and think about the use of the envoy and where to place it next.

Torres in the new look

The game box content structure has a slightly negative impact. The materials arrive in sealed plastic bags, which unfortunately cannot be used multiple times. Given the large number of towers available, this may not matter much since they fit nicely into the box. However, other game pieces and dice are difficult to find in the mix. It would be great if we could switch to resealable bags for these forms of toys.

Finally, all that's left to say is that our group had a lot of fun with the Torres family. The second mode with envoys was particularly popular and enjoyed playing.