Harmonies Review - Is it Worthy of the Hotness & Hype?

My review of Harmonies which is a tile and card drafting and 3D tableau building game. It’s been compared to games like Azul, Cascadia, Reef ,and Aqua! In this video I show you how to play Harmonies as you get an overview of the gameplay and learn the rules.

0:00 - Introduction
0:44 - Overview
4:40 - Final Thoughts

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[TheGiraffehead]

Interesting that you say Reef just grabbed you. I've had the opposite experience. A big tell for me for how much a game has worked with players is the conversation after the game ends. With each of my plays of Harmonies, the conversation continues. When I have played Reef there is a brief conversation about missed points but nothing about the experience.

In Harmonies players are looking at what others are going for and talking about animals that work for them. When I played Reef it was very quiet. I think in the end that is the big difference for the people I play with. In Harmonies everyone is engaged with the experience of building. With Reef, it is so streamlined that there is no soul—everyone finishes their puzzle the best they can and then counts up points.

[nicolehage]

Thank you for creating this review. Very clear, with excellent images as usual! I like you compare Harmonies with Reef and Aqua.
I played all three of them and can see the similarities. I guess it comes down to personal preferences. I found Aqua frustrating, because I don’t ‘see’ the patterns. I literally have to try the 3 coloured hexes before I know if they fit. It is very pretty and original though!
I played Reef a few times, but it doesn’t excite me. I guess it seems a bit too easy to get points in Reef? Still like it, of course.
I played Harmonies solo and with 2 players and the game keeps pulling me in. I love how it is quick and thinky and pretty.

[WhyToPlayYT]

I was surprised not to hear other reviewers mention Reef when comparing Harmonies. Agreed. Reef is just so good. So clean.

[Wylie]

I gotta be honest man. Harmonies is a straight up upgrade from Reef in every aspect. You might be the only person I have seen that seems to think Reef has a space on their shelf after Harmonies.

[jeffgoggin]

My first thought when I heard of this game was ... "Sounds like reef"

[vonwoolf]

Reef is too clean and too abstract, I think that's why it flew under the radar. It's a simple score system where you only think short term : what you do is what you get. Basically, the gameplay comes out as this : draw up to 4 cards, and play them in the order that suits you best, rinse and repeat.
Harmonies, on the other hand, forces you to plan long term strategies, some the same each game and some randomly given to you, but with an imperfect way of drafting your ressources à la Azul. With the gorgeous artwork and the somewhat thematic aspect of the game, it is understandable that the game could turn into a banger.

[kanaestudio]

Really surprised by this video, a video of this type could be made every week if we base it on the hotness and the hype, right now Sand is at Nº1 and with a rate of 8 although still few ratings (but hey, it's not even for sale in stores) and Devir always manages to create expectation with their games (either with money or sending emails to their buyers and friends to ask for likes ( like on the Essen list). So it really catches my attention that you chose Harmonies to do it. Is it because you like Reef a lot and you wanted to give it a little tribute? I bought and played Reef and Azul back in the day and although I liked them both I decided to get rid of Reef, now I was able to play Harmonies and I see the similarities with Reef although but I like it more. Harmonies In fact, I don't think it's a perfect game or that it does everything well, but I do enjoy it more than Cascadia, Calico and reef. If the game were from a publisher that is a friend of yours or that sponsors you, would you also have made this video? It's simply curiosity.

[SGFlicksify]

Have to say, looking further into this I have totally changed my mind & now feel it has MORE to it than its contenders.
The animal cards with several cubes to deploy before you can replace them & the land tokens you build up to thematically suit particular creatures. Just feel it has more crunchiness to it - &, of course, the presentation helps a lot.

[cursivecurses]

We played Aqua and Harmonies back to back last night. It will take a while to articulate but Harmonies was vastly more fun. I think the main things are the wider decision tree and more enjoyable payoffs in Harmonies. Well, and the horribly worded scoring in Aqua

[melaniemajor]

I just got this game and will remove Cascadia from my collection. Harmonies feels so much more satisfying to play (I love the look of it and the tactile aspect of it). Also, there is a great variant for solo players with scenarios on bgg.

[elesvazul]

You know, there is a thing called house ruling!
Board games are all about having fun. If you don't like a rule or disagree with a rule, before the game starts you can make compromise with all other players.
Example.: If someone have 1 or 2 fields left, all other player can take 1 last turn and the game ends. This is such a common solution in games like that, that I didn't even noticed there are no extra last 1 turn for every other players if someone finishes.

[Animal_board_gamer]

That’s interesting you like reef more, I played reef and hated it. I personally give harmonies a 10! I also don’t compare it to cascadia, i compare it to deep vents which is another game I love, but a game that mostly everyone hated.

And as for aqua i think deep vents Is better than AQUA. But since I haven’t played aqua that might change if I ever decide to buy it.

[Pokinbrat]

When i played it for the first time i said oh this alot like Akropolis. You hit it on the money with Reef tho. Very similar. My best experience playing Harmonies has been the solo mode. Very enjoyable.

[EltWilder]

Quick, easy to play, and looks good. A recipe for hype for sure.

[jrobinson]

Reef is a favorite. People are also comparing it to Tiny Towns which I like. Still deciding if I should buy Cascadia. Haven't played that yet, but I usually like the spiel winners. Anyway, great review. I had wondered about this game.

[jgutkind]

Can't thank you enough for your review of Harmonies the board game. I am a huge fan of Cascadia and your review helped clarify the difference between them. Another board Game channel also referred to reef in comparison to Neontopia. I was interested in both Harmonies and Neontopia and now 2 boardgames channels mentioned Reef in comparison enjoying game play more.

[renatofernandes]

Great! I have Reef and I love to play it with my parents. No need for this one for now.

[tamaravandenbranden]

The game reminds me of Dreamscape, love it❤

[diamondmeeple]

Which you like better of Aqua and Reef then?

[turtlevader]

Don’t let this review fool you. Harmonies is worth the hype. I own Reef too. It’s a good game. Harmonies is a bit better. I give it 8.5. I probably give Reef a 7.5.