I’d like to acknowledge right off the bat that a middling review of a 50-year old board game is a rather pointless critical venture to undertake (even for me). But seeing as Bazaar has established a reputation for itself over the years as a bit of a minor classic from master designer Sid Sackson, I thought it was worth a paragraph or three to jot down some thoughts on it.
Bazaar is a basic set collection game that challenges players to efficiently use ten different equations randomly determined at the game’s outset to convert colored stones into specific combinations. On any given turn, the active player decides to either roll a multi-colored die and collect a stone matching their roll or trade stones they already have in their possession for other stones as directed by one of the aforementioned equations. After taking their action, if they have stones matching the set on an available card for purchase, they may spend those stones to do just that and score some points. Point values are determined by 2 factors: 1) the value of the card and 2) how many stones the player has leftover after making the purchase (with fewer being better, obviously). Players are highly incentivized to make efficient trades and purchases as these point values vary greatly. The same card could be worth up to five times as much for the meticulous player with zero leftover stones as the sloppy player with gosh knows how many. Whatever the methodology behind their acquisition may be, after a certain amount of cards have been purchased the game will find itself at its end.
The basic strategies of Bazaar — if you can even call them that — aren’t particularly complicated. The decision space players find themselves in while playing the game is essentially built from a single consideration: determining the most efficient way to convert their stones into the stones they need (which may or may not include a risky die roll). Some ancillary factors may influence player choices, such as keeping an eye on the cards their opponents are targeting or assessing the opportunity to reduce stone count before scoring a high-value card , but they all converge into the same general mental thread. The game’s randomized elements — the equations, the cards available for purchase, the die rolls — keep the skill ceiling low enough for casual family game nights, but not so low that the game feels pointless or deterministic. The result is a pleasant little optimization puzzler that skirts the border of the “activity” side of the gaming spectrum without compromising its intentions.
The most interesting thing about Bazaar, as much of a product of its time as it is, is how focused and modern its design principles are. Sackson was brilliant at devising central mechanisms then building straightforward, compelling games around them, and the influence his approach has had on current designers is unquantifiable. Though many of his other games hold up better when compared rule-by-rule to more recent competition, Bazaar is still a perfect example of Sackson at his best and most innovative. Turning one red stone into two white stones may not be particularly exciting or thematic here, but the system parameterizing such actions has been iterated upon and implemented in literally hundreds of games since. It may be true that Bazaar is only a single stone in the massive tower that is Sid Sackson’s legacy, but its laser focus on its core mechanical concept gives it an inimitable clarity that ensures it will never be completely forgotten or overshadowed — even in another 50 years.
Bazaar gets a rating of THREE out of FIVE, indicating it is WORTHWHILE.