Imagine this: you unfold a small box and suddenly the island of Sardinia appears before you, ready to be conquered by you and other players. Sardegna by Playte is not just any remake, but a clever reissue of Stefan Dorra’s classic Kreta, filled with tactics, battles, and surprises. Embark on a journey along rugged coasts, influential nobles, and a game board that literally unfolds into an island at sea.

Background & Goal

Sardegna is a reissue of the board game Kreta, designed by Stefan Dorra and re-released by Playte. The game is similar in mechanics but takes place on a different island. Playte, now an established name thanks to the innovative L.BOARD system, presents Sardegna in a compact box that unfolds into two sections of the game board. No need for a large 30×30 cm box—just a small package with magnetic board pieces. After playing, you simply fold everything back into the box. Playte proves that even with a small package, you can offer a grand game.

Sardegna, or Sardinia in English, is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. The island lies west of the Italian mainland and is famous for its stunning beaches, mountainous interior, unique cuisine, and rich history dating back to prehistory. Its culture, language (Sardinian), and traditions are distinct from those of the mainland, making it a fascinating destination for travelers and an interesting topic for those who love food, history, and nature.

Players become part of this rich history during the game. Sardegna is set in the 14th century, when the Kingdom of Sardinia is on the verge of expansion. Ambitious nobles (the players) compete for power and influence on the island. Command ships, build cities, raise towers, settle villagers, or send priests across the rugged landscape to gather influence. Players earn points for their agricultural harvests and their dominance over regions, which are scored continuously in surprising ways. The player with the most points at the end wins.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, players unfold the board and receive cards and pieces of their chosen color. Above the board, objective cards are placed, indicating which regions will score during a conflict. This is how players earn points: by exerting influence over the regions that score in a conflict. Influence is gained by placing villages (2 influence), villagers (1), towers (1, but adjacent to multiple regions and can count for several), priests (1), and ships (1). Each region has limited space for pieces.

On their turn, a player plays a character card to perform an action. Players use these cards to place and move pieces, claiming influence in the 16 provinces of the island. Each player has an identical set of character cards with unique abilities and limitations. Each card can only be used once per round. A round ends as soon as a player starts a conflict by playing the relevant card.

During a conflict, the chosen regions are scored and new objective cards are placed for the next round. Players then take all played cards back into their hand.

Verdict

Sardegna is a highly strategic game. Players all have the same set of cards, but the possibilities are endless. In each round, victory points are earned by the two players with the most influence in the scoring regions. However, you never know exactly which regions will score, requiring you to constantly adapt your tactics.

You can find the titles on the eBay Store: https://ebay.com/str/playte or on the Playte Amazon Storefront : https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/32CB51EC-19A5-466C-A39B-6022AD1B330C

If you will be attending Spiel in Essen preorder you can pre-order here: https://tally.so/r/mBYNZe