Paizo has confirmed that its first board game in more than a decade, Pathfinder: Elemental Stones, will be released into retail on November 15, 2023. The title, although briefly teased by the publisher, has already been able to flesh out a full and vibrant gameplay story around it over the past months.
Elemental Stones will have players enjoy a quick tile-placement experience which will feature hidden objectives. The title is definitely a refreshing instalment in the Pathfinder series, as Paizo spent the last decade building one of the best-known RPG franchises, Pathfinder, and has not really ventured much into the board games hobby.
The studio tried to do so in 2013 when it released its Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, which is still around. The latest core set was released in 2019. The new game will have 2-4 players taking plays to draft and play colorful, and colourblind-friendly, hexagonal tiles that match a secret pattern and objective that each of the players is trying to create.
Elemental Stones comes with several dozen pattern cards which means that players can enjoy a high value out of the core box, with replayability set high. There are interchangeable objectives that also create a game that the publisher calls is in a state of “constant flux.”
To make a long story short, the game does remind readers and players of an Azul set in the Pathfinder universe. Meanwhile, reports have been swirling around that the game is easy to set up and tear apart, which is definitely a blessing in this era of new games that are table hogs.
Elemental Stones is also a fitting supplement to the Rage of Elements rules resource that Paizo is also releasing. All in all, Elemental Stones will be selling for $39.99 and be a nice way to introduce yourself to the franchise.