Castles of Tuscany
At one game night with my board game buddies, we played a round of The Castles of Tuscany. Sorry, no pictures this time.
The game’s concept is simple: you’re running a principality, and have to build castles and cities, roads and fields, mine for marble, and so forth. By doing so, you accumulate wealth, which means you can win against the other players. So far so good - and note that there is no warfare in this game, no attacking of other players. In fact, the only cause for conflict can be the competition over resources. (I have to say I appreciate that.)
Players can unlock several kinds of bonuses (up to four) by building cities, e.g., the capacity to have more workers, or keep more resources in stock. Each of these have a considerable impact on a player’s strategic abilities, so the player should plan ahead which bonuses they want to unlock. There are also bonus points for many different things, such as being the first player to have built three castles, or making all the fields arable.
The game mechanics are an interesting mix of deck building (bonus capabilities) and worker placement (applying abilities and resources). What makes the game very fluent is that it’s practically impossible to be played into a corner. There is always something one can do. Also, because the individual moves are short, consisting of just one action, the pace is swift.
I’ve mentioned the lack of inter-player conflict. Indeed, players compete for resources only, and a little bit for achievement bonus points, which deplete. Other than that, there’s no real conflict: no fighting, no stealing. This lack of interactions between players can lead to a certain dullness. As a lover of cooperative games, I don’t mind it that much.
Overall, it’s a very nice game with a good flow, and can be learned quickly. Warm recommendation.
Tags: games