In perusing BoardGameGeek, I have noticed that most reviews give general game information, and what I really wanted was what exactly goes into the gameplay. Is there area control? Blind bidding? Resource production? Or maybe some good old-fashioned luck? On top of that I really wanted to know was how these elements meshed together to form the gameplay. Like was it a strategy vs. luck game? How about tough choice resource management? Or maybe something like a concealed element blind bidding game. I believe this is the alchemy of the game, the part the makes each game unique. In this review I will go over the usual elements (Theme, Components, & Gameplay), but I will also give the Alchemy of the game, and also a Philosopher's Stone (my own feelings/thoughts) score for the game.

The Alchemy of a Board Game-Yspahan





The Usual:

Theme:
Each player is a merchant in the city of Yspahan, a rising city of the Persian Empire. Racing to fill shops and the camel caravan with their goods, each player must find a blend of strategies to overcome their opponents ambitions, and become the greatest merchant in all of Yspahan.

Components:
The components for the game are of high quality. I especially liked the dice and camels that were used for this game. While the camels don't meet the greatness that is the Through the Desert Pastel Camel, they are quite cute. I do have a problem with the colors used for the board, I simply didn't like them. I am a big fan of different color combinations, and this combination just didn't do it for me. I did, on the other hand, really love the fact that shadows of the buildings were used as space indicators for the movement of the supervisor. I thought that was pretty ingenious.

Starting the Game:
Each player starts out 25 Goods cubes (in player color), the corresponding player's board, and two gold coins. Markers are set at the First Week space, and the First Day space on the board. Players place of their goods cubes on the scoring track. Play is ready to begin.

Goal of the Game:
The goal of the game is to score as many victory points through completing Souks (collections of buildings in each of the four neighborhoods), sending goods to the Camel Caravan, and building buildings on the player's board.

Gameplay:
The game is played over three weeks, with each week having seven rounds (or days). Each round starts with the beginning player (rotated in clockwise order from player to player) rolling the nine white dice. The starting player also has the option of spending a gold coin for an extra yellow die, for up to three extra dice. The starting player is the only who can use any yellow dice purchased before the rolls. The dice are then divided into groups based on the number showing on the dice (i.e. all "1" dice are a group, all "2" dice are a group, etc.). The dice are then put onto the tower board depending on the groups rolled. The lowest number group always goes on the "Camel" space. The highest group always goes on the "Gold" space. The other groups are then put onto the board depending on their value from bottom to top.



(In the example above all numbers were rolled with the dice. The three ones will first be put onto the "Camel" space and then the two sixes will be put onto the "Gold" space. Next the two die will be put onto the "Sack" space, the three onto the "Barrel" space, the four onto the "Chest" space, and finally the one and yellow fives on the "Vase" space. Remember only the starting player has the option of playing any yellow dice thrown at the beginning of the round).

 

If only one number is rolled on the dice then they all would go to the "Camel" space. If only two numbers were rolled then the groups would go onto the "Camel" space and the "Gold" space. Three rolled groups would go onto the "Camel," "Gold," and "Sack" space.
Each player, in turn order, then may take up to two actions:

A) Each player must take a group of dice on the Tower Board. Each group then allows the player to choose between three other actions:

1) Take A Card: When this action is chosen the player removes the dice from the Tower Board and then selects the top card from the deck. These cards allow a player special abilities in a number of circumstances.

2) Move the Supervisor: When this action is chosen the player removes the dice from the Tower Board and then moves the Supervisor the same number of spaces as the value of the group chosen. The supervisor must move that number of spaces and the value of the group is not the total value of the group of dice, but the number on the dice that put them all into that group.



(In the example above if a player chose the five group of dice on the "Barrel" space and wishes to move the Supervisor, that player must move the Supervisor five spaces on the Supervisor track, not 10 spaces).

The Supervisor can not move over the same spot twice in one turn (i.e. back and forth), and a player can spend gold coins to increase or decrease the number of spaces the supervisor moves (no limit on the amount of increase or decrease). If there is a good on a building next to the space the Supervisor stops, it is immediately sent to the caravan's next available spot (There are two spots on the Supervisor Track that are next to two shops. If the Supervisor stops on one of these two spots both goods will be sent to the Caravan in the order determined by the player who moved the Supervisor). A player whose good is about to be sent to the caravan may choose to pay one camel, per good sent to the Caravan, to leave the good in the building. A good from the player's stock is sent to the Caravan instead. If the good is placed in the first or second row of camels the player will receive 2 or 1 VP, respectively, for each good placed. The third row of camels does not yield victory points for goods placed. If the Camel Caravan gets filled before the end of the game the goods are returned to the player's stock and the caravan begins again at the first camel.

3) The third option depends on which square the chosen dice come from. If the group is on the Camel spot the player receives the same number of camels as the number of die in the group. If the group is on the Gold spot the player receives the same number of gold as the number of die in the group. The other groups allow you to place the same number of goods as the number of die in the group in the neighborhood corresponding to the symbols on the Tower Board (Sack, Barrel, Chest, & Vase). Placement of these goods must follow the rules for placement. The rules for placement are:
That there can only be one good per building.
That you must complete a Souk (collection of the same colored buildings in a neighborhood) before starting a new Souk in that neighborhood.
And that you can not place goods in a Souk that already has goods from another player in it.

B) After choosing a group of dice a player may build a building on their Player's Board. Each building costs an amount of camels and gold to build. Each building gives that player special actions during the game when certain things happen.
-The Paddock: Gives a player +1 camel when the player takes the Camel space dice from the Tower Board.
-The Shop: Gives the player +2 gold when the player takes the Gold space dice from the Tower Board.
-The Hammam: Allows the player, when moving the Supervisor, to adjust the Supervisor's movements up to three spaces for free.
-The Caravanserai: Allows the player to take a card from the deck every time one of their goods is put on the Camel Caravan.
-The Bazaar: Gives the player +2 points at the end of each week for every Souk completed.
-The Hoist: Allows the player to place one extra good when placing goods into a neighborhood.

Players receive a number of victory points when they build their third, fourth, fifth, and sixth buildings on their Player's Board (3rd-5VP, 4th-5VP, 5th-5VP, and 6th-10VP). Buildings may be built in any order, you do not have to start with the Paddock then build the Shop.

Scoring happens at the end of each week. Each completed Souk in each neighborhood yields the number of victory points shown in that Souk.



(In the example above the green player would score three points for the completed white Souk in the "Sack" neighborhood. They would not score any for the incomplete pink Souk in the same neighborhood. Red would score 3 VP, Blue 8 VP, and Yellow 8 VP)

The Camel Caravan also scores points. The points are determined by multiplying the total number of goods in the caravan by the highest row that player's goods is on (1-3).



(In the example above the yellow player has four goods down, and they have one good on the third row of camels, so if the caravan is scored the would receive 12 VPs. Blue would score 6 VPs, Red 4 VPs, and Green would score 2 VPs.)

The player with the most victory points is the winner.


Ingredients:

The Dice That Are Not So Much Like Dice: Most Euro fans tend to avoid dice like the plague. I on the other hand am becoming more of a fan of games who use dice to spice up the game with a bit of chaos. Mind you I don't like rolls after rolls, but a roll every now and again makes for interesting play. This game definitely uses an ingenious mechanic for dice.

Multiple Scoring Avenues: Yspahan offers each player many ways to score points, and has great interaction between all of the components of the game. No one scoring mechanism is left by itself. The Caravan is related to the Souks, is related to the buildings a player builds.

Screw Your Neighbor: Who doesn't like to ruin an opponents perfectly laid plains? I know I sure don't. The Supervisor plays a key point in this game in that it takes away a player's ability to complete Souks. But what it takes away, it also gives to the Caravan. This can potentially set-up a situation forcing opponents to have to choose to give you points in the caravan or in the Souk, which could both be hazardous to their standings, in relation to you.

Camels, Camels, and More Camels: Did you know one of the camel's defense mechanisms is spitting? I sure did! I love the little camels in this game, and I love how they are used for bartering for buildings and what goods go to the caravan.

Philosopher's Stone Score:

Yspahan is a great light game that plays relatively quickly. Many options are available to players, and it definitely has the potential for a lot of replay value. The artwork and components are pretty nice, and I even liked the dice used in the game. The dice rolls add a nice bit of chaos to the game to make the replay value quite high. I would highly recommend this game to any fan of light to middle light games.

 

 

The Last Alchemist's Rating: 8
Bryan's Rating: 7.5

 

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