[Review] Age of Empires III
tomv...@gmail.com
games to try! But I was intrigued when I got the chance to try out
the prototype of Age of Empires III (Tropical Games, 2007 - Glenn
Drover) last year at Origins. Oddly enough, it was, even in prototype
form - the best game of the convention for me. I eagerly looked
forward to the full-blown game, although the troubles of the Eagle
company delayed that for quite a while. Finally, one year later, at
Origins 2007, I was able to play the finished product.
And my opinion is unchanged - I feel that not only is this Glenn's
best game; it's in serious contention for game of the year - a great
game. Fans of the PC game will be likely disappointed; for while Age
of Empires III is a great game, there is a notable difference in
styles. There are a few component issues, although they pale beside
the sheer overwhelming beauty of the game. With a plethora of
decisions and multiple strategies and tactics, this thematic game is
one of the best of the year.
Let's talk about some of the features of the game...
1.) Components: Just like most Eagle Games (yes, I know this is a
Tropical game release, but it's the same thing, really), this game
comes with a myriad of plastic pieces. However, unlike other Eagle
games, this may be the best board yet - with a lot of room for
everything and clear places to place the different colonists. The
only, yet glaring, problem is that the scoring track is quite small
and even covered up in some places, to the point where I simply record
the score on paper. Each player gets sixty pieces of each color: ten
colonists, five captains, five merchants, ten missionaries, and ten
soldiers. Again, I think these pieces are fantastic, but it is a bit
of trouble sometimes (especially in poor lighting) to tell the
difference between the soldiers and captains, and merchants and
colonists. This isn't a big deal - I'm thinking of using paint to
differentiate, and I think it's offset by the fact that the different
molds help promote the theme. The board itself is beautiful, showing
the Americas during the colonization, with good artwork by Paul E.
Niemeyer. The coins are shaped to mimic Spanish doubloons and really
add to the game with their look and feel. The cards and tokens are
good quality, and easily understood and read. Everything fits in the
very large box easily, although you'll need to bag it all.
2.) Rules: The fourteen-page full color rulebook has tons of
illustrations and explanations, as well as historical background and
quite a few charts. All the card and building information is also
included, so that players can get a grasp of what may be coming next;
and it's an invaluable tool for when discovering, as a player can
better determine their odds. The game looks complex but only takes me
about ten minutes to explain, and everything flows so well that I've
yet to see anyone who has a problem with it. Compared to "heavy"
designer games such as Caylus and Goa, this one is actually more
intuitive.
3.) Specialists: One of the neatest features of Age of Empires is the
specialist figures - colonists that have unique abilities. All four
of them have different abilities, and it's often difficult to
determine which is the best. I tend to find the Captain weakest (he
counts as two colonists in the Merchant Shipping or Discovery box),
but others have used him to great advantage - especially considering
how powerful ships can be. The Merchant is a tremendous asset at the
beginning of the game, as he can help bring in some much-needed income
(when he arrives in America as a colonist, the player receives 5
doubloons) and still remains fairly useful by counting for two
colonists in the Merchant Shipping area. The missionary may be my
favorite, simply because when he lands in the New World, another
colonist is immediately added, making him effectively a "double"
colonist. Even better, a player can get the Cathedral building,
allowing them to send out what we call "super missionaries", who add
two colonists. Soldiers are fascinating, because they can add money
in the Discovery box but also can be used aggressively in battles and
wars.
4.) Colonists and Choices: Each turn, a player receives five
colonists that they are going to place in different spaces. There are
only a limited number of places to put them, so players must choose
carefully.
- Initiative: Who goes first next time? Getting the first pick is a
big deal. Interestingly enough, the initiative spaces also provide
income, but choosing to go first gives a smaller amount.
- Colonist Dock: There are many spaces here, but never enough. In
order, the colonists will travel to discovered spaces in the New
World. This is important, as many of the points in the game come from
controlling the nine different regions.
- Trade Goods: Four spaces here allow players to pick amongst the
four available trade goods each turn. Ignoring these will hurt a
player's income.
- Merchant Shipping: The player with the most colonists here wins a
Ship each turn, which is basically a "wild" trade good.
- Capital Buildings: There are five spots here, with the players, in
order, allowed to buy one of five available capital buildings, which
provide a wealth of benefits.
- Discover: This is the only place that a player can "store"
colonists, sending them out to discover new worlds.
- Specialists: A player can place a colonist on different places to
gain the matching specialist for the following round - only one of
each type, although one box allows a player to receive a specialist of
their choice for $5.
- War: A player can place a colonist here to fight a battle or
declare a war on another player.
All of the choices are good, although some people will argue with you
to the bitter end about which are better. Getting the ship is
important, not only for income, but because two buildings directly
reference ships; and a player with many of them will command amazing
power. At the same time, everybody wants the best buildings, the
first spot in line for the colonists, and the resources. What I enjoy
is that the players want to do everything but have a limited amount of
colonists each turn to place. One can increase this number through
acquiring specialists and buildings; and a player can have a large
advantage, when they are placing seven colonists and others are
placing five.
4.) Buildings: The idea here is nothing new; as having buildings,
which grant special abilities, was made famous in the wonderful game
Puerto Rico. But in Age of Empires, the buildings only come out five
per turn. Some of the buildings are much better than others: the
Trade Routes (+ 1 Merchant each turn) are better than Settlers (+ 1
Colonist each turn.) The game is divided into three ages, and the
buildings get progressively better, with the third age buildings being
rather invaluable. Some of the final buildings give large point
bonuses at the end, such as the Navy, which awards four victory points
per ship owned. Working towards these buildings is a viable
strategy. I think that you can avoid buying many buildings, but the
other strategies you pick better cover for it!
5.) Resources: There are eleven different types of trade goods: gold,
silver, cattle, cocoa, fish, sugar, fur, coffee, tobacco, rice, and
indigo. There is a different amount of each one, from three to six -
indicated on the tokens. Since a player needs three of the same type
to get any kind of decent income, collecting Rice (of which there is
only three) is harder than collecting Sugar (of which there are six).
And since there is only three of four of the different resources, it
makes ships that much more valuable. I've played games in which I've
ignored collecting resources and ships, and the lack of finances was
too strong for me to do well. Some players may hunt down resources
more than others, but it's too important to disregard altogether.
6.) Discovery: There is luck in the game with the random pulling of
resources and buildings, but it's minimal. A higher luck value,
however, is found in the discovery areas. At the beginning of the
game, eight of the regions in the New World have a discovery counter
placed in them, and players cannot send colonists to them unless they
are discovered. At the end of each phase, a player can send any or
all of the colonists, captains, and soldiers in the Discovery Box to
discover a new area. The player decides how many they will send - all
of which will be discarded, no matter what. The counter is flipped
over, and the number of Native Americans on it (one to five) is
compared to the number of pieces sent. If the player sent an equal or
greater amount of forces, they receive points and money indicated on
the counter (and more money if they sent any soldiers), as well as a
free colonist in that region. If they sent too few forces, however,
then they get nothing, and the tile is flipped back over. Obviously,
a player could send five figures and instantly conquer anywhere but
then feel silly when the tile shows only one Native American. Others
may tempt fate by sending out only two or three, hoping they don't
draw the less common tiles with four or five natives. This is luck,
but it is manageable; a player can simply decide to send the maximum
amount or use what they consider to be appropriate force. Once all
the areas have been discovered, a deck of Discovery cards is used,
which can have up to six natives, but are also worth more money and
points. It's a risky strategy to solely concentrate on the Discovery
area, but it can be fairly profitable.
7.) War: I've seen many games in which war is rarely, if ever taken.
It's usually only done by players who seek control of the new
regions. And even when I have seen it, it's almost always a "battle"
- something that occurs in each region. What happens is that when a
player puts a colonist in the Battle box, they choose a region, and
every soldier in that region from that player and from their opponent
kills one other piece. A "war" can also be done for 10 doubloons,
which is basically a battle in every region, but this isn't usually
cost effective. This isn't a terribly effective strategy, unless a
player manages to get a large number of soldiers to the New World. At
this point, they can become deadly, killing off large numbers of their
rivals, and control the New World. I haven't seen a player win using
this strategy, but I myself came close at one point. It's rather
confrontational but not terribly destructive.
8.) Fun Factor: The game isn't about combat, or collecting resources,
or advancing technology. However, the game is about discovery,
critical decisions, and tactical choices based on what your opponents
do. For me, the difficult decisions are what makes the game fun -
there are so many different paths to victory that I can play a
different way each game. I haven't discovered any one dominating
strategy, and every game that I've played has been close (with a few
exceptions -usually from new players). The game, thanks to its theme,
is remarkably intuitive; and while it may last upwards of two hours,
it goes by extremely quickly with no downtime. A six-player game,
which can be done by purchasing an extra set of pieces, works
extremely well; and even though it may take close to three hours (less
once everyone is experienced), the options and competition are tense
and terrific.
Age of Empires III is a heavier strategy game than most, although it
doesn't require too much thought to get into. However, it may be the
best strategy game I've ever played with six players (Dune may be an
exception) and certainly has no downtime and a good, flowing feel.
Glenn Drover has produced some good games in the past, although he has
certainly taken flak for his earlier games. He won't receive much for
this one, however; as it is a fantastic game of discovery, marrying
theme with good mechanics for a tremendously solid, fun game.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com