Century: An overview of the Spice Road board games
Century: An overview of the Spice Road board games
The explosion of the spice trade in the 16th and 17th centuries was the catalyst for the emergence of what became world trade, setting the stage for European dominance. all over the world . Turmeric, cinnamon and saffron were in abundance as traders traversed major spice routes in the Middle East and Southeast Asia to conduct their trade.
Emerson Matsuuchi has somehow managed to masterfully condense this concept into a simple yet compelling card and dice game that is both accessible and intense. See a full overview of Century: Spice Road board games below.
- We present the century, a series of exciting and wonderful ...
- Each title is set in different centuries, from the 15th to the 17th and ...
- Century: Spice Road is the first title in the Century series ...
A brief overview of the century: Spice Road
Century: Spice Road is the first in a trio of installment games by Emerson Matsuuchi. Players take on the role of spice traders on the old spice trails. They take their trailer and strive to collect enough spices to trade in the market in exchange for winning points.
Extremely simple game mechanics make it easy to play games on all levels. However, much more is happening than it seems at first glance. Players have a set of cards in their hands that allow them to acquire, upgrade or trade spices. As the game progresses, each player will have their own Strategy for building their spice empire.
This is a fast paced game that can start at zero to eleven in just a few minutes.
Other games of the century
The trilogy of the century
Eastern Wonders: We return to the spice shop, but we set sail instead of the mainland. With the discovery of exotic spices on the far Indonesian islands, the next spice race is already underway. Order your ship to deliver the highest quality goods.
New World: The trilogy is complete when actors move to 16th century America to explore the New World for Wealth and Fame. Century: The New World is introducing a whole new placement of mechanic workers in the mix to improve the solid playing from the previous two games.
Century: Golem edition
If the spice trade theme doesn’t do it for you, Century in the Caravan World is completely disguised as a crystal fantasy trading game. The first two games in the trilogy are currently out, but keep an eye out for the finale coming soon.
- An exciting sequel to CENTURY SPICE ROAD WITH A NEW TOPIC: What's happening in ...
- STRATEGIC GAME: Grow and trade spices and use them to gain possession ....
- GAME RESEARCH: This new edition in the Century collection is ...
Unpacking Century: Spice Road
Century: Spice Road is a simple game based on maps and dice, so it has a small list of components. But what you get is impressive quality.
- 36 Scoring cards
- 53 Trading Cards
- 5 caravans
- 105 Wooden cubes
- 4 plastic spice containers
- 20 gold and silver coins
- 1 Rules
My first thought on the box was that it might have been a little bigger than it should have been. No need to store a few cards and dice in anything larger than luxury DVD cases? But that’s just a small grip and I’m a bit biased towards games that I can easily travel with, so I appreciate that for me it’s really just a matter of time.
Still, the box is very intuitive, with a lid cleverly designed to keep the cubes in the spice containers without going anywhere. Clean!
The core of the game - the cards - are well made and bigger than you would normally expect. These are divided into three groups: commercial, scoring and caravan. Without much opportunity to set the venue elsewhere, the artwork on the maps is bold and appealing. So even though you’ll only have a few cards and dice on the table, it still looks like a colorful and exciting layout.
You will get a lot of wooden cubes of course. Four colors representing four different spices:
- Yellow (turmeric)
- Red (saffron)
- Green (cardamom)
- Brown (cinnamon)
As already mentioned, you also get some plastic spice jars, which are very themed but nicely themed and set the scene of the game.
My favorite part, though, are the coins. While most other games would simply supply cardboard chips, Plan B Games, which it produces, made them out of metal. They are beautiful and shiny and I think they are a great touch.
How to play Century: Spice Road
Set-Up
Setting up the game is very simple. Follow the instructions on the policy and make sure you set the spice containers correctly (Turmeric> Saffron> Cardamom> Cinnamon).
The object of the game
The goal of the game is to score the maximum number of points. The main way you can do this is to collect enough spices to swap the orange dot cards in the middle of the table. When someone scores five-point cards (or six in a 2-3-player game), the game ends and all points for each player add up.
Each player has one action per move. You can:
- Play the card
- Get a card
- Rest
- The result
Playing cards
Trading Cards - Trading cards are the key to power. They dictate what you can do throughout the game to build up your spice supply. There are three different types you can play:
Spice Cards - Simply take as many spice cubes as shown on the card. For example, if it shows one yellow cube and one red cube in the upper left corner, you can add one turmeric and one saffron to your trailer.
Conversion Cards - This allows you, you guessed it, to convert spices into your trailer. The number of gray cubes in the upper left corner represents the number of conversions you can make. Keep in mind that each new level you raise costs one conversion. Let’s say you have two conversions. One option may be to convert one cube of turmeric for two levels into cardamom. However, you can choose to turn one yellow into saffron and one cardamom into cinnamon.
Merchant Card - Allows you to exchange spices in your trailer with another spice as shown on the card. For example, it may say that you can exchange two turmeric in exchange for one cardamom. You can do this as many times as you want in the same turn (e.g. six turmeric can become three cardamom).
Get a card
With this action, you can take a card from the deck in the middle of the table. To do this, place a spice of your choice on each of the cards to the left of the one you want to buy. Then take the card and all the spices currently sitting on it to your trailer.
The leftmost card can easily be taken for free.
Slide the dealer cards to the left to fill the space, and place the new dealer card from the deck into the space on the far right.
Rest
This means that you can take back all the cards you have played in the game so far. This allows you to put together a really strong collection of cards during the game.
The result
If you have all the spices depicted on one of the scorecards, you can redeem them to request this card. The spices you use are returned to the spice containers, just like with the trade cards, the remaining scoring cards are moved to the left to fill the gap, filling the last place with one from the deck.
If there were gold or silver coins on the scoring card you took, take one. That means even more points!
The maps vary quite dramatically. For example, an eight-point card may require two yellow and two green dice. A card that collects 17 points will require two yellow, two green and two brown dice.
He wins the game
When a player gets a card with a fifth point (or sixth in a game with 2-3 players), the round ends and the results add up. You can score points in the following ways:
- The number of points displayed on your scorecard
- Three points for each gold coin
- One point for each silver coin
- One point for every cube of spices, except turmeric, which reaches zero (unfortunately turmeric, you’re not spicy enough).
Whoever has the most points wins the game!
Your first game of the century: Spice Road
Everyone has their own way of playing the game. I have not yet found any reliable strategy that would surely win. That’s why Century: Spice Road is so much fun. But I would advise beginners not to spend too much time focused on the value of spices. Instead, observe which points cards are in play and what are the simple ways to collect points based on your own inventory.
And don’t forget that the game ends when someone has five point cards. So while playing a long game is definitely helpful in achieving this 17 point card, if someone gets their fifth point with ten points before you get there, you may get there soon.
Don't miss any more exchanges
As for the rules, this is a very simple game, so hopefully it would be easy to grasp. The first few times, however, we missed being able to swap with merchant cards at once as many times as you want if you stick to the relationship on the card. Make sure you don’t miss this, as these cards make you much more powerful and can keep you away from being one step away from completing a scoring card on the brink of victory.
Don’t worry about limited stock
Otherwise, keep in mind that unlike some other dice games, the spice supply is not limited and you can replenish the spice supply with other items. I personally recommend actual spice mills, Spice Girls CDs or James Bond and George Smiley novels (they’re spies ...).
Advantages disadvantages
Advantages:
- Easy for players of all levels
- Fast-paced gameplay
- Great for groups of five
Century: Spice Road is a fast-paced game that keeps everyone on their feet when each player performs just one action. This makes it especially good for groups of five, as it is often a bit frustrating for so many players to wait so long for everyone to get their turn. In this case, you will return to the driver's seat soon.
It’s also a great game if you have a group of players with a mixed gaming experience. It’s very easy to pick a few rules, so when you have a round or two, everyone should understand it well.
The simplicity of the rules of the game, however, does not detract from the complexity of the game. Each player’s strategy can go very deep when you start doing some mechanics and different tactics for scoring points. As a result, the repeatability is much higher than it initially appears. You can easily play 50 such games and still find new ways to win the game.
Weaknesses:
- Limited player interaction
- It is not the strongest topic
One slight disappointment was that for a game based on the concept of trade, there is actually very little interaction between players. It’s less tilting and more mid-term playing tactical cards focused on creating your own stock.
I don’t really blame the game for this, as I’ve created my own guess based on the theme of how it will work, but it’s worth considering those players who like a little discussion and swapping - the game is a little stiffer than that.
Similarly, due to the simplicity of the game, there aren’t many opportunities to put meat on the bones of spice traders. Interestingly, Century: Spice Road was not originally made with this theme in mind, instead taking over the fantasy of the early years.
It won’t take much care of everyone, but it certainly won’t transport you in the same way as other games. You could easily slap any old theme you liked, and it would work just as well (which makes it an obvious target for a franchise crossword puzzle - I crossed my fingers at Crazy Frog).
Whatever the theme, however, the power of game mechanics means you’ll have a great game, no matter the face.
TL; DR
Century: Spice Road is a fast-paced card and dice game in which players want to build a spice empire. With little opportunity to think about what’s going on, this is a pretty intense period of playing, whether you have two or five contestants.
The rules of the game are very easy to accept. However, there is still real depth in this, as players can devise a number of complex strategies as they begin to work out some mechanics and various tactics to score and win.
Conclusion: a verdict?
Century: Spice Road fits comfortably into the sparsely populated center of Venn’s game diagram, which requires a lot of strategic insight and can be learned even for a beginner in a matter of minutes.
He may not crash strategic pants with an expert, but he will nonetheless tactfully think about how you will create spice stocks and collect those points.
The accessibility and speed of the game means it fits nicely with Nightmare Before Christmas and KFC Bargain Bucket as a safe bet to satisfy the whole family. Whether it’s a quick game between two or part of a longer gaming session with up to five people, you can be sure of half an hour full of action.
- We present the century, a series of exciting and wonderful ...
- Each title is set in different centuries, from the 15th to the 17th and ...
- Century: Spice Road is the first title in the Century series ...
Have you tried Century: Spice Road or any of the games in the trilogy? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think!
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