The Doge of Venice was the highest magistrate and and leader of the Republic of Venice. With so much water flowing through this city of canals, many a leader still made a slip, literally and figuratively, with wet (and sometimes bloody) consequences. The Doge is dead, long live the Doge, but first a new one must be chosen. The perfect setting for this, of course, is a masquerade during Carnival! Put on your masks and brace yourselves for a smooth and abstract joust that will be over before you know it with Volto!
In Volto (also the name of the famous Venetian mask), players assume the roles of Venetian noble families who have each nominated a candidate to succeed the Doge. Time to enforce the nomination and give the other family a literal head count. Volto is an abstract strategy game played with beautiful plastic masks that act as the playing pieces. The back of a mask shows which playing piece it is, but it also shows how this playing piece can move across the playing field (a roll-up play mat). Each player has an identical set of different playing pieces. A noble can only move a step orthogonally, an advisor only diagonally, the soldier can move in a continuous straight line and the ladies and candidate can dance a step in all directions during the ball.
Except for the ladies, playing pieces can also capture another player’s playing piece. If a lady is captured, both playing pieces are removed from the game. With the ladies, players can secretly outplay each other. A player has won once he or she has reached the opposite side of the playing field with his or her candidate, has captured the other player’s candidate or both ladies of the other player have been captured.
Volto is a simple and intuitive abstract game that is usually played in just 10 – 15 minutes. The secret information makes it somewhat like a combination between checkers and stratego. The way of movement and the quality of the game components also reminds me a bit of Onitama. Because the game is easy to explain and plays quickly, it is therefore easy to pick it up. I can greatly appreciate the simple nature and high quality of the game components. I also really like that the game components state exactly how this specific piece works. The combination of abstract strategy and bluff in a compact format feels tremendously refreshing.
