Image of prototype from Cliquenabend’s preview video. Click on the image to watch the video.

Bruxelles 1893 is a worker placement game with lots of game mechanics going on.  The setting is that players architects who are building Bruxelles in 1893.  The board is divided into two areas: the Bruxelles board and the Art Nouveau board.

Worker placement on the Bruxelles board locations is free (no coins); however, if a player wants to place on a location occupied by another worker, they must place one more worker than those already there; however, these extra workers go to jail/court when the player takes the action.  So, you can potentially use any action on the Bruxelles board but it may cost you workers.  The locations for workers on the Art Nouveau board is a grid and players must add coins to their workers when placing there.  The players with the most total coins in a column at the end of a round takes that column’s bonus card which can be used for either an instant bonus or saved for an end of point scoring effect.

The 5 actions are: gain resources for building, build a building, create a work, sell a work, and gain a character.  The income from selling a work (I believe a mix of cash and points) is based on the position of a marker on a grid – the income a player receives is based on the marker’s position and is adjusted by which player you are too.  So, changing the income marker’s position shifts all player’s potential income mix.  The resources required to build a building are determined by a dial and you can turn the dial after you construct a building.  Gaining characters gives a bonus but there’s a cost at the end of the game if you also keep the character.

There seems to be a great deal to think about in Bruxelles 1893 including many smaller elements too.  For example, players can gain reputation which affects points scored for where their workers are placed.  Also, players can gain influence at the palace which determines how many of your characters you can use.  Plus, there are bonus points for where you build your buildings.

It sounds like Bruxelles 1893 is going to be a meaty euro game so I’m looking forwards to trying it.

There’s no information on Pearl Games’ web site yet, but you can click on the image above to view Cliquenabend’s video with the game’s publisher (Sébastien Dujardin from Pearl Games).

James.