Hifi – What Music Looks Like

The rock band “The Meeples” have reunited – and now they want to complete the album they left unfinished 50 years ago. Can you help them re-master and produce the best tracks?

Try your hand at Hifi – a game for 2-4 players by André Teruya and Grok Games, published in the USA by Smirk & Dagger Games.

How to Play

Each player gets a set of EQ knobs and Audio Mixing Markers in their chosen color. After setting up the studio board, score board, and turntable, choose the turn order randomly. Then each player gets an Audio Mixing Objective card and a Mastering Objective card and chooses two different Audio cards from the four available decks. Each audio card represents an instrument, a time signature, and a volume.

Players take turns based on the turn order track next to the scoreboard. Each turn has three phases: Vinyl, Production, and Studio.

Vinyl Phase

Start your turn by rotating the turntable to choose actions. If you want to go more than two spaces clockwise, you must pay one “Production point” for each additional space moved, tracked with your Production fader on the central board.

Then take your two actions, as indicated by your choice on the turntable. These may include:

• Drawing a specific type of Audio card
• Swapping two Audio cards already on the Studio board
• Moving your fader to max out your Production points
• Placing an EQ knob
• Taking more Objective cards (Draw two of one type, then put one back underneath the deck)

Production Phase

This phase is optional. Decide whether or not to spend Production points, moving your Production fader down two spaces. If you do, you can place an (additional) EQ knob or draw more Objective cards.

Then, it’s time to add to a track!

Studio Phase

You must place an Audio card from your hand into an empty space, anywhere on the Studio board. Receive points for the VP icons visible in that track’s Mixing area, and for any EQ knobs in place for that instrument. Any other player that has EQ knobs in place for that instrument will also get some points.

Then, choose a bonus action based on how well you situated your Audio card: in the correct timestamp, matching the soundwave (volume) with the card before/after, extending a solo by matching the instrument type before/after… or a special bonus for meeting at least two of these three conditions. If you meet all three conditions, you can choose any bonus, and also gain one extra point!

You may also choose to fulfill an Audio Mixing Objective. Match the pattern of the Objective from your hand, then place an Audio Mixing Marker, reducing the points that future players can get from playing Audio cards to this track.

You can match as few as two cards from the pattern shown, but you’ll get the most points for matching the complete sequence of four cards.

But don’t wait too long! You can only score an Audio Mixing Objective if you just added a card to the sequence AND if there’s room to place an Audio Mixing Marker at the end of the track.

End of Round

After all the players have taken a turn, determine turn order for the next round – in ascending point order with whoever has the least points going first.

During the last round, after each players’ last turn, they evaluate their Mastering Objectives.

As with any end-game goals, these are the last chance to earn points, and can swing the difference between last place and first. Whoever has the most VP has proven to be the best audio engineer, and gets bragging rights… until the next game.

Impressions

Hifi is gorgeous. Everything you can see in this game evokes analog audio mixing: sliders, EQ knobs, record turntable, and all the various kinds of plugs and switches. Even the box and the rulebook add to this feel.

I want to immerse myself in the rock-and-roll world of The Meeples. Read the liner notes on the album. Know their history. Play with all these amazing game pieces to make something that looks beautiful.

I love the puzzle of how to place the best audio clip to keep getting points. Do I want to match the timestamp for a bonus? Get a perfect fit for an extra point AND a bonus? Or move my way towards getting a perfect sequence for an Audio Mixing Objective?

And the semi-cooperative nature of the game appeals to me too: we’re all building something together. The EQ knobs are even generally good for everyone – the person who placed the knob(s), and the person using that instrument.

A Discordant Note

Unfortunately, the actual gameplay – although it’s also good – has almost nothing to do with audio engineering. The mechanics of placing down cards and tokens doesn’t match up with what the art is telling you. The knobs and switches and audio clips look great, but there’s no relationship between what these represent in the real world and what they represent in the game.

As Andrew puts it, “the knobs don’t even knob.”

Who is it For?

Since there’s a pretty large disconnect between the (gorgeous) art and the (very good) game play, I am left with mixed feelings for Hifi. I enjoy playing, but the more I play it, the less I understand how it all fits together. As with any domain where you might have experience, we may just be too close to sound engineering in real life to let go and play the game.

And so, I think the target audience for Hifi is a gamer who loves music but doesn’t know much about sound mixing or mastering. Audio engineers – even amateurs – will have to put aside their knowledge of how EQ knobs and faders work to really get into this game.

But if you’re ready to rock out to an interesting puzzle, you can get Hifi from Smirk & Dagger Games, on Amazon, or at your local game store.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Hifi from Smirk & Dagger Games for this review.

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