Scholars is the second game in the South Tigris series. In this game, players aim to acquire scientific scrolls and deliver them to the House of Wisdom for translation into Arabic while hiring translators to aid in the process.
Overview
Scholars centers on building a bag of dice, playing action cards, and using dice to take actions. Each action in the game is defined by a value and a color, with action cards capable of holding up to two dice. The action’s value is determined by the combined pips, and its color is determined by the color of the dice used. Primary dice are represented by red, blue, and yellow, while secondary dice come in green, purple, and orange. Acquiring secondary dice can be challenging, but players can also take actions with secondary colors by combining primary ones. Additionally, workers in white and the three primary colors can be used to manipulate the color and value of actions.
There are four main actions in the game: traveling to gain benefits and find scrolls, recruiting translators, moving up the research tracks, and translating scripts. Every action serves the end goal of translating scrolls of different languages into Arabic.

The Recruit action is simple. Only the value of the action matters, and higher values grant access to more translators. It’s possible to dispatch a translator to gain instant benefits or hire them to translate scrolls.
The research tracks are a key mechanic in the game, with one track for every primary and secondary color. Each track offers different benefits and income opportunities and requires actions of the corresponding color to advance. Players must pick a few of these tracks to focus on, as reaching the end of all tracks is impossible. Moving up on these tracks as much as possible is crucial for a winning strategy as they contribute to the game’s engine-building aspect and yield higher incomes every two steps. Higher levels of the tracks also reward more victory points at the end of the game.
Retired translators also contribute to the engine-building aspect of the game. Players can tuck their retired translators under the four primary actions on their boards and receive extra benefits when taking the corresponding actions. While there is no restriction on the number of cards that can be placed under each action, the cost increases with each card already placed.

The translate action, which rewards the most victory points, requires careful planning and timing. This action can only be taken with secondary colors, and depending on the language of the scroll being translated, one or more translators should be paid with gold to translate it into Arabic. Besides victory points, these scrolls reward at least one advancement on one of the research tracks and sometimes provide valuable benefits like secondary color dice.
When players run out of dice or action spaces on their boards, they must take a rest turn to clear the board, earn income, and draw more dice.
Review
The way actions are taken and the dice manipulation mechanics in this game are incredibly fun. However, the rules might seem a little confusing at first and could require extensive explanation to new players. Additionally, since players need to take multiple factors into account for each action, analysis paralysis can happen to those prone to it. This is more pronounced when players need to gain benefits like dice or workers and have to consider what they need for their future actions.

Once hired, translators work for a limited time, determined by their assigned room, and can be used by any player. This underscores the importance of planning before translating certain scrolls, as players may retire translators early and interfere with each other’s plans. Sometimes, translating a scroll becomes impossible without hiring new translators because a crucial one has retired. This mechanic makes backup plans crucial when facing challenges from opponents.
Rest turns are interesting. Resting is the primary way of earning income and drawing dice from the bag for subsequent turns. However, income isn’t fixed. Each action card displays the symbol of one of the research tracks, and players determine their earnings by playing the corresponding cards during work turns. These cards can be played in any order on the player boards, but income is earned sequentially from left to right. This introduces another layer of planning while taking actions, as income from certain tracks can be used to pay for benefits from others.

Bag-building in Scholars is also fun! Every player’s bag is filled with white dice at the start. During the game, players work towards adding more colored dice to the bag and removing the white ones from it. However, some benefits in the game require adding a white die to the bag as a cost. White dice not only weaken the bag but can also score negative points at the end of the game. Balancing this delicate line often presents interesting decisions.
During rest turns, players draw a number of dice from the bag dictated by one of the research tracks and return used ones to the bag. There’s a potential issue with this mechanic. When used dice are returned, other dice might be in the bag. This means it’s possible to miss out on drawing a valuable secondary color die for multiple rest turns, introducing an element of luck into a game that otherwise relies heavily on strategy. This wouldn’t have been an issue if used dice were set aside and only returned to the bag when it was empty, as seen in other bag-building games like Altiplano.

Including exclusive and easily achievable objectives for each player at the beginning of the game is a brilliant design decision in Scholars. Each player gets a random goal card during setup and these cards outline three objectives: interacting with a specific translator, translating a script from one of the three guilds, and advancing three spaces on one of the research tracks. Completing two of these objectives rewards a worker, while achieving the third one unlocks a secondary color die. These goal cards offer multiple benefits: they provide players with clear direction from the start, and upon completing all objectives, an additional action space is unlocked on the player board. Also, the goal card becomes an extra action card with a preprinted die with a value of 5. This card is very valuable, particularly in the early stages of the game, and we always try to unlock it before the first rest turn to maximize its benefits.
It’s important to note that Scholars is a complex and heavy game more suited for players already familiar with other Garphil Games titles. Prior knowledge of these games can help players understand the mechanics and symbols more easily. Mastering all of the rules could take some time even for experienced players. One thing to watch out for is the lack of visual reminders for some rules. For example, delivering scrolls to the House of Wisdom rewards players with progress on the research tracks, but this isn’t indicated on the board and was something we missed in our first play. It’s essential to pay close attention to the rules and perhaps review them after the first play to avoid potentially imbalanced games.
Art and Components
Similar to Mihajlo Dimitrievski’s other creations, Scholars features beautiful illustrations and vibrant colors. The attention to detail is evident throughout the game. An example of this is the backgrounds on translator cards perfectly matching the room illustrations on the game board.
The component quality in Scholars is consistent with other titles from Garphil Games. The quality of the dice, cards, and other components is great. The box also includes an insert that is functional to some extent. It fits sleeved cards and comes with compartments for various tokens and dice. However, taking tokens out of some compartments can be cumbersome.

The Solo Game
The solo mode in Scholars was the only part I didn’t enjoy. Even though the bot does a good job mimicking a human player and providing competition, I found the rules fiddly. The two reference cards included in the box weren’t nearly enough. I had to keep checking the rulebook to ensure I was playing correctly and to figure out how the bot would act in different situations. After two games, I decided not to continue with solo play. While the solo mode could become more enjoyable with more plays, I prefer playing Shcolars with others, especially since there are better solo games available.


Scholars vs Wayfarers
Scholars and Wayfarers are both great games, sharing a similar theme and ranking among the heaviest titles from Garphil Games. However, their mechanics and gameplay differ significantly. You can check out our review of Wayfarers here. I particularly enjoy the journal track and worker dynamic in Wayfarers, and I found its solo mode better than that of Scholars. Wayfarers also offers more freedom in decision-making and strategy compared to Scholars, which feels more restrictive. However, the larger decision space in Wayfarers may not be a good fit for many. Both of these games will remain in our collection and hit the table frequently, however, if I had to pick just one I’d go with Wayfarers.

Final Thoughts
In summary, this game is excellent! The gameplay is incredibly enjoyable, and the dice mechanics are unique and fun. Scholars is likely the heaviest of all Garphil Games titles and may not be the best entry point into these games. However, if you are familiar with them and enjoy heavier games, Scholars is a superb choice.
Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.
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