Second Look—Crossing

Asmodee has a lot of companies under their belt now, and one of those is Moonster Games, publisher of Crossing. Crossing is a game where the peaceful fantasy races of the world come together to snag as many Life Stones as possible by any means necessary. The Summer Solstice is the one time of year they’re not so kind to each other.

The goal of the game is simple. Get as many Life Stones as you can, before the supply runs out. You do this by simultaneously pointing to mushrooms with stones on them. The problem is if another player pointed to that mushroom you both get nothing. Toss into the mix that you can point to a player’s stash to steal it during a turn, and things get a bit more crazy. Have a ton of stones and thing someone might try to steal them? You can cover them instead of pointing to a tile to protect them, but you’re giving up a turn to snag more stones.

It’s hectic, and fun, and really quick. It’s simple to learn for almost any age, though I’ve found that the 8+ age rating might have more to do with maturity than the ability to play. My 6 year old was getting really upset when his gems were stolen, and started to have pretty bad anxiety during play. My 9 and 10 year olds had a blast, and were able to laugh off losses in their fun of playing. My little guy has stated he wants to try again, so I’ll see how well it goes next time with him. After a few plays, having a better understanding may help him with his fear of losing stones.

Overall the game is a blast, is short, and everything can be tossed into the included bag an carried around quite easily. It’s not a game you can focus a whole game night around, but it’s great for short bursts with the kids. At around $25, it’s in a good range to just pick up and play with the family, and I recommend you do so if you’ve got small ones in the house.

A copy of Crossing was provided free for review by Asmodee Games.