Model: 263Publisher: Rio Grande GamesPlaying Time: 60 - 90 MinutesNumber of Players: 3 - 5Designer: Andreas SeyfarthSuggested Minimum Age: 12
From the publisher's website: Prospector, captain, mayor, trader, settler, craftsman, or builder? Which roles will you play in the new world? Will you own the most prosperous plantations? Will you build the most valuable buildings? You have but one goal: achieve the greatest prosperity and highest respect! This is shown by the player who earns the most victory points. He will win the game!
Wizardopoly adds: We'd like to point out that girls are allowed to play this too! Political correctness aside; pretty well since this game was released it has held the top slot as the boardgaming community's number one favourite game. Which is quite something!
Each role mentioned above allows the game to advance: Settlers plant fields; the Builder allows players to buy buildings which process crops from the fields and affect the game in all sorts of interesting ways; the Mayor recruits people to work in the buildings and fields; the Crafstman generates produce from the fields; the Trader allows you to sell this produce (so you can buy buildings), and the Captain allows you to ship produce to the Old Country and this is the primary way to get victory points which, although one sometimes forgets it, is the whole point of playing the game!
The game is split into rounds during which players take it in turns to select a role. Whoever claims a role for the round gets to carry it out with a special privilege awarded them for being the one to choose it (e.g. if you choose the Builder you get to buy your buildings more cheaply), then each other player may perform the role without this privilege. The next player then chooses another role and so on. Each of the roles is essential for the game to go forward, but with seven roles and a maximum of five palyers some rounds roles get left out altogether (there's a reward for any player choosing one of the left out roles on subsequent turns).
There are many different ways to win this game, which is probably its best virtue. Add to that game balance, originality, the lack of randomness (although there is a little bit of luck involved), and the general theme and feel of the game: no wonder it's number one!
San Juan£12.99
