Karma Games KAR38205 Clans of Caledonia, multi-colour

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During the Production phase, each player will receive income based on the number and type of workers that they have deployed. Towards the end of the game, you want to aim for contracts that reward lots of import goods for points. More and more distilleries were founded and whiskey became the premium alcoholic beverage in Europe. In a previous review that I wrote, I wagered that Photosynthesis stood a better than good chance of winning the next Spiel des Jahres.

It’s not uncommon to see a table of Terra Mystica Players huddled around the table, heads down, deep in thought.Other than a slight adjacency mechanic that’s used a little, there isn’t much in the way of similarities. I’m not a big fan of randomness in board games and the randomness that comes with the introduction of new contracts can be very unwelcome. Building next to other players is also a good idea to block them from cheap spots along with gaining a neighbourhood bonus. Next to this is placed the market board which is set to its starting configuration using the round discs which are provided to track the market’s fluctuations. The art is perfect for this style of game, the pieces are all very charming and the quality of production is very nice.

The artwork is vibrant and inviting (which is par for the course for artist Klemens Franz) and the little wooden bits are adorable.

You need trained merchants to actually enter the market, and you only start with 2, although they are relatively inexpensive to hire. Similar to games like Terra Mystica and Gaia Project players will cover spots on their player board with a number of wooden pieces. The game is quite a long teach with several actions to explain and their overall repercussions to the game state and how players will affect the market as well as the value of import goods at the end of the game. Anywhere you can get a foothold means more flexibility and, potentially, more points at the end of the game.