The First Tsar: Ivan the Terrible is designed by Stan Kordonskiy with art from Michele Esposito. Over the course of four decades (rounds), players will compete to succeed Ivan the Terrible. We’re already a big fan of some of Stan’s other designs like Dice Hospital, Resurgence, and Nova Roma. So, let’s check out The First Tsar.
Planning Your Ascent
Each player controls a family that is working to gain money, influence, and control over four regions in 16th century Russia. Players start each round by assigning their boyars into five different action spots in the Kremlin Chambers. All of this takes place in the planning phase of the round. Then, in turn order, players resolve these actions in any order they choose.
The most important boyar at the location will get an additional action. Players note this by adding their seal to that Kremlin Chamber position. Each player only has two seals which is used to make sure that a single player is never the most important boyar in all three of their locations.
Directly next to the Kremlin Chambers is the Tsar’s Favor track. The player at the top of this track will always break ties. Players can also assign money when placing their boyar to raise their level of importance. The Tsar’s Favor track is incredibly important and can even shift while resolving the action spaces. At the end of rounds two and four, the players at the top of this track are awarded victory points.
Once players resolve an action, the boyar that was used moves into the map on the central board. Locations on the map are color-coded and fall into four different regions on the map.
16th Century Russia
The central board in The First Tsar is a map of the Russian state during the 1500’s. There are four regions that players are working to control during each round. Players assert their dominance by setting up cities, sending in military, and placing their boyars in the various cities. Most of your placement on the map come from completing project cards during the game.
Project cards are looking for local and foreign goods that can be produced by cities, purchased or traded. I really like the economy in The First Tsar. I might have all the resources in the world, but I also have to prioritize the action that allows me to fulfill my project cards.
At the end of each round, players gain rewards for controlling each of the four regions. These rewards change each round which gives players reasons to move around the map. Players also pick up trade tokens as they travel along waterways on the map. Trade tokens can be incredibly helpful when you are looking for specific actions or resources.
The Tsar’s Favor
After four rounds, players will gain victory points for title cards they’ve collected, which are essentially end game goals. The First Tsar gives players lots of paths to collect victory points and staying at the top of the Tsar’s Favor track gives you the most control.
With players placing three boyars over four rounds, The First Tsar does a lot with only twelve turns. Players need to be able to plan ahead and look for opportunities to gain any actions that come available. You’ll want to do all the actions available in the Kremlin Chambers, but you’re limited by your three boyars.
The First Tsar shines as a tight economic game that keeps players engaged every turn. Between placing boyars during the planning phase, to the area control mechanics on the map, players are focused on every action in the game.
With such tight gameplay, players who are prone to analysis paralysis might struggle with this game. Every decision matters and can mean the difference between completing an important project or holding it for the next round. The game has a handful of “free actions” that can help with the management of the resources you have on hand. Estate cards are also important because these offer effects that are usable once per round.
Final Thoughts
The First Tsar is a really smooth game experience. Stan Kordonskiy is great with creating games that have depth, but are easy to grasp from turn-to-turn. Teaching the basics of the game takes less than ten minutes. The Last Tsar has plenty of strategy that will keep players coming back to the table.
I’m a big fan of the art direction from the box cover, to the card backs, and the Kremlin Chambers. The iconography is pretty intuitive and it only took a couple minutes to grasp. The back of the rulebook has a glossary of icons and round breakdown for quick reference.
The First Tsar is another strong design from Stan. The mechanics in the game work together seamlessly and the tension among the players makes this one stand out. Look for The Last Tsar, coming to the US from 25th Century Games later this year.
The First Tsar is being brought to the US by 25th Century Games. Check out the Kickstarter campaign launching on January 14, 2025.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- The economy and resources are tight throughout
- Every placement matters and keeps players engaged
- Area control of the four regions gets competitive
- Tsar’s Favor Track works well to give players more control
Lows
- Some players may struggle with analysis paralysis
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
