YORKTON – The great thing about receiving a package of games from Kanare Kato and Kanare_Abstract is that at least one will almost assuredly be a gem.
In this case the game is Residuel from designer Michael Amundsen – a rather prolific creator who may have achieved his best (at least among those played by The Meeple Guild), with this one.
Like most kanare-abstract.com games Residuel comes in a small box, with that common cloth board and wood pieces which always makes for a good looking, and highly portable game.
Now I am not exactly great at territory games, but I was immediately fascinated by Residuel as Trevor and I got it to the table over coffee one Friday.
This one uses a uniquely shaped board and hexagonal tiles and you play pieces to capture territory. That difference from other games of its type makes this one fresh.
Players play tiles of their own colour and compete for the remaining areas where no tiles can be placed. Each area is won by the player with the most tiles adjacent to it, and if there are an equal number of tiles, the area is won by the player who closed it.
Initially, the placement of tiles, and the way you score take just a bit of getting your head around. It’s not that it is super complicated – rules are on a couple of pages – but the shapes on the board and the tiles themselves are just different enough that you need to adjust your visual thinking somewhat.
That said, the effort to get your head around Residuel is ultimately well worth it. It is quick, moderately so at least, and yet there is a significant challenge here. Knowing where to lay pieces can be interesting in the sense at times you are better off to place to give your opponent a score – but a smaller one than if you play elsewhere.
There is a give-and-take aspect to Residuel which tends to keep games close, so a single misplaced piece can ultimately be the difference.
It will be surprising if this one isn’t among the top-five two-player games first played in 2025 for both Trevor and I. Yes it is that good – a most highly recommended abstract strategy game.
