Game Play Review - Silver & Gold

Silver & Gold is a game published by Pandasaurus Games. The premise of the game is for players to work to complete treasure cards by using the shapes on expedition cards to cross off boxes. Players also gain various benefits and points based on the symbols in the boxes they cross off each turn. After four rounds the game end is triggered and the player with the most points is declared the winner.

This post is broken into the following 3 sections, feel free to jump directly to one:

1. General summary - consisting of information about overall enjoyment, theme, replayability, and upgrades
2. Complexity - consisting of information about the rulebook, setup, player turns, and overall learning curve
3. Player turns - consisting of game type, game flow, rule you are likely to miss, and favorite aspect

Number of players we had: 4
Our play time (not including setup): 25 minutes

Overall enjoyment

Overall our group enjoys playing this game. It has all the benefits of a starter game and then some, such as: it can be set up within minutes, it is easy to learn, it does not require a large table to play, it is portable, it can be played in less than 30 minutes, it is appropriate for any player group, and best of all, it is fun to play!

We really like the theme of this game which surrounds treasure and adventure. We also like that Silver & Gold requires strategy to efficiently complete treasure cards, while also incorporating some luck as not every expedition shape card is revealed each round. By not revealing every shape each round the game provides a great balance between strategy and luck.

Each round players must choose between waiting on a specific shape to cross of multiple boxes or skipping the shape to cross off a single box they think they might not otherwise fulfill. So while there is definitely skill involved with planning out which boxes to cross off, there is also a bit of luck introduced with the shapes revealed.

If we had to pick something about this game that frustrated us it would be that the font size in the rule book is fairly small, luckily it is an easy to read font.

Theme

The theme of this game involves treasure and adventuring. Players always have two color-coded treasure cards they are trying to build. The treasure cards, score and round cards all add to the adventure theme. Treasure cards are especially clever, using coins, palm trees, and X marks the spot symbols in certain boxes to trigger extra actions and points.

Replayability

There are a couple of things that increase the replayability of this game, including:

1. There are 47 treasure cards that are randomized each game and not all of them are used in any one game.
2. The game plays very quickly because there are only four rounds.
3. Each round, only seven of the eight expedition shape cards that are used to mark boxes on your treasure cards are revealed. This means each round is the same length as well as making the game more challenging.

Upgrades

There are no upgrades for this game as far as I know.

Rule book

The rule book is only a few pages but is well organized, with plenty of images and examples to explain how play works, how to count points and distribute awards. Additionally, the cards are identified and different types of information are color coded to help explain how the game play works.

Setup

This game only takes a few minutes to set up. Each player takes a dry erase pen, a score card and draws four treasure cards. After deciding which two treasure cards to keep, four treasure cards are revealed in the middle of all players. These are available to players when they finish one of their existing treasure cards. After shuffling the expedition cards and placing the round card nearby, players are ready to begin playing.

Turns

On their turn players reveal the next expedition shape card and all players either mark off boxes in that shape or mark off a single box on one of their current treasure cards.  Where applicable, players document any coins they crossed off on their score card as well as totaling up any palm tree points on their score card. Lastly, if players complete a row of coins on their score cards they enter any applicable bonus on their score card. If any player finished a treasure card they draw a new one from the four revealed treasure cards.

Overall learning curve

The overall learning curve for this game is very low. Silver & Gold can be taught to a new player in about five minutes. Additionally, most steps each turn are taken simultaneously so players are carrying out the same actions at the same time. Using shapes, players cross off boxes on treasure cards and apply any actions or points accrued from special symbols in crossed off boxes.

Play type

Silver & Gold is a symmetrical flip and write game. Players use expedition cards, which contain unique polyomino shapes, to fill all the squares on treasure cards, thereby fulfilling that contract and gaining the included points. Treasure cards also include coins and palm trees which award points, as well as X spots which allow players to cross off another square.

At the end of the game, coins, coin bonuses, palm tree totals and the points for all completed treasure cards and their multipliers are added together to get a final score.

Game flow

Silver & Gold plays very quickly because the first two steps of each turn are taken simultaneously. Players use the same revealed expedition shape card on their treasure cards to mark off squares and document any other points, coins or take special actions where applicable. The final step of each turn also goes quickly as players complete rows of coins and acquire new treasure cards, which happens individually for all players.

Rule you are likely to forget/miss

The only rule you might forget during this game is that when multiple players complete rows of coins at the same time, trophy amounts awarded for doing so are given in turn order. This means you need to be strategic about finishing coin rows to garner the highest benefits.

Favorite aspect

Our favorite aspect of this game is the balance needed between the strategy required to match the shapes and complete treasure cards faster with focusing on filling rows of coins, gaining points using palm trees, and using X symbols to cross off a box that there may be no other way to get. Even though the shapes are simple, each treasure card provides its own unique challenge to complete.

Silver & Gold is a great family game that is perfect for starting or ending a game night. It is portable and can be taught quickly, has a very small footprint, and has a cute theme.