Coming from a tropical country, snow always felt like a distant concept to me. Well, at least until I moved to Germany. But, for real, skiing? Even more so for the then-me.
Living abroad, in a four-season country like Germany, it gave me a glimpse of why it holds such significance for many. Going for ski is not something I personally attracted to, yet now I understand the charm surrounding the culture. Which brings us to the business model of ski resorts. This, my friend, is precisely what Snow Planner captures and brings into the table. It still feels foreign for an Indonesian like me, but the game certainly piqued my curiosity.
Snow Planner greets its players with inviting artworks. They look cozy, and so the gameplay might seem, too — but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s bringing a laid-back gaming experience. The game is definitely not a zen game. We take on the role of managers running various ski resorts where the dice represent our workers.
A dice worker placement game
Hold on, though. Akashi, the designer, does not really create this game to rely heavily on luck. We won’t cast the dice. No rolling involved, and instead, the dice faces indicate how skilled and efficient our workers are at performing their tasks.
The game utilises worker placement and dice as the core mechanic. This aspect feels more familiar to me than its thematic ski resort setting, actually. Well, such things is not my first encounter in the board game world and has become my favourite since I don’t even know anymore when. Snow Planner’s dice worker placement has the same business principle.
We place a die on a designated spot on the Slope board. By doing so, we gather resources and any other incentives. The value shown on the die face determines the efficiency of our workers. It’s obvious. Right away, we know that higher value yields better outcomes from that particular spot. Then, a question is raised: how to upgrade the dice value?
One of the key resources. in Snow Planner is a Ticket. This sort of ticket is used to upgrade the dice value, or, in other words, to train our workers. From all the mechanics within this game, I find this one to be the most disconnected to the thematic ski-resort management, though. I mean, what exactly is the link between this ticket and worker training? That part remains a mystery for me.
Nevertheless, this mechanic left quite an impression on me. Mostly because of the price to upgrade. Well, upgrading in Snow Planner can get rather steep, value-wise. The cost to upgrade a die equal to its current value, so imagine upgrading a die with value 5 to 6. That would require like 5 tickets in one go!
Despite the expensive nature, I must admit that this variable cost system is a clever way to maintain the balance in the game. Without this, upgrading dice would feel like buying peanuts. It becomes far too easy.
Not a zen game
We have talked deeply into the worker placement mechanics. Yet, I mentioned not even a single time why I see Snow Planner’s gameplay not as cozy as its serene thematic touch suggests. Like most worker placement games, spaces for resource generation are limited. It’s common.
However, Akashi takes it a step further. Even some of those spaces left yield resources less efficiently. For instance, placing a die value of 6 on the last open spot in the Restaurant area might only give us 3 Croissants instead of the round half a dozen. Thanks to the -2 deduction on that particular space.
And it’s not just about generating resource. We also have the Project area, which introduces another competition ground to fulfil requirements and claim rewards out of it. With such a limited space, this implementation injects a sense of urgency. Snow Planner is far from zen-like. We, as players, are always on edge.
This feeling gives incentives on fighting for turn order, as it’s important to grab the best spot on the Slope board. Personally, this is a good thing. It advocates the importance of turn order by seamlessly implementing the limitation of space and the efficiency. The Summit area, in particular, feels like an important battleground, especially when we are looking to secure either projects or resources.
A game not for two
I think this is a common pitfall for worker placement games. Snow Planner is no exception, unfortunately. While I definitely enjoyed playing against Akashi, the designer himself, I found this game truly shines with higher player counts. With more managers, and their resorts, competing for space on the Slope boards, those limited spots feel even tighter. It adds more tension and edge.
Snow Planner is, at its core, a game of simplicity. Everything lies on the table. It’s straightforward generating resources to pay and optimising our moves with it. Despite the straightforward nature, it still offers a bit of complexity. Just a sprinkle of it. And let’s not confuse the simplicity and less complex bits with a lack of depth. Complexity itself is not linear with the latter part.
For instance, we do have to create the best experience in the resort for the guests. It’s simple. To make them stay longer, we just have to fulfil the requirements on the Guest cards. While doing so, it also connects to fulfilling the requirements for the Talent cards, where we need to make a certain pattern to get the rewards. Everything is clear and without overwhelming complexity level.
This streamlined aspect offers meaningful decision-making. It keeps all players engaged but without inducing unnecessary analysis paralysis. I like it. Akashi has created one euro game that feels familiar and easy to chew. And Snow Planner keeps being interesting until the end of the game.
I am a full-time food technologist during weekdays. However, when the calendar hits weekends, I transform into an avid board gamer. I am a hardcore Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) LCG player from Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Current hobby: buying board games. My shelf of shame’s list is getting longer, thanks to you, Kickstarter.
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