In Lowlands players take on the role of a sheep farmer working in the lowlands under constant threat of flood from raging seas and storms. The semi-cooperative aspect of the game is what makes it stand out from other standard worker placement games.

Players take turns placing workers on their own player boards to gather resources, sell sheep, or spend resources to either build their farm or contribute to the dike. The dike is the cooperative aspect as it effects all players. At the end of each round there is a storm surge phase and the potential for flood. This is where the dike is checked and if enough has been built by players during the round, it will hold.

What’s really interesting with this element is that it completely changes scoring and this can happen multiple times throughout the game based on whether it holds or breaks. If the dike breaks, the farms will flood and sheep will become less valuable to sell (and award points) and contributions to the dike will become more valuable. However if the dike holds, contributions to the dike become less valuable and the value of sheep booms! This changing score helps to balance the game and encourages players to constantly shift strategies.

In the end, the path to victory lies in finding a balance between contributing to the dike and farming, or using the imbalance to your advantage.

Being a huge Uwe Rosenberg fan I was excited to see Lowlands is a part of the ‘Uwe Rosenberg Collection’ which means he contributed to its development and recommends it to fans of his games. My hopes were high for Lowlands and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a game that can be played over and over and have a different outcome every time!

So what do you say, are you ready to face the storm?

You may also like: Caverna, Agricola, Pandemic: Rising Tide

Information for this review is based on my plays with 2 and 3 players.