Page 28 - Spielbox_Special_2021_gesamt_EN

Current. Fall Preview 2021
with here is clever. There is a pool of buy- er pieces in the colors of the artifacts and they determine the current preferences based on their number. For the purpose of preparing a sale, you take one such figure from the pool, and thereby upgrade the color, and at the same time, create fur- ther demand on the marketplace based on the color you selected (out of six possi- bilities). The revenue of the chosen color is then determined by rarity, number of buyers and artifacts. The price change takes a while to take effect. Only after another transaction do the buyers move back into the pool, which will allow nim- ble traders to trade artifacts of the same color at a good price. Timing and plan- ning are emphasized, as is coordinating your two actions.
In addition to this refreshing element, you will find familiar mechanics such as collecting matching resource sets (i.e., set collection). It is enough to have had the artifacts in hand. Of note, the tokens
needed to mark this, which are used for additional functions elsewhere, are in lim- ited supply, which increases the feeling of constraint towards the end of the game. The tricky artifact trade on the six markets is the most enjoyable, and it reaches its peak in the mid-game. (cc/sb)
Oink Games
The insider‘s tip from Japan comes to Europe. Scout earned its reputation be- cause it is an elegant implementation of the classic trick-taking game. How? After taking cards in hand, each player deci- des whether to rotate their entire hand 180 degrees. If you do, all the numbers turn into other numbers. As in Bohnanza or Dealt!, you cannot move your cards within your hand. On your turn, you play one or more cards with consecutive num- bers in order to trump the last combina- tion that was played. If you can‘t or don‘t want to, you can take a card from the last trick and — important! — add it to your hand in any location and orientation. If you do, the previous player gets one victory point. Each player also gets one bonus token per round, which allows you to take both actions in a single turn. If your own trick is not beat by anyone or when you play your last card, then you end the round. Every card in a player‘s hand counts for one minus point, except for whoever triggered the end.
The decisions here are exciting, be- cause you have to take into account to what extent other players can still play on top of your cards when you set about op- timizing your hand. Do you play low com- binations or do you risk making a big play with four or even more cards at once? Scout is a quick game that demands ”just one more.“ In fact, we once spent an entire evening just playing nothing but this. The parallels to Dealt!, which
we already liked very much, are striking. The rules are minimal in comparison to long-running games like No Thanks! or Category 5 and are an indication of the idea‘s inherent potential. Oink Games recognized this, and has announced an international version that will arrive this fall, with the addition of a circus theme and a few minor changes. This version of Scout will also be playable by two peo- ple. I am curious. (cc/sb)
Osprey Games
Peer Sylvester has become something like a “house designer“ at Osprey, even though his games are mostly published via Corax Games and Co. back in his home country of Germany. This could also happen with Brian Boru: High King of Ireland. And if not? No big deal, as Ger- man rules are already available.
The setting is Ireland around the year 1000. The country is ruled by many small princes and is often raided by Vikings. The task of the three to five players, ages 14 and up, is to become High King (i.e., to be Brian Boru, so to speak), and unify the country, repel the ever-invading Vikings, build monasteries and gain support in towns and villages. For this, among other things, a shrewd marriage policy with the members of one‘s own clan is important (although Peer Sylvester, in the rulebook, advises against mimicking this in the real world).
At the beginning of the three or four rounds, the first thing to do is to see how many Vikings want to land. It is also pub- lic information what the dowry will be at the next wedding, so that you can start to prepare for this joyful event. Before that happens, action cards are played, which everyone chooses beforehand through drafting (even though Peer Sylverster pre- fers the technical term ”tapping cards,“ a reference to freshly tapped beer, i.e. a draft beer).
The player with the city token chooses a location, marks it, and then must play an action card in the color of that loca- tion (i.e., yellow, red or blue). If you want to win the power struggle, you must also play a card in the matching color, but one with a higher value. However, you can also play any card of a different suit in the trick. All those who were defeated in this power struggle may now perform one of the side actions on their cards. For ex- ample, Vikings can be attacked. Or you
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Photo: Oink Games