Back in university, all those years ago, I took a Polish history course just out of curiosity. It turned out my professor was actually part of the Polish Solidarity movement in the 80's and his enthusiasm for his culture and history made it a fantastic class, and one I have remembered though it was almost 10 years ago
When I learned that there was a board game on the subject of Solidarity Poland I had to have it! This is Kolejka and it was published in 2011. I have owned this game since 2012, but this year was the first time we actually played it.
For those who don't speak Polish (like me) Kolejka means queuing, and this game is designed to show people the struggles of even going shopping in Soviet era Poland.
The point of the game is collect all of the items on your shopping list. Which you do by lining your pawns up in front of stores to claim your merchandise. However, their are a few tricks to this. Only 3 of the 5 stores will actually be receiving goods, there are very limited quantities of merchandise, and most players won't know which stores will have items in stock.
After players have lined up their pawns in the queues, The location and amount of merchandise is revealed. Players then use their Queuing Cards to change the order of the queue in front of a store, close the store, or even peak at the delivery deck for next time. With so few resources coming out, it can get pretty cut throat.
The first player to complete their shopping list wins. It is a pretty simple game over all with some beautiful in game time keeping mechanics. And it is harder then it looks. Often you will go home form the market with nothing to show for your troubles at all.
Kolejka is a really fun game. The art is wacky yet nice to look at, and the design of the rules and game board are clear, and easy to understand. I have even seen that they finally released a full English version of this game (among other languages) in 2015, which means you won't have to stick the English Language Stickers over the cards which was a pain in the ass.
That being said, Kolejka is a pretty simple pawn placement and resource collection game. It makes for a fantastic family game or a quick filler during game night, but I wouldn't want to base an entire evening around it.
All in all, great graphic designs and fun rule system. I would give it a 7/10 as a family title, good game, not something I would want to play everyday.
Written by: Andrew Gregory
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