Inis

Inis

Inis swept me away with its epic Celtic vibe. For a supposedly heavier game, I found the teach surprisingly painless (we learned it in 15 minutes) and the gorgeous Celtic artwork on the jigsaw-like tiles and cards immediately grabbed our attention. The card drafting system in Inis is phenomenal – with just a small hand of action cards each round, every pick feels meaningful and you can pull off satisfying combos if you plan well. I love the multiple victory conditions and the Pretender token mechanic, which forces you to announce your intent to win and gives everyone a suspenseful chance to stop it. It creates such tense, climactic moments instead of sudden out-of-the-blue victories. Combat is deterministic (no dice) and surprisingly elegant – you can even choose peace instead of fighting – so battles feel strategic and not just random luck. On the flip side, Inis can be pretty cutthroat, with players often teaming up to drag down the leader – if you hate direct conflict or “bash the leader” moments, consider yourself warned. It’s also a fairly long, brain-burning affair, not a quick beer-and-pretzels game. I tapped into an AI assistant to help collate and summarise other gamers’ opinions, and it turns out many share my admiration for Inis’s depth (and acknowledge those same caveats).