Review: Volo

Introduction & Overview

A game themed around birds soaring across the skies. Players add or move bird pieces with the goal of forming a flock of their own color. However, they cannot add their birds adjacent to an ally, and when moving them, they must steer them toward other allies without splitting the original flock. This is a poetic game inspired by mathematical models of animal behavior.

This is how we are presented with Volo, a design by Dieter Stein (Mixtour, Urbino). It was first published in 2012 by nestorgames in an English and Spanish edition. Later, it was republished by kanare_abstract in an English and Japanese edition. Graphic design for this latest version was handled by Kanare Kato (LAG, Enso).

It is not published in Spain, so you will have to turn to the import market to get a copy, such as through the publisher’s website (the game is completely language-independent, except for the rulebook). Games are strictly for 2 players, with a recommended minimum age of 10 and an approximate playing time of 30 minutes. Retail price stands at €20.95. For this review, a review copy of the English and Japanese edition was kindly provided by Kanare_Abstract.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 11.1 × 11.1 × 2.8 cm (a small square box similar to the mini line from Gerhards Spiel und Design), we find the following items:

• Board (fabric)
• 100 Discs (50 in each color) (wooden)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Volo is a two-player abstract game inspired by the collective flocking behavior of birds, where the objective is to connect all of one’s pieces into a single connected group. Played on a hexagonal board with an empty center, the game begins with several pieces already positioned on the perimeter vertices, and players alternate turns. On each turn, the active player must perform one of two possible actions: add a new bird onto an empty intersection (with the restriction of not placing it adjacent to pieces of their own color or in areas enclosed by the rival) or fly a bird or a straight row of friendly birds. When moving in a straight line along the grid lines without jumping over other pieces, the movement must end adjacent to another piece of the same color to merge into a larger group, with the condition that a flock already formed can never be divided. If a player manages to isolate regions of the board using a continuous formation, opponent pieces are removed from all enclosed areas except for one chosen area. The game concludes immediately the moment a player manages to unite all of their pieces present on the board into a single flock, claiming victory.

Key Concepts

The Board represents the sky where players interact. It features a hexagonal silhouette from which the outer corners and central space have been removed, leaving an open-centered surface structured by a triangular grid where pieces are placed on the intersections. Double-sided, the board offers two different sizes to modulate game length. The outer zones where corners are missing establish the starting positions where the initial pieces begin placed. Furthermore, the board layout allows piece formations to subdivide the playing space into independent or enclosed regions throughout the game. Two board sizes are available, for a short or a long game.

The Discs represent the birds of each side and come in two colors (yellow and blue), one for each player. These pieces begin by occupying the initial corner spots and, across subsequent turns, players will introduce them onto empty grid intersections or slide them in a straight line (individually or in continuous rows) to group them together. Their function is to form interconnected flocks adjacent to one another; once united, these groups can never split. The main objective regarding the discs is to connect all pieces of one’s color present on the board into a single continuous flock.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Choose the board size to be used and place it in the center of the table.
2. Next, determine which player will use the yellow color and which will use blue.
3. Each player takes all discs of their color (50 pieces).
4. Place six discs on the truncated corner positions of the board, alternating colors.
5. The player controlling the yellow pieces will be the starting player.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Volo is played over an indeterminate number of alternating turns between players, starting with the player controlling the yellow pieces.

On their turn, the active player must perform one of the following two actions:

• Place a Bird. The player places a piece of their color onto an empty board intersection. Placement is subject to the following restrictions:
  • A piece cannot be placed adjacent to another piece of its own color.
  • Nor can a piece be placed inside a region exclusively surrounded by opponent pieces.
• Fly a Bird or a Row of Birds. The player moves an individual piece or a set of pieces that form a continuous straight line along the grid lines. This proceeds under the following rules:
  • The movement must be made in a single straight-line direction. When moving a row, it can move along the line (longitudinally) or parallel to it (laterally).
  • Pieces cannot jump over other pieces on the board.
  • At the end of the move, at least one of the moved pieces must end up adjacent to another piece of its own color. In doing so, the pieces merge to form a larger flock.
  • Once a flock has formed, it can never be divided. It is only legal to move a piece or row that is part of a flock if, following the move, the rest of the group is not left divided and the resulting group becomes a larger flock than the original. Moving an entire flock as a block is not permitted unless it forms a simple straight row.

If a player has no legal moves available, they must pass their turn. Voluntarily passing is also permitted if a player has no legal moves to fly birds and could only place birds within an enclosed region under their control.

Should a player’s flock divide the board into two or more independent regions with no open paths connecting them, the active player must remove from the board all opponent pieces located in those regions, with the exception of a single region of their choice. Any region bounded by the active player’s flock that is left completely devoid of opponent pieces falls under their exclusive control, barring the opponent from placing pieces inside it.

Game End

Game end triggers immediately the moment a player manages to unite all their pieces present on the board into a single connected flock, claiming victory. In the event that resolving a regional partition causes both players to meet the victory condition simultaneously, the win goes to the player who made the move. If both players pass consecutively, the game ends in a tie.

Personal Opinion

Talking about Dieter Stein means referring to one of the most respected and prolific names within the fascinating niche of abstract games. Over the past two decades, the German designer has built an enviable ludography, closely linked to hallmark publishers like Clemens Gerhards, giving us great designs such as Ordo or Mixtour.

In a publishing landscape often saturated with thematic artifice and overproduction, Stein remains faithful to an almost artisanal philosophy, conceiving designs stripped of any superfluous elements to focus exclusively on the interaction inherent to this genre.

A relentless pursuit of mathematical elegance and simplicity has always been his signature. Stein commands like few others the art of crafting a handful of straightforward premises—often condensed onto a single sheet of paper—that open up a colossal decision tree and immense tactical and strategic depth.

His works do not seek to dazzle through layers of artificial complexity, but rather through the organic beauty that emerges from spatial constraints and constant friction on a shared playing field. An unmistakable designer signature.

Today we are going to look at another of his designs, originally published by the now-defunct nestorgames and recently brought back by kanare_abstract to the delight of those of us who love this genre. Let’s see how it fares on the table, not before thanking the Japanese publisher for the review copy that makes this lengthy write-up possible.

Volo presents us with a challenge that consists of forming a single connected group of pieces on a hexagonal board. On each turn, the active player must choose between two possible actions. On one hand, adding a new piece onto any empty intersection of the board, restricted from placing it adjacent to a friendly piece or in areas completely enclosed by the opponent.

On the other, flying a piece or a straight row along the grid lines. That move must mandatorily end in contact with at least one other piece of the same color, thereby enlarging the group. A group that can no longer be scattered.

To achieve this goal, bounding regions becomes critically important. If expanding our group splits the board into two or more disconnected areas, we must remove all opponent pieces from every section except one, handing the opponent an indirect benefit that ought to be calculated down to the millimeter. Thus, the game turns into a tense race of consolidation where the first to bring all their forces together into a single flock instantly claims victory.

I think that gives you more than enough background to start discussing dynamics and impressions. The opening stages of Volo convey a sense of vastness that is difficult to ignore. With just three pieces per side stationed on the periphery of this sort of hexagonal sky, facing a virtually bare board produces a spatial vertigo that inevitably calls to mind the opening moves of ancient Go. In the absence of anchor points or preexisting structures, each early placement onto the mat feels like a statement of intent laden with hidden weight. It is a geometric wasteland that overwhelms with its absolute freedom, yet within just a couple of turns, it will begin to shrink.

During these initial stages, virtually every turn is devoted to the deployment action, populating the board with pieces here and there. Far from seeking groups right away, the short-term goal is instead to block the rival’s options. Intercepting lines of sight and closing down the opponent’s most obvious straight trajectories. By shutting down these direct paths, they are prevented from easily forming rows, neutralizing the ability to maneuver multiple units at once as a block.

In this sense, I find a certain parallel with the iconic ZÈRTZ (here is its tocho-review) from the GIPF project, as the game reaches a turning point when the board collapses, giving way to movement maneuvers. As open or strategically appealing intersections for adding new discs become scarce, the dynamic shifts, turning into a battle of wits where anticipating the opponent’s intentions is critical to avoid handing them the chance to enclose regions on a silver platter—a double-edged sword that can trigger an ending as abrupt as it is lethal.

Indeed, this area enclosure concept, reminiscent of Through the Desert (here is its tocho-review), holds (pun intended) one of the key elements of the game, although one must maneuver carefully, as it represents a double-edged sword. In fact, while it might initially look like a direct punishment for the opponent, partitioning the board can turn into an inadvertent favor. If the opponent has distributed their discs evenly, being forced to remove a large number of their pieces from the remaining areas clears their path to victory, making it vastly easier for them to unite their surviving pieces into a single flock.

Another design it strongly brings to mind is Lines of Action (it is high time someone republished Claude Soucie’s wonderful design) due to the premise of connecting all of one’s pieces into a single group, although the 1988 Spiel des Jahres recommended design features all pieces already deployed on the board and bases a piece’s movement range on the number of pieces lying in that line of movement (friendly or opposing).

The game includes two modes, long and short. Personally, I prefer the short one, as the game does not allow for many strategic flourishes anyway. A larger board allows for longer matches, but it can also feel somewhat more tedious, as it requires more turns to reach the stage where placing discs is no longer straightforward.

At a certain point, it may feel as though games get bogged down in a war of attrition, where both sides watch some of their pieces become stranded and find themselves forced into a tedious maneuvering chore to bypass the opponent’s blockade, with the specter of a tie looming on the horizon.

However, I do not consider this a design flaw, but rather the inherent punishment for careless deployment. In Volo, every disc we place is a double-edged sword: a path toward connection or an insurmountable liability. The game holds you accountable for your own stalemates. It is precisely in those seemingly stalled situations where the enclosure rule proves to be the ideal solution. Far from resigning players to a sterile trickle of redundant turns, the design incentivizes dividing the board.

Moving on to production. True to form, we get a satin cloth board that is very practical and portable (though one must be careful with stains). The discs have a nice thickness to facilitate sliding them across the board. Well-structured, the rulebook leaves no room for doubt. As for the box, it retains the publisher’s standard format, which will probably not appeal to those used to fancier packaging. Functional and little else.

And let’s wrap this up. Volo offers a connection race based on piece placement and the straight-line movement of rows to unite pieces so that none remain stranded. The experience starts with an evocative spatial vertigo that transforms into a contest of interceptions and path blockades, where every placed disc matters. Its greatest strength lies in the concept of dividing the board, which breaks open stalemates and ruthlessly punishes careless deployment, operating as a lethal double-edged sword that demands millimeter-precise calculation so as not to hand victory to the rival. On the other hand, the design does not offer an overly broad strategic range and, if players are not sharp in the opening moves, it can lead to somewhat dry attrition phases prone to gridlock. All in all, this is an elegant and highly recommendable abstract. For all these reasons, I give it a…