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Lead the Netherlands into the Industrial Age in the latest version of the cooperative classic! It is the dawn of the Industrial Age in the Netherlands. For centuries, the country has relied upon a series of dikes and wind-powered pumps to keep it safe from the constant threat of flooding from the North Sea. But this system is no longer enough.
Albia
[size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Solo Mode[/b] // Included in the Base Game (Cooperative) [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Required Play Space[/b] // 28" x 28" [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Setup Time[/b] // 10 Minutes [size=16]❦ [/size] [b]Play Time[/b] // 50 Minutes :thumbsup: The theme is steeped in history and feels very natural with a looming threat to defeat with careful planning. :thumbsup: Creating a water management plan is very strategic and highlights the real challenges facing the Netherlands. :thumbsup: All of the components are excellent and bring the situation to life in a rather 3D sense, especially via the dikes. :thumbsup: Storms create sudden emergencies that can be partially planned for by controlling the flow of the water. :thumbsup: Events add unique bonuses to each play with helpful options that might show up early or right near the end. :thumbsup: Play progresses pretty quickly with a clear sequence of events and end so the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. :thumbsdown: Visualizing the flow of water cubes through all the regions can be a little tricky with the different paths. :thumbsdown: Setup takes quite a long time with the placement of all the dikes and simulating the starting water cubes. :thumbsdown: Certain smaller regions can get very crowded, making it difficult to see the name or place other components. :thumbsdown: The size of the board is just about right, but requires stretching to reach some of the places at the very top. [url=https://gamewardbound.com/tag/pandemic-rising-tide/?utm_source=boardgamegeek&utm_medium=comment]Read the Session Reports and Review at Gameward Bound »[/url]
agentpatman
This was obviously another game in the pandemic system so not much different on that front. However in this one you will be focusing on building more infrastructure like windmill pumps and dikes to prevent the flow of the water. The water flow adds some interesting decisions as removing water cubes doesn't help as they come right back. Instead you need to block the water in the first place to be able to move it and add pumps to help you get the water out for no actions. The difficulty is higher than the original and there are some setups that fail immediately at the start of the game due to existing water in purple territories and having to apply 3 more damage to multiple purple cards. I get that it's supposed to start off with a challenge but it's unfortunate that the game can end in turn one due to random setup when they could have added a rule that if you draw multiple purple during setup to ignore the third. All in all its different enough that I owe multiple but that difference might not be big enough for most people.
Cheesechick
When are these games going to get bad??? Unbelievable! The puzzle here is just lovely - might be the toughest to optimize in a Pandemic game yet. And included variants? Be still my beating heart.