Bonfire

Bonfire

Bonfires are sources of light, energy, and heat created by the Keepers of the Light to illuminate the cities of an otherwise dark planet. However, the citizens took the bonfires for granted and exploited them for their own benefit. Disappointed, the Keepers of the Light withdrew and allowed the bonfires to go out. Unable to live in the now dark cities, the inhabitants were forced to leave.

In Bonfire, you take on the role of a group of gnomes who live near the cities and also depend on the light of the bonfires. You will try to travel to the cities and learn how to reignite the bonfires: you must visit the Keepers of the Light on their sacred islands and complete tasks that prove your worth. For each task completed, a bonfire will be rekindled. The player who best manages the Keepers’ great truth and brings the most light back to their city will be the winner.

The main mechanism of the game revolves around three-colored tiles that you place on your personal board. When you manage to place the same color adjacently, you receive additional specific action tiles. This allows you to specialize in certain types of actions and develop different strategies:

You can use the tiles to perform the following actions:

• Move your ship to an island
• Receive a task from an island by spending 2 resources
• Invite a Keeper of the Light to your city
• Trigger a procession of Keepers to gain resources
• Add a landscape tile to your city (where processions take place)
• Recruit a gnome to gain a special ability or victory points
• Gain the support of the final bonfire, earning portals, resources, or action tiles

Play proceeds in turn order until a set number of tasks have been completed, after which each player takes 5 more turns. During final scoring, you will earn points for completed tasks (bonfires) and for any improvements made (portals, landscapes, and Keepers).

GAME DETAILS

Designer: Stefan Feld
Players: 1–4
Playing Time: 70–90 minutes
Age: 12+