Canvas Board Game
- Designer: R2i Games
- Players: 1-5
- Playtime: 30 minutes
- Ages: 10+
The Canvas board game is a delightfully creative adventure by R2i Games that plays 1-5 players, ages 10+, with a playtime of about 30 minutes. At the time of this writing there is the base game of Canvas and 2 expansions: Reflections and Finishing Touches. This is a review of the Canvas base game. I look forward to trying the expansions in the future, if for nothing else, the box art on all three boxes fit together to make one 3 panel scene. Canvas is a different take on games that I have played before. Players collect artist panels with a mostly transparent background and layer them together to create masterpieces and earn points. There are several different ways to score the artwork, and for our first game we used: Variety, Repetition, Emphasis and Composition (to be explained later).
What’s In the Box?
First of all, the box art for Canvas is fantastic! Even better, the box pulls out like a drawer. You can imagine being an artist opening up your desk to get your tools prior to playing. Included in the box is a Canvas Mat, Scoring Cards, Ribbons, Art Cards, Deck Background Cards, Card Sleeves and Inspiration Tokens. Before the first play through, sleeve all Arts Cards into the Card Sleeves. This will serve as your canvas during game play. The components are all brightly colored and in different shapes, which is helpful to players with any color blindness. The Canvas Mat is a delightful departure from a traditional game board. I really felt all of the special touches in the Canvas game’s components.
Set Up
You set up Canvas by placing the Canvas Mat in the center of the game play space and pick any Scoring Cards to go into the top spaces to earn red, green, blue, purple and silver Ribbons. The Ribbons go in piles at the top of the Canvas Mat. Then shuffles all of the Art Cards together and place them in the Deck Box. This way you cannot see what Art Cards are coming next. There are spaces for 5 Art Cards on the Canvas Mat. Fill them with the first 5 Art Cards in the Deck Box. Next, give each player Background Cards. These are used for the canvases for the art work they will be creating. Finally, each player takes 4 Inspiration Tokens. These are shaped like little paint palettes. Once all steps are accomplished, you are ready to begin playing Canvas.
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Game Play
On player’s turn they can take an Art Card OR complete a painting. To take an Art Card, players must choose one of the 5 Art Cards on the Canvas Mat. The first Art Card in line may be taken for free. If a player chooses to take an Art Card deeper into the line, they must place an Inspiration Token on each of the preceding Art Cards. Completing a painting requires stacking 3 Art Cards on top of each other and placing inside sleeved Background Card. You may choose to stack them in different ways to manipulate which colors and symbols are showing at the bottom, depending on what your Scoring Cards are looking for. If a player has 5 Art Cards in their hand, they cannot pick up any more Art Cards and they must complete a painting.
Objective
The objective of Canvas is to earn the most Ribbons by using Art Cards to make paintings for an art show. The different Scoring Cards at the top of the Canvas Mat will show you what the judges are looking for. For our game play, we used Variety, Repetition, Emphasis and Composition. Each of your Art Cards will have different symbols in the different colors on your palette at the bottom. Match these symbols to what is being asked on the Scoring Cards. For example, to earn a variety Ribbon, you will need one of each type of symbol. Each of the Scoring Cards will be asking for different arrangements of the symbols and colors. Earn the most Ribbons to be “Best in Show!”
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Final Thoughts
As a lover of games, I am always looking for games that play differently. The idea of using Art Cards to create paintings to earn points is definitely different that other games I have played. The beauty and playfulness of the artwork allows strategic game play with an element of whimsy. I enjoy there there is a solo mode for Canvas and it feels like the type of game you could really cuddle up with on your own or share memories with other players. To order your own copy of Canvas CLICK HERE!
Have you ever played Canvas? What were your thoughts and could you recommend it to others? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Be sure to check back here at Variant Ventures for all things gaming and entertainment!
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