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Bossa, a simple yet stylish game for two: Episode 17
Written by Hiroshi Maeda, Bossa team leader
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With the 2023 rule revision, Bossa has added Optional Expansion Rules, allowing players to enjoy more strategic and aggressive plays using the “Doubler” and “Inverter” expansion components!
Today, I would like to explain the game using the expansion components in an actual gameplay video.
*The expansion component is included in the new editions of 2023, THE ART "yuki" and CLASSIC-neo. Owners of STANDARD, CLASSIC, and THE ART "mizu" and "hana" should use the "Expansion Kit" sold separately. → Bossa Expansion Kit
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Note: This article is written for those who have played Bossa many times before and omits the rules explanation.
If you would like to review the rules before watching the gameplay video, please click here first.
• Regular Rules Instructions Video → YouTube
• Optional Expansion Rules Instructions Video → YouTube
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Gameplay Video
Now, let's take a look at the gameplay video with the Regular Rules + Optional Expansion Rules.
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The player at the forefront is me and the opponent player is my colleague from the Bossa team.
Having earned the right to choose by a dice roll, I have chosen white as my own color line, since my initial hand already included tiles that could make three rows for white.
I then decided to keep the "inverter" as a modifier (for several reasons, omitted here).
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My plan was to place one tile on White 4, one on White 6, and two on White 7 to advance three turns ahead. This is quite advantageous.
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My opponent, she is the best player on the Bossa team. In this game, too, she read my plan and blocked from the beginning. She placed two tiles on White 6 (and even used her precious doubler to do so). I could no longer play not only White 6 but also White 7.
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In an instant, I was in a predicament: I could not place on my color line and was forced to place on my opponent's line.
After that, the game proceeded on an almost even keel. Then she was the first to hold the match point (meaning the fifth row on her own line), partly because my tile selection on the “Exchange” backfired.
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However, she did not have a good hand, so she did not able to win the next turn, but rather gave up the fifth row to my color line.
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Then it is my turn, the last one in the pile.
In this situation, I can win "only" if I draw White 5 or White 4 and combine it with either in my hand and place it on White 8. This is because it is impossible to make white 1 with two tiles and the stack action is already used.
If I place it on the black line, she wins; if I can no longer move, she wins. A closer look at the field reveals that there are no White 5s nor White 4s left in the pile (of the three White 4s in total, one is in my hand, one is to the left of the white pip die, and one is hidden in the layer below the stacked White 7s). It is a pretty hopeless situation.
And the tile I draw is White 1/Black 4!
Under "regular rules" without expanded rules, the game is decidedly lost.
But wait, I still have the inverter. I can use it to modify Black 4 to White 4!
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And I was able to place two tiles on White 8, completing row 6 on my line and grabbing a last-minute win!
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In retrospect, I started out with a significant advantage. Immediately she blocked, the tables turned, and she was the first to seize the match point. However, I had saved my inverter, and with a final draw from the pile, I was able to hold on to win the game.
The actual playing time was about 10 minutes, although the video edited it down to about 2. There were several occasions when both players had to think long and hard for a single move. It was an exciting and good game.
Thank you for reading my long post to the end. We are confident in the quality of Bossa, not only as a product, but also as an interesting game system.
Hope you all enjoy playing Bossa again and again!
Hiroshi MAEDA, Team Leader
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Bossa 2023 new editions
Worldwide shipping is available only through the Official Store.
→ Banana Moon Games Official Online Store
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