Axio Rota, the new installment in the Axio line, keeps the symbols and clever scoring of the original abstract board game Axio, but forces players to adapt as it implements a new tile format. In Axio Rota all tiles are square with a symbol in each corner, respectively some tiles have one empty corner. As usual, players play one tile per turn and score by matching adjacent symbols. Empty corners allow players to choose a color for that corner as they play the tile – however, once played empty corners do not grant any more points. If one of their symbols reaches the maximum score players are granted an extra turn with a tile from a neutral draw pile – once the pile is depleted, no extra turns can be earned. While this makes it tempting to push the score of one symbol, players need to score equally for all 5 symbols since in the end only their lowest scoring symbol counts towards victory. Axio Rota is not only a smaller version of Axio, but by changing the tile format and adding the mechanic of empty corners and limited extra turns it challenges players to find new ways of scoring, thus making it an appealing standalone addition to the original Axio.
