Dorfromantik – a soothing building puzzle

We have already mentioned the game Dorfromantik on the pages of Mezha, for example, when writing about the puzzle Tile Cities by the Island developer. Well, it’s time to talk about Dorfromantik itself, especially since it is probably one of the best games of 2022, which right now ranks second in the rating Best 250 of 2022 from Steam 250. Immediately after God of War, which, as you remember, was released on PC only this year. So what is Dorfromantik?

Dorfromantik is a calming building puzzle/strategy (however, we are not building a city, it is a countryside). Something like a Carcassonne-based solitaire with hexagonal elements. There are forests, meadows, rye fields, villages, rivers and ponds, a railway and some special tiles, which still need to be discovered through various achievements.

The basic gameplay in Dorfromantik is endless, but there is one “but”. From the beginning, you only have a small deck of tiles that appear randomly, and in order to replenish it, you need to perform tasks that are tied to some tiles. For example, collect a forest of 20+, 50+, 1000+ trees, or a city of 5+, 20+, 50+ houses, a river or road of 5, 10, 20 pieces, a field of 20+ small plots and so on. After completing the tasks you will receive additional tiles and points, when the tiles in the deck are over – the game is over.

Your task is to score as many points as possible. They can be earned simply by laying tiles, laying them correctly so that the forest touches the forest, the field – the fields, the meadow – the meadow, and so on. You can get even more points for completing a task or closing an area, such as a large forest, as cities are closed in Carcassonne.

In addition to the basic mode, Dorfromantik has many additional ones. There is, for example, Quick mode with a limited number of tiles (75 pieces). There is a Hard mode – with more rare tiles and complex tasks, and Monthly mode with challenging tasks for the community. And even Custom mode, where the player can change almost all the rules and customize the game for themselves. We should should specifically mention the Creative Mode, where you can easily create your own pastoral landscapes and complex maps. I will probably try to create a map of Ukraine, although there are no mountains here at all.

And all this in no hurry, to soothing music in the spirit of Lofi Girl. Slow space-building solitaire for one. Sort out the cards, find a place for each, at least half an hour to look for the position with the most points, or create the most attractive place from your point of view…

A cherry orchard by the house.
Above the cherries beetles hum.
The plowmen plow the fertile ground
And girls sing songs as they pass by.
It’s evening—mother calls them home.
(A poem by Taras Shevchenko)

Dorfromantik is exactly what the exhausted Ukrainian soul asks for in the midst of the chaos of war (well, except that all the Russians perish). In short, it’s the choice of the editors of Mezha. Be sure to give it a try, after more than two months of daily stress, we all need a little reassurance.

Oops, I almost forgot. Ukrainian localization here, as you have probably seen, is. And it’s quite beautiful.