Archive for the 'Packet Row' Category

One of my favourite board games ever is Oregon (which was the game the designers of Rattus made before Rattus).  So, after many Rattus expansions, I was very excited when the Bergs announced a new, original game called Packet Row with a very interesting game mechanic.

The game is set in New York in 1842 and players are trading companies. The game board is comprised of 4 boards (Docks, Bank, Market and Guildhall) where the cards for each board are displayed.  The primary method of earning money is by completing contracts (Guildhall cards) which can be fulfilled by having the goods (Market cards) and ship (Dock cards) shown on the contract.  Money can also be gained from the bank (Bank cards), plus various other cards in all areas have some special effects too including some being worth victory points (VPs).  At the end of the game, players add up their VPs from cards that show VPs, cash (divided by 10), and banker cards (if they have the most cash) – most VPs wins.  This means cash is vital because most cards cost money, and cards can earn you more money, VPs and special abilities.

Gameplay is simple and fast as each player may gain up to 1 card during a round.  So far this is all straight forwards but it is how the cards are gained that is the interesting heart of Packet Row.  Each round, one player is the lead player (the harbour master) and they select one of the 4 boards.  All players then take turns choosing to either take one of the cards from this board or pass.  The harbour master is the last player to choose – if the harbor master takes a card then the round ends and any player(s) who passed get nothing.  If the harbour master doesn’t take a card, then the harbour master chooses another board and all players who have not yet taken a card this round have the same choice again – take a card from this board or pass. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favourite games ever is Oregon (which was the game the designers of Rattus made before Rattus).  So, this year, I’m very excited that the Bergs have created a new, original game called Packet Row, which contains a very promising game mechanic.

During a round, one player is the lead player (the harbour master) and they select an area of the board.  Players take turns choosing to either take one of the cards from this area or pass.  The harbour master is the last player to choose – they can either choose a card (which ends the round) or they can choose a new area and all players who did not take a card this round have the same choice again.  This cycle ends as soon as the harbour master takes a card – at which point the round is over and any players that did not take a card yet (hoping/expecting the harbour master would move to another area before selecting a card) get nothing.  I really like the sound of the psychological play here. Read the rest of this entry »