The first question confronting any prospective buyer of Lacrimosa is, “In a world with a liberated Britney Spears, is Mozart really relevant?” Let’s face it, who’s going to take the time to type in “Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart” (yeah, you heard me right) into Spotify? And you’ll never crack a million views on Tiktok if you have to wait 20 minutes to get to the catchy part. Nevertheless, Gerard Ascensi and Ferran Renalias managed to make a great game about a guy who never even made it into the Top 40. I think that’s a hell of an achievement.
Britney is not impressed.
Despite Mozart not having the modern cachet of a Britney or a Ke$ha, he seems to be having more success in the board game world. I expected Lacrimosa to be a game about music, but instead what I got was an interesting commentary on legacy, memory, and the creative process. These are pretty abstract concepts to try and manifest in a board game but Ascensi and Renalias succeed. This is the kind of creativity I love in board games and I think it’s a good example of how the medium can be used artistically. To turn something as nebulous as an individual’s legacy into a game theme takes a thoughtful brain. How exactly are we doing that? Well, after Mozart’s death we act as patrons helping his widow complete his final Requiem, as well as share our memories of him with her to be written down for the rest of the world. That’s a lot of responsibility. And it begs the question: is legacy a true reflection of someone’s life and work or is it shaped by those who survive them?
Lacrimosa employs a combo of hand management, deck building, and resource optimization. The hand management mechanism is somewhat unique. We each hold a hand of cards that represent the memories of our interactions with Mozart. In each round, we choose cards from our hand to either play for actions or gain resources. Each action consumes different resources. Instead of playing cards on the table, you slide them into your player board, with the relevant half exposed. Not only is the tactile nature exciting, there is a wonderful push-and-pull here between using your card now or saving it for later resources. You are constantly battling immediate needs with long-term strategy.
The Requiem itself is what bumps this game up higher than the average Euro for me. For those that don’t know, a Requiem is a Catholic Mass said for the deceased. There’s a beautiful irony in Mozart passing part way through writing this Requiem. Artists in some sense use their art to contend with the unknown, and that’s reflected back to us when we listen or observe. His Requiem is all the more enchanting, knowing he died part way through. We can’t fully know what’s waiting for us on the other side but find it hauntingly beautiful just the same. In the game, this is portrayed as an area control zone within musical stanzas. There is direct interaction here, as you can block opponents out of spaces they may need. This is both subtle and meaningful. You’re not usually directly sabotaging each other, but instead finding the right moment to make your move.
There is also a mild sense of narrative progression. The game doesn’t fully rely on mechanics like many Euros. Rather, it succeeds in telling a subtle story. By the end of the game, you’ve created a relationship with Mozart and his music. But because it is subtle, there are some loose ends on the theme where your imagination is doing some of the heavy lifting. For instance, the resources used are gained in both the past and the present. If you don’t think too hard about it, it doesn’t really matter because you can see what the designers were obviously trying to do, even if it looks a little like Inception.
As far as the puzzle itself, I think Lacrimosa has almost the perfect amount of puzzle for me and my tastes. I do like my heavier games, but this one feels a little more accessible when trying to improve your scores on repeat plays. Combo-ing is very satisfying, but not automatic. You need to actively build your deck with combos in mind, but also need to keep an eye on the area control spaces.
I think it’s probably harder to make a board game about the arts rather than science. Science is systematic and methodical like many board games. There are some games that break out of this mold but I would like to see a game somehow truly incorporate music. Lacrimosa may be the closest it gets right now, but I would say this game is closer to a biopic than a game about music. I’d love to see that line blurred a little more.
One final point that Lacrimosa had me meditating on…why do we universally acknowledge Mozart’s brilliance? How is it that his music spans across time? Well for one, I now know some credit is due to his patrons. But I doubt Mozart ever thought he would be a household name 258 years later. And yet, we still listen to his music in ignorance and wonder because the unknown is shining through it in a partially articulated form. Real artists contend with the unknown and are possessed by it. Mozart’s talent has been magnified as the generations have gone on, and I think it’s because humans have an intuition for beauty. A real piece of art is like a window into the transcendent. And we need that in our lives because we are finite, limited, and grounded. If you want to have the strength to live well and weather life’s hardships, you need to find beauty to help you prevail. When we think about it in that way, art and music really aren’t optional pursuits. Living by the beautiful is just as important for our souls. It consumed Mozart’s life and we can witness the legacy he left us….little did he know it would be a bunch of dorks playing Lacrimosa that would cement him in history.
Jokes aside, Lacrimosa got me to consider these questions in a way the average Euro does not. Hats off to Devir once again for an excellent game.
Presentation
+ Beautiful artwork, personal player boards have a great slotting system
+- A little more color to break up the beige would be nice
– Vertical game board. I have never met a board game in which I’d prefer verticality
Getting It Played
+ The theme is what makes me pull this off the shelf
– 4 player count took a long time. We broke the game up into 2 evenings with this count
Gameplay
+ The deck refining is excellent and I prefer it to deck “building”
-Would have preferred an easier way to distinguish Opus and Memory cards
Fun Factor
+ The theme jumps off the board and there’s a little competition to keep things spicy
-You’d need to play it with experienced euro gamers if you want a quicker game. Otherwise it can get long (it took 5hrs total at 4p with 2 of those being newbie board gamers)
If you have a game you’d like me to review, pop it in the comments and I’ll do my best!
Beau 