Clash of Chaos and Confetti 2 (Santorini)

The Premise and Standings

Each week we’ll face off in a best of three series playing a different board game from our collection.  The winner claims the moniker of C&C Clash Champ for the week.  The loser gets mocked by their spouse.  The lesser player also gets to choose the game for the next week.

We will maintain a record of wins and losses throughout the year to see who finishes 2022 as the ultimate board game champ in our household.

Our current C&C Champion is Confetti after winning last week’s Circandians: First Light showdown.

Current Standings:

• Weekly Winner: 0 Chaos – 1 Confetti
• Individual game wins: 1 Chaos – 2 Confetti

After losing last week, Chaos has chosen Santorini for this week’s Clash.

The Game – Santorini

Santorini is a strategy game that claims to be simple enough for young players but deep enough for highly skilled gamers.  Themed as a Greek clash between builders/gods, the main concept focuses on players’ ability to out maneuver and outthink their opponents.  

The basic turn is only two steps: 1) move one of your two builders to an adjoining space that isn’t currently occupied and 2) build in an unoccupied space that is connected to your character’s new location.  What players build are tiers to new buildings that they will race up and down while trying to find their way to standing upon a third floor tier.  The first player to get one of their builders to the third floor claims victory.  However, a dome can be built on third floors to make them inaccessible to all players.  It’s also worth noting that while players can move down as many levels as they wish when moving, they can only ascend one tier at a time.  If at any time a player can not move or build, they automatically lose.

Overall, the game is pretty simple and quick to pick up.  Where things get a bit more tricky and strategic is the introduction of gods and their powers.  The players have the option of each starting with a god power which can affect their turn abilities or win-conditions, with some even adding more offensive capabilities.

Interested in buying Santorini? You can purchase it through our Amazon Affiliate link or ask about it at your FLGS!

Chaos’ Pre-Clash Thoughts:

Last week didn’t go as planned, which was a bummer.  This week should be a snap.  I chose Santorini because I think it’s fun, but it’s also one that Confetti traditionally struggles with.  Fun fact for all of our readers, one of Confetti’s weaknesses is spatial reasoning.  That means I’ll get a double win this week.  I should beat Confetti and I’ll also get to play a game that is harder to get to the table.  Huzzah!

Confetti’s Pre-Clash Thoughts:

I’ve never, ever won a game of Santorini. I struggle with spatial awareness, making games like Santorini incredibly challenging. Chaos definitely didn’t want to lose again! I’m going to give it my best shot, but honestly if I manage to win once it will be a huge personal victory. I’m going to start brainstorming games for next week! 

Game 1:

After a quick review of the rules, we chose our gods and set to combat.  Chaos ended up with Charon which allowed him to move one of Confetti’s builders from one side of himself to the other if they happened to be next to each other.  The ability wasn’t a great power, but it proved to be even less helpful since Confetti’s god was Chronus.  Chronus has an alternate win-condition of just completing five towers.  Confetti was elated to have a god that might rely less on precise maneuvering.  This meant Confetti decided to mostly stall and block out Chaos’ victory attempts while towers were built.

With the clock ticking, Chaos had to find a path to victory before Confetti won by default.  Thankfully for him, he was able to distance himself enough from Confetti and create enough of a barrier that he was able to ascend a tower before she placed a dome on it.  The first game ended as both parties predicted.  

Game 2:

Round two saw Poseidon (Chaos) vs. Apollo (Confetti).  Poseidon allows three extra build actions by your non-moved builder if they are on ground level.  Apollo meanwhile lets his controller swap their builder with another player’s if they are adjacent to each other.  This time Confetti felt more forced to play the game as attended and to seek out a path to the third tier.  Chaos needed to focus on the normal win-condition too, but he also had to not distract himself with his desire to flood the game board with buildings for the fun of it.  

Chaos may have allowed his whim to get the best of him because his excess building got in the way of everyone’s movements.  Confetti wisely took advantage of the strange board state and found an opening to secure a win.  She rejoiced in an unexpected upset, but stood firm on her belief that Santorini is not a game she planned to play much after this clash.

Game 3:

The final round would come down to Bia (Chaos) with her ability to remove other players’ builders from the game under the right conditions vs. Ares (Confetti) and his power to destroy a building tier at the end of his turns.

Confetti’s strategy seemed to be centered on hoping to perplex Chaos enough that he might slip up.  She ran around the board avoiding Bia’s kill shot and destroying any third tier she could.  Chaos couldn’t win if there was no third floor to stand upon.  It didn’t take long for Chaos to give up on purposefully killing Confetti’s builder.  If it happened, it happened, but he knew he just had to again create some distance and block Confetti’s attempts to destroy his buildings before he could use them.  As the construction of third floors started to out pace Confetti’s ability to bring them down, she turned her attention to climbing buildings too.  However, Chaos had already set up his win and found his builder standing tall in the end.

Your Winner and NEW C&C Clash Champion: Chaos

Chaos’ Post-Clash Thoughts:

Today, I make history as the first person to ever unseat a reigning C&C Clash Champion.  This is proof that the underdog can come out on top if he’s willing to stack the deck in his own favor.  I would like to dedicate this win to my wife.  We did it, Confetti!  Your husband is bringing home the gold! 

Confetti’s Post-Clash Thoughts:

Santorini was more fun than I remember it being and I definitely think the God Powers add just the right extra bit of flavor (although some of them are so mean!). I like that the games were short, not overly prolonging my humiliation. Plus, I actually did win one game so take that Santorini – I got a personal victory! I’ll probably agree to play this again more readily than I did in the past. Now to finalize my game choice for next week!  

Next Week: Disney Villainous! 

Confetti plans to break bad and break Chaos’ new found winning ways with Disney’s Villainous.  Can she go the distance or when it comes to being a champion, will she just have to let it go?  Chaos went from zero to hero and now he says Hakuna Matata because he’s staying champ for a long time.  Which one of our competitors’ big win is just around the riverbend and which player is just un poco loco?  

Find out next Thursday and continue checking in to all our blog updates until then.