Bounties of Babylon Review

Game: Bounties of Babylon
Genre: Strategy
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Cartographic Interactive
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $9.99 | UK £8.99| EU € 9,99
Release Date: March 25th, 2024

A review code was used, with many thanks to Press Engine.

Bounties of Babylon by Cartographic Interactive is a turn-based strategy game. At first glance, it would remind you of some hex-based puzzle games, such as Dorfromantik. However, Bounties of Babylon is a much more strategic tile placement-based game.

Place Tiles in Bounties of Babylon

This serene in-game screenshot of Bounties of Babylon presents a bird's-eye view of a series of small, interconnected tropical islands. A wooden bridge links the islands, which host a few buildings, lush greenery, and palm trees, creating a tranquil island chain. On the right, there appears to be a sailing ship approaching the islands, which might suggest a trading or exploration aspect within the game. At the bottom of the screen, there are UI elements likely indicating resource management or gameplay options, such as the icons suggesting some form of currency or goods and a counter with the numbers 4 and 5. The overall atmosphere conveys a relaxed and peaceful setting, possibly from a game that involves island development, resource management, or exploration. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Place tiles

In Bounties of Babylon, you are tasked with conquering Babylon by playing through rounds with your two ships to complete a run and collect the bounties on each tile. Your objective in each run is to meet the victory point target shown in the bottom right of the screen for each round, and a run can consist of multiple rounds.

In a run, you have quests to complete, such as collecting a set amount of resources or finding a treasure chest or artefacts. Also, during each turn, you are presented with three tiles to choose two from.

Once you pick two tiles, you place them strategically around the island, deciding where best to place them based on their physical connection to other tiles and what bounty type that tile has for harvesting. You can also discard tiles if you do not need them.

After that, you roll a die twice; the results on the dice show how many places each of your two ships can move in that turn. However, rolling a six on the die allows your ship to teleport to a settlement instantly, so getting a six is a good result.

Collect Resources and Bounties

In the strategic game Bounties of Babylon, an icon displaying a treasure chest with a broken lid and a pearl necklace inside is overlaid on a stylized game map. The map showcases sandy islands with palm trees, divided by narrow water channels, with a large sailing ship docked at one island. The game's interface shows zero of a resource resembling a palm leaf at the bottom left corner and various other game icons at the bottom right corner. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Collect resources

You then move your ships to wherever you think is suitable on the board as you try to collect treasure, resources and artefacts, if there are any on that particular map, and trade with the merchants in the settlements.

Your AI opponent who moves the black ships has their turn after you. If your AI opponent moves on to a tile one of your ships is on, your ship is torpedoed, and it sinks, and you lose a life and the Bounties you had collected up to that point. However, not all is lost in that round, as you do get a replacement ship, meaning you can continue to play that run.

During gameplay in Bounties of Babylon, since your opponent can block your path, it pays for you to land on the opponent to take their ship out. Once you destroy your opponent’s ship, you will receive one victory point and a proportion of their bounties for combat.

Expand the Map By Placing Tiles

A notification for 'Quest Complete: Heart Seeker' appears in the game Bounties of Babylon, indicated by a golden shield emblem with a heart icon at the top center of the screen. The background is a serene in-game map view featuring an archipelago with sandy islands surrounded by crystal clear water. Palm trees, buildings resembling ancient ruins, and oversized crystals decorate the islands. A large wooden sailing ship is docked near the interconnected islets. The game's HUD displays a zero palm leaf resource and various other game icons at the bottom of the screen. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Expand the map by placing tiles.

As you expand the map with new tiles in Bounties of Babylon, you must be careful where you place the new tiles. You see, each tile is coloured-coded depending on the resource you collect from that tile. There are blue tiles for Coconuts, red for Grapes, yellow tiles for Quince, green tiles for Olives and finally, orange tiles for Almonds.

It’s all victory point-driven, so it’s up to you to decide your winning strategy. With the map expanding with the tile placements, Bounties of Babylon has elements similar to tower defence games as well.

The Quests Keep the Gameplay Fresh

This tranquil scene from Bounties of Babylon displays a network of small islands connected by waterways, with two sailing ships navigating the blue waters. The islands are adorned with palm trees, ancient towering ruins, and oversized blue crystals. The game's serene, pastel-colored environment conveys a sense of exploration and adventure. At the bottom left of the user interface, there is an icon showing zero palm leaves, and at the bottom right, icons indicating various gameplay elements and resources. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Complete quest

The quests you are given on each run add to the gameplay as they are different each time, adding a new mission for you to complete. For instance, one quest might ask you for a big harvest of resources, whereas another quest will want you to find treasures. Having different quests to complete keeps the game fresh for the player during each run, ensuring no two runs are ever the same.

The tutorial in Bounites of Babylon is in the games menu, and you have to read it to learn how to play the game. The tutorial would have been better implemented into the gameplay so that new gamers would have a better understanding of how the mechanics of the game play out.

Visuals, Music and Controls

A mission briefing screen from Bounties of Babylon, showing 'Round 1/7' at the top. Players are tasked to 'Obtain 5 coins within 2 turns'. Two quests are listed below: 'Heart Seeker,' requiring the collection of one life, and 'Treasure Hunter,' instructing players to open one treasure chest. Both quests are symbolized by unique icons—a heart for the Heart Seeker and a treasure chest for the Treasure Hunter. The 'Start' button is prominently displayed at the bottom center against a soft blue background. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Round one of seven

I like the clean look of Bounties of Babylon with its lovely pastel colours. The music, on the other hand, is fine the first time you hear it, but after hearing it repeatedly, it starts to grate, especially when one instrument, which I think is a trumpet, seems louder than the rest; it just drones on and on.

Bounties of Babylon on PC is best played with a controller, as the developers suggest. You can use a mouse if you prefer, but the game is optimised for controller play.

Steam Deck

For my playtime with Bounties of Babylon, I mainly played the game on the Steam Deck. It runs and plays on the Steam Deck extremely well, so I have no complaints about that.

An aerial view of a game board from Bounties of Babylon depicts a series of sandy islands with a top-down hexagonal shape, connected by thin red pathways and surrounded by sparkling ocean waters. Each island hosts a variety of elements such as palm trees, ancient ruins, and a peculiar crystal formation alongside two sailing ships with black sails. A mysterious hexagonal icon hovers above the scene. The game's user interface at the bottom indicates three red gems, resources, and a glowing yellow orb, along with other gameplay metrics. Published on: LadiesGamers — Roll the die

Conclusion

Overall, Bounties of Babylon is a good game. While I enjoyed playing it for this review, dice games are not my go-to genre. However, I can see the game would be enjoyable for those who enjoy this type of game. For those players, I recommend you give Bounites of Babylon a roll of the die.

Final Verdict: I Like It