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light eurogame (help needed)

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Nero79
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Joined: 06/24/2011

Hi, I am Stefano, Italian from Germany. I work in the videogame industry and this is my first post. I am developing a light eurogame where players are different country rulers (England / France / Spain / Portugal / Netherland)

They have ships to send to the New World to get specific goods (Coffee / Tobacco / Sugar / Corn / Cotton). In Europe there's a market where demands and prices for the different goods go up and down each turn according to the shipments. Demands is dictated by 6-sided dice with goods and a joker on it. Dice are rolled secretly and a mechanic similar to PERUDO makes players bet on the highest desired good for a monopoly (the winner is the only one who can sell that good for that turn). Prices and demand go up and down according to majorities on dice and type of goods taken from the New World by the players.

Coins earned are used to buy upgrades to ships and/or structure to have different advantages or ultimately to send your ships exploring for a new route.

The end of the game is finding this new route (so no victory points) in order to rule trading over all other countries. the thing is ships used exploring for the route cannot be used for trades (and cannot come back to trading), so the game is about managing, betting and bluffing and perfect timing.

I am looking for help designing/prototyping the game and for some advice on how it could be improved.

Thanks in Advance Stefano

suf
suf's picture
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Joined: 07/26/2010
Navegador / Age of Discoveries

Welcome to the forum!

Reading your lines I immediately thought of Navegador and Age of Discoveries. Although your upgrades idea is new and they are different from what you've described, it feels like the mechanics are similar. It might be worth trying them in case you haven't already done that.

Good luck with your design!

Louard
Louard's picture
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Joined: 02/09/2010
I'm intrigued

I like how you're forcing the player to chose between sending ships to explore new routes or fairy goods. Reminds me of the decisions you have to make about placing farmers in Carcassone or placing guards in Tikal.

About the market value of goods. You mentioned dice... But how do the players affect the market value of goods, or is it completely determined by dice?

Also, have you had a chance to playtest this game yet?

Nero79
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Joined: 06/24/2011
Here a preview of the

Here a preview of the prototype Board (thank you Farmville and Pirates of the Spanish Main for the illustrations)
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/sfondo4.jpg/

Basically dice values are related to Goods as follows:
6 Coffee
5 Cotton
4 Grain
3 Tobacco
2 Sugar
1 Nothing

Each player rolls three hidden dice. (This represents your Country's demand)
Then you decide where to send your ships (left side).
Price starts at the black 1 for all goods and moves according to demand and offer.
A Liar's Dice Phase is used to determine which is globally the most wanted good. the winner can move the price of a Good of his choice two spaces up or down in case of exact prediction (I say 5 Coffees and there are 5). If the prediction was almost exact (I say 5 Coffees and there are more) last Good used goes up 1 line. Three 1s means all cargo is lost and you get no money this turn.
You collect money according to selling price then price for each good moves as follows:
EX.
if globally there are more Coffee Dice than Coffee Ships, Demand is higher than Offer so the Coffee price goes up of the difference between Coffee Dice and Coffee Ships
[6 Coffee Dice against 4 Coffee Ships -> price goes up 2 lines on the next turn]

if globally there are more Coffee Ships than Coffee Dice, Offer is higher than Demand so the Coffee price goes down of the difference between Coffee Ships and Coffee Dice
[6 Coffee Ships against 4 Coffee Dice -> price goes down 2 lines on the next turn]

If globally Coffee Dice and Coffee Ships are equal Price stays the same on the next turn.

Same for all Goods.

With Money you can buy Special Actions and use your Ships for exploration losing the chance to earn money but going closer to victory.

In the Liar's Dice phase if you ships the exact 3 Goods of an opponent you get a bonus.

I am working on the English Tranlation of the rules and I am glad if someone is willing to test and help me finding sensible prices for Special Actions or any flaw in the game.

Thx

Nero79
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Joined: 06/24/2011
NEW WORLD TRADERS (Stefano

NEW WORLD TRADERS (Stefano Negro)
Game for 2-5 Players
Time: approx. 60 minutes

Components
100 Coins in 3 denominations (1, 3 and 5)
60 Ships in 5 colours (12 each colour)
15 Action Tokens in 5 colours (3 each colour)
15 dice in 5 colours (3 each colour)
5 Dice Cups in 5 colours (1 each colour)
5 Product Tokens
1 Game board

Coins
You gain these by selling Goods, you can buy Special Actions with Coins. They come in three colours indicating different denominations.
(Gold: 5 / Silver: 3 / Copper: 1)

Ships
Wooden Ship Tokens are available in 5 colours, one for each possible player. They represent Ships forming the fleet for each Nation.

Action Tokens
Wooden Tokens available in 5 colours, one for each possible player. They are used to indicate the use of certain abilities on the Board.

Dice and Dice Cups
Six-sided dice in 5 colours, one for each possible player. Each number is assigned to a Product as indicated on the Board. Dice represent the demand for Goods from the New World in each country. Dice Cups are used to hide your dice.

Product Tokens
Used on the Market Tablet to indicate selling prices for each Product.
Board
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/sfondo4.jpg/
The Board is divided in parts. On the left side we have the different available cultivations Ships can reach (Coffee, Cotton, Corn, Tobacco, Sugar). To reach cultivation you just place a Ship in the respective area. Each Ship can carry only 1 cargo of only one kind of Good (when not using EXTRA CARGO). You can place the available Ships on one or more cultivations as you wish.

On the top right side, dice values are related to Goods. These values are not quantities but just identify a Product as follows:
Die Product
6 Coffee
5 Cotton
4 Corn
3 Tobacco
2 Sugar
1 None

Dice represent your nation’s demand for a specific Produt as indicated above. Number 1 is not related to any Product meaning the people has no interest in any of the Goods.
Below a Market Table shows the selling prices for each Product. Price starti on the black line and can vary according to global demand and offer (see below). On the right side of the Table special rules “Stale Goods” and “Cunning Merchant” are shown as a reminder.
Below the Market Table, different Special Abilities can be bought with Coins.
(See Special Abilities Section).

Setting up
Place the Board in the center. Each player takes Ships, Action Tokens, Dice and Dice Cups of a colour of choice. Each color is a Nation, but doesn’t give any advantages.

Colour Nation
Orange The Netherlands
Blue France
Yellow Spain
Red England
Green Portugal

Coins of different denominations are placed in a Common Bank all players can reach.
Place Product Tokens on the black 1 of the respective column on the Market Table. Each player starts with 5 Ships and puts unused Ships aside.
You are ready to play the game!

Game is divided in 4 phases.
a) Checking National Demand and Sending Ships
b) Assessing Global Demand
c) Getting Incomes and Price Variation
d) Buying Special Actions

Checking National Demand and Sending Ships
Each player rolls his dice keeping them hidden with the Dice Cup. These represent National Demand for each player. You will only know your National Demand.
Choose the first Player. Clock-wise starting from the first, each player sends one of his Ships on cultivation on the Board to indicate Ships were sent to the New World to collect those Goods.

Assessing Global Demand (Liar’s Dice style)
Each player starting from the first tries to assess which one is the most wanted Product globally in a sort of auction. The first player declares a Product and a number of dice showing the value related to that Product (four Tobacco = four 3s). The next Player can bid a higher number of dice with the same Product (five Tabacco = five 3s ) or a higher valued Product according to the Market Table (Products who sell higher are more valuable than Products selling lower. Products selling the same can be used to bid “higher” but you cannot go back to the outbid Product if you don’t raise the number of dice). Next player can also doubt last call instead of bidding higher.
All dice are then checked. In case of exact guess (last call was six 4s and there are exactly six 4s) the winning bidder can move the price of a single Product two lines up or down.
If the guess is almost exact, meaning there are at least the number of dice declared (last call was six 4s and there are seven 4s) the one who called a doubt lose the cargo of a ship of his choice (losing that income for that turn); In case the doubted bidder was wrong, he is the one to lose a cargo of a ship of his choice (losing that income for that turn). In case of an almost exact assessment, that Product becomes more valuable and the price moves up one line in the Market Table.
Special Rules
STALE CARGO
If a Player rolls three 1s, he loses all Shipments and will not be able to gain coins from Ships this turn. Move all lost Cargos (Ships) in the STALE CARGO area.
CUNNING MERCHANT
If a Player buys exactly the three Products demanded by a single Nation (an opponent), he gets 3 bonus coins.
Getting Incomes and Price Variation
After the assessment, each player gets coins as indicated on the Market Table for each of his own Ships carrying a specific Product. Price varies as follows:
Situation Variation
۞۞۞ / ■■
The global number of dice showing the value related to a specific Product is higher than the global number of Ships carrying that Product. Demand is higher than Offer

۞۞ / ■■■
The global number of dice showing the value related to a specific Product is lower than the global number of Ships carrying that Product. Offer is higher than Demand
The Price of the Product goes down of the difference between number of Ships and number of Dice.
۞۞ / ■■
Il numero globale di dadi che mostrano il valore relativo ad un determinato Prodotto è pari al numero di navi che trasportavano quel Prodotto Demand and Offer are the same
The Price of the Product stays the same.

Buying Special Actions
Now, according to turn, players can buy Special Actions if they have enough coins. Special Actions are:
EXTRA CARGO
+ ■
The Player pays and uses an Action Token for each Ship with this upgrade (3 maximum) A Ship with EXTRA CARGO carries 2 instead of 1 of a specific Product.
PIRATES

[■] The Player pays and uses one of his Ships (among those in game) to attack an opponent Ship so that all its Cargo is lost. The opponent Player will not be able to get coins from the Ship you chose to attack. Price will vary accordingly.
TAXES
+ → ■ The Player pays and uses one of his Ships (among those in game) to get taxes from Colonies. You get 1 Coin for each of your Product shipped.
CHURCH
₪۞ The Player pays and uses an Action Token for each use (3 maximum). Church will try to influence your nation’s demand. You can reroll a die on the next A phase.
DIPLOMAT
Θ [۞]
The Player pays and uses one of his Ships (among those in game) to call a Diplomat from abroad and get information on foreign demand. You can spy a die from an opponent on the next A phase.
SHIPYARD
+ ¤ The Player pays and builds a new Ship (12 maximum). The new Ship will be active on your next D phase. You can only build one Ship each turn.
EXPLORATION
(¤ ¤ ¤…) The Player pays and uses one of his Ships (among those in game) to search for Cortés Secret Route. Ships sent exploring cannot go back to trading for the rest of the game. Send all your Ships exploring to win.

Winning
The aim of the game is finding the secret route of Hernán Cortés. To do it, players have to send all their Ships (all starting Ships plus any Ship built in the Shipyard during the game) Exploring (see Buying Special Actions). First player sending all his Fleet exploring, wins. In case of a tie, the richest player wins. In case there is still a tie, contenders will play an extra turn consisting of phases A and B. the winner of the Global Demand Assessment is the winner.

Please help me finding correct prices for Special Actions and things to make the game better

Nero79
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Joined: 06/24/2011
Feel free to play if you can

Feel free to play if you can print the board and have enough dice and pawns. I am testing with these values right now.

GAMEMODE A
Sending ships (0)
EXPLORING (20)(for each ship)
TAXES (5) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
PIRATES (5) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
EXTRA CARGO (5)
CHURCH (10)
DIPLOMAT (15) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
SHIPYARD (10)

GAMEMODE B
Sending ships (you pay half the number of ships you send rounded down each turn)1 = 0 / 2-3 = 1 / 4-5 = 2 / 6-7 = 3 etc...
EXPLORING (15)(for each ship)
TAXES (5) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
PIRATES (5) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
EXTRA CARGO (5)
CHURCH (5)
DIPLOMAT (5) (a ship in play must be used to activate it)
SHIPYARD (10)

Nero79
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Joined: 06/24/2011
I tried changing the Market

I tried changing the Market values to
10
8
8
6
6
4
4
2
2
0

Now sending ships cost 1 gold per ship ( no difficult calculations).
Working on Power costs and how they work.
Any suggestion for costs or new powers is welcome.

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