Circular Reasoning Review

"Shapes and Rotating Centers"

I found Circular Reasoning to be a rather fascinating board game, it was easy to learn and very simple to play. Despite this it still managed to create a unique and intricate way to play. The goal of the game is to get your shapes into the center circle.

This is achieved by moving the shapes by the number of sides they have around the board. You're able to hop players as well along your journey while attempting to make your way inward.

There are a number of gates present at each of the skinny circle areas shown below and these are what allow you to cross over. These areas can also be blocked by players and are constantly moving each round based on the shapes in each section. While I had found my strategy to be rather efficient where games moved quickly for my group, I did find that if players set blocks or switched up strategies that the length could vary a bit more.

It's really quite neat that game functions as a revolving circle of sorts as this works well, I just somewhat wish it was more complex as I won a couple matches rather quickly. It's still a mad dash to get all of your shapes moving as one turn you can be just about to enter whereas the next pieces of the board might have shifted away.

The Board/Pieces

The board game comes in what I would consider a standard board game size being a square in design though what's included doesn't quite fill that space so I felt it was somewhat wasted in that regard. Within the package you get a circular board and a selection of shape pieces for each of the players.

There's also a chip to mark which player is currently going though that wasn't necessary at all and a few gate pieces. The rules come on a neatly folded piece sheet and are just a list of words simply explaining the game. It really didn't need too many pieces as the concept was beautifully complex and simple at the same.

I did however have an issue with the folds of the board, as you can see in the center there the crease makes it feel like the side pieces are split in two when they're not and that could have been placed on a necessary line to avoid the issue.

The Conclusion

Circular Reasoning is a great game in that it provides little and yet creates a compelling board game experience. I couldn't believe how they took such a basic set of shapes and then turned it into a game of strategy.

It's also neat that the board shifts while the players move and they're just scrambling along to get the pieces inward. The matches were sometimes a bit too quick and even deadlocked towards the last few plays, but with solid counter moves or better luck it all runs quite evenly.

It was such a nice and simple game with some aspects that could have a bit more to them, but it works perfectly fine as is. My final comment would be on the crease of the board as that could have been placed along the line as it did mess up players when moving around the board.

Circular Reasoning Review
Review Sample Provided by Breaking Games

Rating Overall: 8.0