Review of New England

New England is the game of settling America written by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum.

Players: 3-4
Time: 60-90 minutes
Difficulty: 4 (of 10)

New England was originally published in Germany by Goldsieber. The Uberplay edition appears to be a near identical reproduction of the original (except in English).

The Components

New England comes with a large set of varied components:

• 1 game board
• 72 land tiles
• 60 money chips
• 10 bidding chips
• 34 wooden figures
• 4 marking stones
• 1 starting player marker
• 58 development cards
• 4 family cards
• 3 victory point cards
• 1 gamebag
• 1 rulebook & 1 overview

Game Board: The gameboard is a four-fold map printed four-color on heavy cardboard. It includes places for the 10 bidding chips and for the cards and tiles that will be up for bid every round. The majority of the board is taken up by a 98-space grid, on which the tiles are laid. Overall, the board is plain, abstract, and utilitarian.

Land Tiles: 12 of the land tiles are double-space tiles used as "starter tiles" for the 4 players. The other 60 are single-space tiles drawn during play. Each tile is printed four-color on the same textured cardboard as the game board. There are three different types of tiles (borders, meadows, and farmlands), which are printed with a simple pattern on one size and a pattern overlaid with development icons (settlement, pasture, field) on the other. They're overall attractive. Most of the tiles punched out very easily, leaving absolutely no residue on the tiles, which is a rarity in cardboard punchouts. Unfortunately my double-space tiles were less thoroughly cut, and a couple of them tore a bit when punched.

Money Chips: The money chips are cheap plastic markers in two types. There are thirty gold chips (5 shillings) and thirty silver chips (1 shilling). They're helpfully produced at different sizes to make it very easy to tell the difference between the two types of markers.

Wooden Figures: There are three types of wooden figures: pilgrims (13), barns (11), and ships (10). They're all nicely cut, but unpainted, slightly lowering their visual appeal. Strangely, the wooden figures depicted on the "figure cards" and in the rules don't match the wooden figures actually included in the box, though they're close enough that you can easily figure out what's what.

Marking Stones & Starting Player: There are 5 other wood markers included in the game: 4 marking stones and 1 starting player marker. These are each fairly simple shapes, and are each painted black. Neither one of these is strictly necessary, as we never had any problem figuring out how to match the shape on the land cards with the tiles on the board (which is the purpose of the marker stones), and the first player was usually obvious because the bag of tiles was sitting next to him, but still, kudos for including these markers which will doubtless make the lives of some players easier. (I've griped in the past about other games not including markers which could have made various administrative tasks easier.)

Cards: All of the cards in this game are square with rounded corners, printed in four colors on decent card stock. The 58 development cards make up the heart of the game. There are "land cards", which depict arrangements of land tiles (e.g., a square of borders, an "el" of meadows, etc.) that may be developed, and people cards which depict one of the three types of figures (pilgrims, barns, and ships). Each shows a Victory Point value as well. They're all easy and obvious to use, though it's a pity that the figure cards didn't also display what the figures do in-game, to help out the first-time player.

The family cards simply display one of the four family names and the related color. Each player displays his family in front of him, so you can easily correlate how he's doing on the board.

The victory point cards depict the three special victory conditions (most ships, pilgrims, and barns) and their values.

Like the black markers, the family cards and victory point cards are simply devices to help you remember various aspects of the game. We found them quite useful.

Gamebag: The bag is a simple black cloth bag used to hold the tiles so that they can be randomly drawn. I've seen some tile games that forget the necessity of a bag to draw from, but New England did not.

Rulebook & Overview: The rulebook is 8 pages, printed in 4-color on glossy paper. It's a bit plain in its layout, but does an average job of explaining the rules--though I had to reread a number of times for clarification. There were a couple of rules questions that I wasn't certain on until I went to the Internet (Are the figures worth 1 VP each, as their cards seem to indicate? [Yes.] Who gets to use the ship power if two players are tied for most ships? The original person who got to that level, both players, or neither player? [Both players.]) The rules do include a couple of illustrated examples, but more would have been useful, particularly an end-game scoring example. If I wanted to flag one component for improvement in this game, it'd be this rulebook, which could be greatly improved by some simple additions.

The overview is a nice sheet printed on stiff cardstock which clearly depicts what all the game components are and also has an overview of some game rules on the back.

Box: The box is a bit large for New England's components. The size was clearly determined by the four-fold map. A six-fold map with a smaller box would have made the game more portable, and the pieces would have still fit. The tray in the box simply divides the box into two large areas; it might keep the cards from going all over, but overall wouldn't help to separate the rest of the parts. Expect to need some plastic baggies when you put your game away.

Overall the components for New England are neither spectacular nor disappointing. I thus give it an average "3" out of "5" for Style.

The Game Play

The goal in New England is to settle the new English colony of Plymouth through the purchase, placement, and development of land tiles.

Setup: The game begins with each player choosing one of the four Plymouth families: Annable, Palmer, Winslow, and Howland. Each player is given his family marker and the three starting tiles for his family.

The board begins with 98 empty spaces. After a first player is selected, each player will in turn play his three starting tiles on the board, one at a time. Each starting tile is 2 spaces big, and each one features one of the three types of land (settlement, farmland, or pasture). No tile may be placed vertically or horizontally adjacent to another tile, but that's the only restriction. Tiles are all played with their undeveloped side face-up.

Each player is also given 12 shillings at start; in addition, the ten bidding chips, marked 1-10, are laid out across the top of the board. The 60 land tiles are shuffled in the bag, and play begins.

Order of Play: Each round of play follows the following sequence of play:

1. First Player Announces Tile & Card Selection
2. Bidding Chips Selected
3. Players Take Individual Turns (see below)
4. New First Player Selected

During their individual turn each player follows this sequence:

1. Buy Cards or Tiles; or Retrieve Cards from Storage
   • Play Cards or Tiles; or Store Cards
2. Take Income

Announce Tile & Card Selection: Each round the first player gets to decide what's going to be up for purchase. There will be a total of 9 items available to buy: always at least three development cards, and always at least three land tiles. The final three purchase slots may contain development cards or land tiles as the first player decides. After declaring how many land tiles will be available, between 3 and 6, and how many development cards will be available, between 3 and 6, the first player then draws the appropriate numbers from the land tile bag and the development card deck respectively, and places then face up to the side of the board.

Select Bidding Chips: Starting with the first player, each player then takes one of the bidding chips, numbered from 1 to 10. This determines turn order, with the highest chip number going first, the second highest going second, etc. However, it also determines the cost of purchasing tiles and cards.

After the bidding chips are selected, each player then takes his individual turn, in descending order of bidding chips.

Purchase & Play of Cards & Tiles: Once a player starts his turn he may purchase cards and tiles. To purchase a card or tile a player must pay the value of his bidding chip, between 1 and 10, for each tile. As soon as a player has purchased a tile, he must play it.

(Of note: a player may also retrieve a card from a barn during this phase if he has one stored; or, after he has purchased a card, he may store it in an empty barn, typically because he can't currently play it.)

After a player has either played or stored his card or tile, he may then be able to make additional purchases; each player will be able to purchase up to 2 items each turn.

(As a special rule, if a player has the most ships, he draws an additional card or tile and lays it near the board for purchase prior to beginning his purchase phase. Thus, he's the first person that gets to see this new tile or card, though if he doesn't purchase it, any players following him will get the opportunity to.)

Play Tile: Upon purchase of a tile, a player must immediately play it. Each tile is one of three types--border, meadow, or farmland--and each takes up a single space on the board. A player must place a tile horizontally or vertically adjacent to another tile of the same type that he owns. However he may not place it horizontally or vertically adjacent to another tile of the same type owned by another player (because there'd be no way to tell the land apart). Tiles are played with their undeveloped side face-up.

A tile may not be purchased if it can not be played (or stored).

Play Card: Upon purchase of a card, a player must immediately play it, if he doesn't store it in a barn. There are two types of cards that may be played: land cards and figure cards. As with tiles, cards may not be purchased if they cannot be played (or stored).

Land Cards. Some cards display a certain type of land in a certain configuration (e.g., two pastures in a row, or three settlements in an "el"). These cards also have a victory point value in the corner, typically "3", "6", or "10". In order to play these cards, the player must have the appropriate types of tiles in the appropriate configuration with their undeveloped side showing. The player develops the land by flipping the tiles over. Borders become settlements; meadows become pastures; and farmlands become fields. The player then sets the card nearby to show his victory points.

Figure Cards. Figure cards display one of the three figures in the game: ships, barns, and pilgrims. They also have a victory point value in their corner, always "1". (Players with the most of each type of figure will also receive additional victory points at the end of the game, as noted below.) When the player plays the card he takes the appropriate figure and places it on one his undeveloped tiles.

Pilgrims may be placed on any undeveloped tile and may be moved at will. They provide extra income, as noted below.

Barns may be placed on any undeveloped tile, but can never be moved. They can be used to store cards, as noted above.

Ships may be placed on any undeveloped tile adjacent to the sea and may be moved at will. They provide the player with the most ships an additional card to purchase, as noted above.

Tiles with figures on them may not be developed unless the figure is moved (which isn't possible for barns, but is for the other two figures).

Collect Income: Each player ends his turn by collecting income. He gets 4 shillings plus one shilling per pilgrim.

Select First Player: After all the players have taken their turn, the first player marker passes to the left.

Winning the Game: The game ends when a player tries to draw tiles or cards and runs out without getting the full number he'd decided to draw. At this point play ends immediately and each player counts up their victory points. Victory points may be gained from the following categories:

• Land Cards. Worth 3, 6, or 10 VPs for land cards played.
• Figure Cards. Worth 1 VP each for figure cards played.
• Most Pilgrims. Worth 4 VPs.
• Most Barns. Worth 3 VPs.
• Most Ships. Worth 2 VPs.

For the "most" categories, in the case of ties each of those players gains those VPs.

At the end of the game the player with the most victory points wins, with ties going to the player with the most shillings left.

The Game Design

New England recently was named Games Magazine's 2004 Game of the Year. Having played the game, I'm somewhat surprised by the award. Not because it's not a well-design game (it is), but rather because it doesn't particularly strike me as a casual or family game--the demographic that Games Magazine tends to appeal to. Instead New England is a very strategic, somewhat abstract, cognitive game.

Here's some of the design that I like about the game:

Bidding is Unique The method of bidding, by which you select your position in the round as well as the purchase cost of your tiles and cards, is quite unique. It's a type of auction system, but I don't know how to describe it using standard auction terminology. Quite possibly, Moon and Weissblum have come up with something that's original not just in the gaming world, but in the "real" word of auctions and bidding.

Multiple Levels of Strategy: There are numerous levels of strategy in New England, but each one is carefully separated from the others so that there are never concerns about having too many options to decide between at once. The levels of stratgy within the game include: which bidding chip to select; whether to select cards or tiles; which cards or tiles to select; where to put new tiles; and where to put people. Some of those strategic elements, such as the question of where to put new tiles, can break into new trees of decisions (do you block opponents? try and protect your own space? build toward the sea? try and arrange for certain shapes?).

Multiple Paths to Victory: There are also multiple paths to victory in the game. Some players will choose a more figure-oriented strategy and others a more tile-oriented path. Within each of those strategies you have three different possibilities that you might concentrate on (the three tile types and the three figure types).

Here's a few more comments on game design issues that I find neither good nor bad:

Abstraction v. Simulation: In many ways the game feels very abstract. The three types of tiles could just as easily be called "red", "black", and "green", and the game would play just as well (a feature in common with another very abstract tile-laying game, Reiner Knizia's excellent Tigris & Euphrates). On the other hand, there's some interesting simulation, such as the fact that the ships encourage players to play tiles along the more fertile seaside squares. I can't complain about the game being totally abstract, but neither can I compliment it for being a great simulation; it's got some aspects of each.

Players: The game plays very differently with three and four players. In the former there's much less scarcity and much less competition for land than in the latter. I usually compliment a game which plays very differently with diferent numbers of players, because that tends to increase replyability, but in this case I actually think that if you have four players you don't have just a different game, but a better game. I think the game would have benefitted from some special rules for 3 player games, such as having less tiles and cards to bid on each round or less spaces to fill on the board or both.

And finally I had one complaint about the game design:

Victory Feels Somewhat Out of Control: There's a weird disconnect where it feels like you can't entirely plan for victory. A lot of this has to do with the game feeling entirely tactical: you have to make an individual best decision each round, mainly dependent on what tiles and cards have been made available. Because any major victory takes multiple plays (playing 2-4 tiles and then playing one land development card) this means that you can never do a complete move to get yourself major victory points within the constraint of a single turn. You just have to try and set yourself up for future draws ... which may never come. This doesn't make or break the game, but I think does deter somewhat from the otherwise wonderful strategic possibilities.

Overall I think New England is a game that's definitely a notch above the norm. However the abstractness of the game and the opacity of its victory do both deter from my genuine excitement during play. Nonetheless, I had fun, I plotted and planned, and I'm going to play again. I give New England "4" out of "5" for Substance.

Conclusion

If you're a serious board gamer looking for an abstract strategy game with somewhat of a theme, this is a pretty good choice, especially if you're looking for a piece of Americana. I think it's a good partner to Reiner Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates for tile-laying enthusiasts and offers some entirely unique play for auction enthusiasts. If this all sounds exciting, go pick up the game.

For more casual board gamers, I'd be somewhat more hesitant to recommend, because I think this could be too boring due to its abstraction and heavily tactical play. But, use my thoughts on game play and design as your ultimate judge.