Ships

Ships follows on from Automobile and deals with the history of shipping, from the time of the Phoenicians to the modern era.

The game is divided into three ages, marked with different ship types. The first age is that of the galley, followed by the age of the galleon, then finally the steamship age. The board combines a track showing the development of ships with a map of Europe. There is also an area around the European map that represents the rest of the world.

In the game Ships you need to decide which goods to go for, which is not simply based on their monetary value. You also need to balance taking cards with income. You need to manage how your ships move up the track, as leaving too many in lowly positions will gift additional income to other players and possibly cost you victory points. You need to be careful with your merchant cubes as once they are all placed you will need to expend an action to retrieve some of them. This leaves ample room for different strategies.

The game plays with two to five players and should take around two hours to complete. If you like the more involved economic game with a minimum amount of luck then I think you will enjoy Ships.

Een nederlandstalige recensie van Ships vind je op Speloordeel.be.