Prototype | Philharmonix
Designer: Faris Suhaimi
Artist: Daniel Cunha
Publisher: Archona Games
Story behind the scenes
In Philharmonix, you take on the role of a space orchestra manager, sending your orchestra on missions, acquiring talented musicians, and pleasing patrons. You must strategically select actions, manage action points, and gain Prestige to become the most prestigious orchestra in the Malaya sector. Get ready to embark on this exciting journey and leave your mark in the galaxy as a renowned orchestra manager.
Prototype thoughts
We are guilty of enjoying worker placement games and this one was no exception to the rule. Philharmonix provides an intricate gaming experience that takes us to a world where music and space come together.
At first glance, it seems that you don't have many possible actions to choose from on your turn. However, combining these actions in order to achieve your specific goals is neither simple nor straightforward.
We often found ourselves second-guessing our choices, as each decision carries weight and could potentially lead us in the wrong direction. But wasting a turn is not an option and we value that level of strategic depth in a game.
Occasionally, we felt a bit overwhelmed by the rules, but we believe that with repeated plays, this would become less of an issue. Considering this is not a final copy of the game, it’s also not the final version of the rulebook, so there is still room for improvement.
We should mention that we only played the 2-player version of the game. Due to the large size of the prototype board, we weren't able to accommodate a comfortable 4-player setup on our table. However, we had a similar concern when we played the prototype of Pest (a previous release by Archona Games), but it was resolved before the game's final production.
Whenever Archona Games releases a new game, it feels like music to our ears, and this time not only figuratively... Philharmonix offers a nice mix of possible actions to create and record memorable symphonies. We definitely want to keep playing it!
Prototype ratings
Global rating: 7.5/10
Gameplay & Mechanisms: 8/10
Quality & Components: 7/10
Rules & Rulebook: 6/10
Art & Illustrations: 8.25/10
Theme & Story: 8.25/10
Final notes
A special thanks to Archona Games for providing us with a prototype copy of Philharmonix.
If you don't want to miss their crowdfunding campaign, you can follow their page on Kickstarter. The campaign is set to launch on February 13th 2024.
