We battled it out as the elemental forces of fire and ice in the next game in our A-Z game shelf play-through – Fire and Ice.
Basic Info: Fire and Ice
Players: 2
Time: 30 Minutes
Designer: Jens-Peter Schliemann
Publisher: Pin International
Fire and Ice is an abstract game where players play pegs to vie for control of three connecting triangles.
The game board is composed of seven triangles arranged themselves in a triangle. Each small triangle has seven holes, arranged in a pattern that mimics the placement of small triangles on the overall board. Players decide who is playing fire (red pegs) and who is playing ice (blue pegs). A red peg is placed in the center of the center triangle, and the fire player takes the first turn.
On a player’s turn, they move one of their pegs – they have the choice of moving the peg along the lines of its current small triangle one space or moving the peg to it’s same space on any other small triangle. After moving the peg, an opponent’s peg is placed in the space just vacated.
Once a player has three pegs on a triangle that are connected either in a row or around the middle, they control that triangle. Control of a triangle will not change hands unless the controlling player choses to move one of the controlling pegs, even if the other player subsequently moves pegs into a controlling position on that triangle. As soon as a player controls three triangles connected in a row or around the middle, they win.
This was another abstract game we purchased early in our gaming history. I’m pretty sure we played it a few times because the board felt familiar, but I did not remember the game play at all.
The mechanism was interesting – by placing an opponent’s peg each turn, you have to weigh your movements extra carefully. And sometimes you choose to give them control of a triangle because, for them, it’s not the “right” triangle. However, it’s not really our type of game anymore.
How is it as a 2-player game? Fire and Ice is designed to be a 2-player game, so of course it works at that player count. It’s just not my kind of game.
How about the art and component quality? The components are very high quality. The game board is a chunky wood with a beautiful finish and velvet-lined cut-outs to hold the wooden pegs.
Will this stay in my collection? No – that was probably obvious, though. We’re just not big abstract gamers, really.
