Azul publisher Plan B opens a new studio, announces upcoming game from Century: Spice Road designer

Plan B, the outlet behind the Century series and Azul, has opened a new studio focused on light abstract strategy games.

Next Move Games is billed as concentrating on “pure games with simple, core mechanisms,” and, in a quirky detail, has said that all of its upcoming releases will have titles four letters long “to reinforce the elegance in the game's design”.

There’s also the promise that the games will include “chic, high-quality components” – presumably following in the mould of Century’s plastic spice bowls and Azul’s delightful tiles.

The first four-letter effort will be Reef, designed by Century: Spice Road creator Emerson Matsuuchi – who recently announced the second entry in his planned spice-trading trilogy.

Reef is billed as a turn-based game in which players control the underwater formation, placing down patterns and colours to expand the coral. Like Century, it’ll play in about half an hour to 45 minutes.

Reef is due for release at Origins on June 13th this year. There’s a good chance we’ll see what else Next Move has planned before then.