Reiner Knizia’s Tigris & Euphrates is getting a surprise sequel this year

Surprise! Tigris & Euphrates is getting a sequel, more than two decades after Reiner Knizia’s tile-placing masterpiece first hit tables.

As you might guess from the title, Yellow & Yangtze follows the river-centric actions of its predecessor closely, relocating the battle between civilisations to ancient China.

One of the biggest changes is the swapping of Tigris & Euphrates’ distinctive square tiles for hexagons, as well as the introduction of a fifth type of tile that serves as a wild.

As in Tigris & Euphrates, players place down different types of tile – governor, soldier, farmer, trader and artisan – to grow their domain, but must fight their neighbours if two civilisations connect.

Players can also trigger a peasant riot by discarding two blue farmer tiles, removing any tile from the board. Meanwhile, revolts occur if two leaders of the same colour end up in the same state, forcing one to withdraw.

Victory points are collected in each of the tile categories, with the lowest total in any of the categories serving as each player’s final score – making victory a challenge of balance.

In place of Tigris & Euphrates’ points-earning monuments – formed by a square of four tiles of the same colour – Yellow & Yangtze has pagodas, comprised of three like-coloured tiles. In another change, these buildings can be constructed on later turns by discarding two green trader tiles, allowing that player to turn any trio of tiles into a pagoda.

Providing artwork for Yellow & Yangtze is renowned Robinson Crusoe and Lost Cities illustrator Vincent Dutrait, with the game coming out of studio Grail Games, which previously republished Knizia’s Medici and Stephenson’s Rocket.

Yellow & Yangtze is planned to launch at Gen Con this August, with a wider release following towards the end of the year.