Page 16 - Spielbox_2_2020

dozen) adventures. At the beginning of an adventure, you place your figure on space “0” of a cardboard strip that you move ahead on the board; if you embark on a journey on high seas, you start at the stern of a slightly shorter longboat instead. A Viking’s movement consists of a general move (by advancing the cardboard strip including the figures up to eight spaces, according to the revealed route card) and of an individual move (according to the hand card you play). If you land exactly at an interim destination, you take the reward from there – or you lose money or points. Towards the end of the route, the current eight-space adventure card awaits you; each single space can be packed with money and other benefits, but also with the opposite. Only if you have entered at least one adventure card space may you withdraw your participation. If you haven’t, you risk high sanctions if you enter the last spaces of the card or even go beyond it.
Your starting deck determines the movement, and some cards provide spe- cial abilities. When you gear up for your next expedition, you can reinforce your deck by recruiting Vikings. After each of the first seven adventures, you may send one of the Vikings you have used to “Val- halla.” In the end, these Vikings’ points are added to the other victory points col- lected; beyond that, these cards are indis- pensable in facing the final adventure. This deck-building adventure is filled with surprises and twists; but associated with this, it inevitably comes with a consider- able luck factor as well. -cc/sbw
Spielworxx
For The Grand Trunk Journey, deck-build- ing has been combined with the transport of goods. Each entrepreneur has one train that he will develop for speed and capacity during the game. The objective is to convey goods by train in the east of North America. Depending on the cargo, you need to couple wagons of different types. The destinations are twelve cities and four ports that want to have goods delivered – ideally, at the precise time, since in this case, you get a particularly good number of points. This basic prin- ciple is complemented by a time mecha- nism that allocates a certain duration to each action. The player who has used up the least time so far is always the first to go. Besides managing your trains, you can also build new terminals. These can also
DIE WIKINGER SAGA: Considerable luck factor
be used by your opponents, but you earn victory points for them. On this occasion, new city cards are added to the decks. Af- ter about two hours, it will turn out who has managed his railroad company most successfully and becomes the CEO of the
are scored according to their weight. Nu- merous exceptions and special rules make planning harder. The mouse, for example, changes the load limit, but only if there is an elephant on the same boat. The lion eats the next lighter animal, and the fox and the monkey send one passenger into the neighboring boat. And that’s not all: Two animals of the same species are con- sidered as being in love, generate “Cupid points” and are immune to the intrigues of the others. And since you also place every third card face down, it really isn’t easy to keep track. The charming animal-transport game comes with lots of surprising twists; the multifarious interrelations require a certain level of serenity from serious plan- ners, especially if a bold gambler succeeds with crazy constellations. -cc/sbw
Contributors to the fair report: Christwart Conrad (cc), Stefan Ducksch (sd).
eventual overall concern.
Zoch
-sd/sbw
Animals in Zoch games – such as the guests of the Beasty Bar – can attain cult status. The protagonists in Einer geht noch (Cruise or Lose) drawn by Dennis Lohausen, also have got what it takes, and also shine with special abilities. Each player takes three animal cards from his personal deck into his hand and, in three rounds, sends them onto the displayed boats, each of which has a specific car- rying capacity. If the total weight of the passengers is too high, the boat sinks; otherwise, the animals are rescued and
EINER GEHT NOCH: As if...!
14
spielbox