Stamp Swap Review - Return To Sender

One of the things that made the Stonemaier Games mega-hit Wingspan so special was the way it delighted in the hobby of birding. Now, Stonemaier aims to trade on another niche hobby, stamp collecting, with its brand new Stamp Swap. Stonemaier sent along a review copy for us to try, so read on for my thoughts on Stamp Swap. 

How Do You Play Stamp Swap?

In Stamp Swap, one to five players compete to collect, swap, and show off their stamp collections, earning points along the way. At the end of three rounds, the player with the most points (after a final round of scoring) wins the game. Each of the three rounds of the game consist of three phases, which I’ll quickly dive into below.

The Collect Phase

First, players will reveal a number of cards which tells them how many stamp tiles to lay out on the board. Some of the stamps will be face-up, and others will be face-down. There are also additional cards you may lay down, and small special rules that may affect this phase. Once the stamp tiles are set down, you’ll each take turns taking stamps from the collection in the middle. Then we move onto the Swap Phase.

The Swap Phase

This is the most interesting aspect of the game, in my opinion, where you’ll make an “I sort, you choose” grouping of the stamp tiles you’ve collected. You’ll divide all of your tiles (save for one reserved tile) into two piles, and your opponent will choose one of the piles, and you’ll keep the other. This repeats with multiple players until everyone’s taken their tiles, and the table moves onto the Show Phase.

The Show Phase

In the Show Phase, you’ll select from one of four scoring metrics on the board (which have been randomly dealt at the start of the game), and lay out your stamp tiles on your board. Based on those metrics (all of one color in a group, rectangles in a group of stamps, all of one theme, etc.) as a guide, you’ll lay out the tiles however suits you on your board and score for the round. This becomes a fun, not-too-puzzle-y game of tile placement.

Clean Design Or Lack Of Depth?

This is the central question I’m struggling with as I write this review: is Stamp Swap a simple game, with clean design? Or is it too simple, lacking in the kind of depth and interlocking mechanisms that are usual hallmarks of a Stonemaier game? I think answer to that question has a lot to do with what you’re looking for from the game.

If you do come to Stamp Swap expecting a Stonemaier Game, you’ll find the high production quality and charming artwork that comes standard from one of their releases. The tiles depicting stamps all have a wonderfully appealing retro look, and the board design is unfussy and uncluttered. From that respect, this game absolutely meets the high standards of a Stonemaier game.

If you’re also expecting the kind of gameplay that many of their games sport, though, I'm afraid this will feel a little bit, for lack of a better term, standard. To put it plainly, there's a bit of magic missing here.

But this isn't to say its a bad game by any means. For players looking for an easy, breezy tile-laying game, they'll certainly find it in Stamp Swap, but games like Azul or Patchwork achieve this while taking up less space on the table. Stamp Swap does distinguish itself with the “I sort, you choose,” mechanic of the Swap Phase of the game, but there’s not enough game there to help this rise above the rest.

Stamp Swap - Final Thoughts

Though the game cleverly aligns itself to the hobby of stamp collecting, Stamp Swap doesn’t quite stick. There are fun elements at play here, but it isn’t enough to help this game rise above other tile-laying games in the genre. Obviously if you’re a fan of stamp collecting, this will be a thematic hit. Also, if you like the “I sort, you choose” mechanic in and of itself, this entire game hinges on that and you’ll find a lot to love here. But for the everyday gamer there are better options out there that ask you to puzzle things out similarly.

The copy of Stamp Swap used in the creation of this review was provided by Stonemaier Games.