Nunatak: Temple of Ice Board Game Review

Written by Dan York

What is Nunatak: Temple of Ice?

A nunatak is the pinnacle of a mountain protruding from a glacier, and fittingly Nunatak: Temple of Ice is a pinnacle of set-collection games. In Nunatak, up to four players have to juggle set collection with a spatial puzzle.

The gameplay is simple, on your turn you choose a card from the trade row and then place one of your ice blocks onto a matching space on the board. There are a range of different card types to choose from each of which has unique scoring. Maybe you’ll focus on assembling architects, rewarding you for completing rows of ice blocks in the temple, or perhaps you’ll find yourself battling for builders, trying to ensure you have more than anyone else. There are also points for diversifying your cards, you can score big if you have a very balanced tableau too, there are no wrong answers!

Scoring is also achieved by careful placement of your ice blocks, completing a square unlocks the next tier of the temple, physically placing a new location tile and rewarding you with points, shared between the players who contributed to building that tier. Completing rows also gives you a reward, as does being on the outside edge of the pyramid. Deciding exactly which card to take and where that means you can place an ice block is the crux of the gameplay.

Play Nunatak

What a game! Every part of this really sings to me. The obvious draw is the wonderful collective object that is being built in the centre of the table. The temple and ice blocks have a high toy-factor but in no way does it feel like a gimmick. The rules are crafted in such a way that they need the physical building to make sense. From scoring majorities on each square to picking up bonus points based on the levels below, it just works.

I love how breezy and straightforward the rules are, but how interactive the decision-making ends up being. It’s important to make sure you’re collecting cards that optimise your score, but it’s often just as important to use that decision to deftly block your opponent’s ideal placement spots, never ruining their game, but keeping their points in check.

Most cards are just worth points at game end, but a handful of them add a few twists to the rules to keep things feeling layered. Collecting an Elder gives you the right to choose some small bonus from a limited set of options and the Builder cards actively allow you to rearrange the tiles on the board.

Despite their being many different scoring criteria on the cards, it never feels overwhelming or like you’re going to forget something. The player aids do a great job at keeping the game flowing smoothly, particularly with the instant scoring that comes when players construct. the next level of the tower.

For want of a negative, I found the extra rules needed to make it work at four players to be a bit fussy and annoying, one extra thing to remember, but it’s still very enjoyable at this player count.

I’ve played a lot of new games this year and Nunatak could well be my favourite. It has immense table presence and it’s incredibly satisfying to build the temple and doubly so if you earn the right to place the final piece atop it. The card drafting is simple and there are enough points available everywhere that many different strategies are highly viable to win. I have played this many times and it just gets better with every play. 

Should you play Nunatak: Temple of Ice?

It's a must play game. 

A fantastic card game spiked with the childlike joy of building something tangible. No gimmicks, just clean and interesting design.

Try this game if you liked Nidavellir – Mixing set collection with a secondary interactive objective, both of these games do a great job at giving you many routes to victory.

On the Box

Designer: Kane Klenko

Publisher: KOSMOS

Time: 40-60 minutes

Players: 1-4

Ages: 10+

Price: £35

What’s in the box?

• 27 Ice Blocks
• Temple Cap
• 54 Building Cards
• 8 Frame Pieces
• 6 Completion Cards
• 20 Blessing Cards
• 54 Floor Tiles
• 8 Coloured Markers
• 5 Tokens