I finally received this title in a recent game haul and was happy to get it to the table
Not a Splendor killer by any means but fun game in it's own right.Unfortunately this title can’t escape the Splendor comparison. In a nutshell for both games, one gathers resources (Spices or Gems) and turns those into points. I will only give a very brief description of the game.
My own cheat sheet. Spice cups are included in the game box.
CSR is even more stripped down in comparison to Splendor, (that isn’t complex begin with). This makes it a little easier to get to the table. It’s simple enough to learn and plays quickly, (we are already down to about 20 minutes).
Personal Spice Caravan cardTurns are very quick and there are one of
4 actions you can take:
Play a card: Play a trader card from your hand, (collect spice cubes).
Acquire: Get a new Merchant card into your hand.
Rest: Take all the cards you’ve played back into your hand.
Score: Purchase a point card
Merchant CardsIn a two player game the first to collect six point cards triggers the end of game. The point cards vary in worth (9 – 20 points if I recall). The final point count is achieved by the collected point cards, some of the higher value spice cubes left on your caravan card at the end of the game, (1 point each) and finally Gold coins, (3 points each) and Silver coins, (1 point each).
Point cardsIn our 1st game when my wife collected her 6th card I had one more play. I couldn’t collect a card but I was able to get more spice cubes. When the final count was done I had 78 points and Karen had 72. I was able to take the game with higher value cards, spice cubes and coins. We have now played 3 games. Karen took the last game 101 - 94!
Coins. The colour tone is a little similar and I could see some issues distinguishing them in low light.There isn’t much in the box but the quality is good. The game includes small plastic containers for the cubes, which is a nice touch. The metal coins are also a good quality. I think these might have been added to give some perceived value to the minimal amount of components. The card stock on the cards is a very a good, thick stock. There is a separate promotional place mat that is available directly from the publisher that looks nice but comes at too high a cost for the little it would add to the game.
Full set up for two playersI’ve played Splendor 100’s of times. I do not see this ever replacing that title. Regardless for us there is (barely) enough space on the shelf for both games.
Century Spice Road is a nice light game that I would be happy to play on a regular basis. All in all we are pleased with the investment.
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