Iliad

Iliad is a tile-placement strategy game for two-players by Reiner Knizia. On your turn, select one of two tiles from your hand and place it onto the board adjacent to an opponent's tile. Both players have symmetrical pools of tiles, with their strength ranging from 1-5, along with the Dolos tile that mimics your opponent's adjacent tiles. The key to victory lies behind the relentless tension of where and when to commit your tiles. When placing a tile, you may also activate the tile's ability, which can serve to turn the tide of war.

When a row or column is filled, the player with the highest total strength in that line earns the right to select one of the two success tokens at the ends of that row or column; the other token goes to their opponent. Success tokens can earn you the favor of the Gods, and they can earn (or cost you) points. At the end of the game, the winner is the player who has earned the favor of all five Gods. If both players — or neither of them — meet this qualification, then the player who has earned the most points wins. Thus, players will face tough tactical trade-offs as they must decide whether to compete for exclusive favor of the Gods or for the most points — then influence the outcome of the game toward their intended advantage.