"Hagoth: Builder of Ships," by May Day Games. For ages 8 and up. $22.95

"Hagoth: Builder of Ships" is a new Book of Mormon-theme board game from game publisher May Day Games. It's one of the first Book of Mormon-theme games to be picked up for international distribution.

I've played almost every LDS-theme board and card game printed over the past 10 years, and this is one of the best. It's fun to play, inexpensive and original. Although the game bears the name of Hagoth from the Book of Mormon, the LDS influence is discreet. The focus is on game play, and you could easily play this with or give it as a gift to non-Mormons. However, if someone does ask, "Who in the world is Hagoth?" be prepared to refer them to the Book of Mormon (Alma 63:5-8).

In the game, players represent apprentice craftsmen from the shipbuilding industry in the Land of Bountiful. Under master shipbuilder Hagoth, you compete against other craftsmen to design, build and sail ships. Win the game by being the first to earn 25 victory points.

Each player is given two wooden ships, a victory point marker in one of four basic colors (red, green, yellow, blue) and a hand of five cards. A player's turn consists of playing two cards or performing one action. Cards allow you to design ship plans, gather wood, build a completed ship design, sail a ship or attack an opponent. If you choose an action, you are limited to one of the following: gather wood, build one part of a completed ship design or sail a ship.

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Ship designs are put together by assembling the right cards. The simplest ship plans consist of two cards, and the most complex plans consist of nine. When the plans are complete, a player must then use a piece of wood to build each card in the design. When the ship is built, it is launched in the harbor, and a player scores points based on the size of the ship. The bigger the ship, the greater number of points. In addition, a player may sail his or her ship to the Land Northward and score even more points. The big ships take longer to reach their destination but score more victory points. You only have two ship tokens, so you must complete a voyage before launching a new one.

The components consist of a small, well-designed board for victory points and ship voyages, a four-sided die for wood cutting, player pieces in four colors and brown wooden logs for shipbuilding. The cards are thin and flimsy, so I recommend getting some card sleeves to protect them.

I play tested the game with four coworkers, and we had fun. Besides the "coolness factor" of owning a game based on the Book of Mormon, Hagoth is unique, well-designed, priced right and doesn't take too much time. The group I played with highly recommends the speed variant in the rules to keep playtime under one hour.

The game is available at www.maydaygames.com.

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