Preview: Canvas: Finishing Touches

The third and final installment of the Canvas series Canvas Finishing Touches by Road To Infamy Games will be hitting Kickstarter on October 18th 2022. Designed by Jeff Chin, Andrew Nerger Canvas came out in 2021 and has been a standout hit since the first edition of Canvas came out in 2021.

For those who haven't played the original Canvas. Canvas is a game uses card drafting and set collection as the main mechanisms of the game. Players draft transparent cards with icons along the bottom and some art on the top half of the card. The players goal is to earn ribbons by meeting the icon patterns that are set for the game. The patterns are interchangeable so each game you play should be different. The patterns can be as easy as have x amount of these in a painting or a specific pattern that is shown. What makes Canvas stand out is the amazing art that it has been created by Luan Huynh.

Each player starts with 3 canvases that they will use to build their own unique paintings. Each painting consists of 3 transparent cards stacked together. When you stack the cards you will be able to see the art from all the cards combine together into a work of art. Under the art players will find a title of your painting and along the bottom there is a row of icons that will determine player scoring. depending on how many ribbons you earn of each type will determine the amount of points players actually score. One might call this nested set collection (I am coining this term). Basically players will collect sets of icons (per painting) to earn ribbons and use those sets of earned ribbons to determine the final score.

Canvas remains a solid game for art lovers and gamers who are looking for a mid weight game

What will Finishing Touches add to an already amazing game? A lot, but not too much to bog it down. There is a new icon for the cards that allows you to copy an adjacent icon. The Creativity icon has also been added to the game the creativity icon works likes a wild card for the icons. Finally one of the biggest adds to the game are the frames. The frames will add a bonus ribbon you can earn from adding the frame to a painting. The deluxe edition will also add in a set of cards that are famous painters and you will be able to choose from 2 dealt to you at the beginning of the game and this will give you a bonus ability throughout the game.

What will Finishing Touches add to an already amazing game? A lot, but not too much to bog it down

Canvas Finishing Touches has added elements that make for some interesting and difficult in a good way decision making. This is the finale to the Canvas games and it really is the capstone that feels like a conclusion to the series. The game has a lot of additions through the 3 games and they did not make the game too complex or bloated and maintains a high level of entertainment. The addition of the frames mechanic also adds in new way to engage with the other players making this game much more than a solitary game with a card drafting mechanism.

Having a sneak preview of this game was awesome and it was fun to play with Rob from OwlDragon Adventures, Ionut from Board Games Reactions, and Jeff Chinn one of the designers of Canvas from Road to Infamy Games. Canvas remains a solid game for art lovers and gamers who are looking for a mid weight game that can be played in 30-45 minutes. If you have loved Canvas then this is a must add to your collection. If you haven't played before this is also a great choice to play on game night. Canvas: Finishing Touches hits Kickstarter on October 18th 2022.

Players: 1-5

Year Published: 2023

Recommended Ages: 15+

Time to Play: 30 minutes

A prototype copy (Tabletop Simulator) of Canvas Finishing Touches was played by Bert's Tabletop Games for review purposes. This is not the final version of the game and may change in final production. Also Bert did beat the designer Jeff Chin on his first play.