Stamp Swap

By Stonemaier Games, Paul Saloman

I don’t know what it is with games which have really mundane themes, but something always appeals to me about them. Fantasy and science fiction are fine, I’ve got several games about Cthulhu and about zombies, but if you tell me there’s a game about a stamp convention, I’m in.

The stamp convention in this game lasts over three days, with players collecting, trading and then sticking stamps in their books. In true Stonemaier Games fashion, this game takes the form of several little choices each with their own mechanics.

Like Canvas, you have several different categories your stamp collection’s being judged on, but unlike Canvas, you can only score one on each day of the convention. There are four different categories and a final scoring one, so while everyone might be looking to have groups of stamps of the same colour, they may happen at any point and in any colour. This means you’ve got a bit less of a dash for the same thing, although that’s not eliminated entirely.

The general loop of a day goes between Collect, Swap and Show. These are drafting stamps, swapping stamps and then showing them off in order to get some points.

First up, three cards are drawn with a layout of face-up and facedown stamps, along with some cards and tweezers for the first player. One of these cards will have a visible effect or ability, such as letting everyone draft an extra stamp. Players draft six things from the pile, which feels like too little given the amount of items out there, but you’ll get use out of it all. Face-up stamps are visible to everyone but only you will see any facedown ones you draft.

Once everyone’s got six, players reserve one item and split everything else into two groups. Players go around, picking someone else’s stamps, then that person takes their remaining pile and takes their turn. The tension of the ‘I split, you choose’ meaning that you’re often splitting what you want from your draft so you don’t get stuck with duds, or you might be gambling on someone else’s stack of facedown stamps. It’s deliciously tense and fun to see people umming and ahhing over whether or not to risk it.

There are several things to keep an eye out for when you’re drafting and swapping stamps. Each stamp has a colour and a theme. Player mats all score extra points each round for a specific theme and specialist cards may give colour bonuses. There are reference cards showing the styles of both theme and colour, as both have identifiers so you know what you’re looking for even if you’re colourblind. The size of the stamps is often a scoring criteria, too, as some prizes are for groups of big or little stamps. There are used stamps which don’t have a point value on them but will always be in one of the scoring categories and faded stamps with a negative point value, even if they’ll help with your goals, theme bonus and colour bonuses.

In addition to stamps and the first player tweezers, there are the oft-forgotten (at least in my game) forever stamps. These have little infinity symbols and are smaller than the others. Whoever’s got the most of them at the end of the game will score a lot of points, followed by second and third places. The problem if they can be inconvenient when you’re trying to fit groups or avoid edges. There are gold stamps which are worth a lot of points but don’t meet any theme or colour; they’re generally sweets and have gold foil. Without the right specialist card, you can’t reserve them when it’s time to trade. Then there are specialist cards which give you extra abilities or scoring criteria. They handily give you symbols for the rounds when they’re active. These can both be traded as easily as stamps when you’re splitting things.

Once everyone’s got their chosen stamps and the pile no one took from their own supply, it’s time to get sticking! Each player board has a ‘page’ filled with squares to place your stamps on. You need to be mindful of what the score cards are asking, as some might want edges filled or avoided, they might want a batch of small square stamps or single colours. In the first round, you’ll probably just want to go for whatever you can score with your small supply of stamps. And once they’re on, they’re stuck on. Not literally, luckily, please don’t lick the tiles.

Players show off their boards and which prize they’re going for, scoring points for it and putting down a ticket to show that it can’t be re-scored. On the third day, you also have a final round of scoring for an overall theme. Like a lot of Stonemaier Games games, you have all the information up front so you can try to aim for the final goal from the start, or you might just be trying to survive as you go.

Ultimately, the game is short and sweet, with some beautiful aesthetics and some little bits of spite you can throw in there during the swapping phase. Each time I play, it feels like I’m not drafting enough stamps and I’m not able to get as many points as I’d like, but our boards are still pretty packed by the time we’re done. It’s a good sign when a game’s biggest sin is that it doesn’t outstay its welcome, and that’s definitely the case with Stamp Swap. The only other minor gripe is that sometimes we’re not immediately clear on what some of the specialists do or how they interact, but the rulebook contains clarification for them.

Stamp Swap can be found in game stores and on Stonemaier Games’ webstore.