Friends
Alter
Spezial
Hügel, Pinien, Weinreben
TOSCANA
Weinbau im Herzen Italiens
Fett beibehalten bitte
Tuscany conjures up visions of rolling hills, picturesque towns, lovely villas and great food and wine. I’ve had the good fortune of visiting the region on two vacations, and continue to be enchanted by its beauty. So, it is no surprise that I was instantly intrigued by Toscana, a game that not only uses the region’s name as its title, but is also has a wine-producing theme.
One of three wine themed games released at the 2010 Spiel, Toscana is decidedly the lightest and most abstract of the offerings. Designed by Paul Laane and published by Aqua Games, Toscana establishes players as the owners of wineries in the lovely region of Tuscany. Players must hire workers, produce wine and trade it at the local market, all in hopes of making a hefty profit. The emphasis is not necessarily on quantity; profit is the main motive and objective.
The main board depicts the wine fields, laid out in a 4x8 grid. Most fields will produce a specific variety of grape, while nine of the fields produce water, essential for irrigating the vines. Eight 4x4 tile overlays are provided if players desire to alter the layout of the fields. The market is also depicted, whereupon the value of the four wine varieties and water can be tracked. The four wine varieties receive either a “+” or "-" marker, which will cause the price of that wine to rise or fall accordingly during the turn. These markers can be moved by employing the “lobbyist.” More on this later. A score track – which equates to money – rings the board.
Each player receives a separate mat which represents his personal winery. Players will accumulate the crates of wine and water they produce and acquire. Four workers and three wine masters are placed upon the mat, while one is placed in an empty field on the board. Players receive a starting supply of red wine and water cubes (two apiece), as well as two units of money. As the currency is not named, I’ll call it “dollars” for ease of explanation. Finally, each player receives a set of seven wine-tasting tiles, which will be used to affect the market near the end of each turn. Tiles allow the player to increase or decrease the value of champagne, rosé or white wine, or decrease the value of red wine. Two are drawn into a player's hand, while the rest remain in a face-down stack.
Players will execute three actions each turn. Players will alternate performing one action apiece until all players have performed all three of their actions. Players can decide the order in which they will perform their three actions, which gives them some flexibility and creativity. The three actions are:
Hiring. The player may hire and place one worker or wine-master. Wine-masters may not be hired until all four workers are employed, so it will be turn five at the very earliest before they can be hired. The cost to hire a worker is one box of red wine. Seems workers prefer to be paid in wine versus money! Wine-masters prefer white wine, with the second being even more demanding: two crates of white wine. The third wine-master is a bit snobby in that he requires a player to possess all varieties of wine in his storage. However, he doesn’t actually demand payment, so no wine is expended. While paying these employees with wine works in terms of game play, it certainly doesn’t mimic reality. For what is essentially an economic game, I usually prefer a closer connection with real market conditions. Employees should be paid in cash, not wine.
A hired worker is placed onto an empty field, or one occupied by another of the player’s workers. Wine-masters are placed on empty fields. When producing, the fields whereupon a player has workers and wine-masters will produce, provided they have been irrigated. Players must decide whether to specialize in one or two grape varieties, or diversify, producing a little of all types of grapes.
When exercising this action, players also have the option of hiring two special characters: the lobbyist or Mr. Rosé. With some restrictions, the lobbyist allows the player to move two of the price tiles on the market, while Mr. Rosé allows the player to change the actual prices for two wines and purchase one crate of wine from the market. While these actions can have a considerable impact, they can also be easily altered by one’s opponents. Oh, I bet you can guess the cost for hiring these two characters. Yep, they accept payment in wine. The lobbyist demands a crate of champagne, while Mr. Rosé is partial to rosé wine. I knew wine was very popular in Tuscany, but I had no idea it was the preferred form of currency.
Wine-Making. The player places water cubes at the crossroads of his vineyards, thereby irrigating his fields. The player can place as many water cubes as desired, limited only by his current supply. Any field touching a water cube is irrigated and produces. For each worker on an irrigated field, the player receives one crate of the appropriate wine. Wine-masters produce two crates of wine. Note that only the active player’s fields produce, not his opponents. It is also important to note that there are ten yellow fields, which do not produce a specific variety of grape. The player may choose the type produced. However, the player must have two workers or a wine-master present in order for the fields to produce. So while these fields give players greater flexibility, they do occupy more workers.
Crates of wine are stored in the player’s winery. A player can store up to five of each type of wine and water. Further, players should keep a careful eye on the general stock, as if a particular type of wine is empty, it cannot be produced.
Instead of producing wine, the player may simply take a red wine or water cube. While this may seem like a paltry harvest, sometimes it is quite useful or necessary.
Trading. Time to talk profit. The player may purchase one type of wine or water. He can purchase as many crates of that type as desired, up to the number of crates available in the market (maximum five per type.) The cost per crate is the going rate, which ranges from one-to-seven.
Alternatively, the player may sell as much water and/or wine of any type as he desires. Again, the price is determined by the market, with values ranging from a low of zero (you can’t give the stuff away!) to a high of seven. Note that a player cannot buy and sell on the same turn … unless he hired Mr. Rosé during the Hire action.
The idea, of course, is to buy wine or water when the price is low and sell when it is high. Basic economics. This is certainly easier said than done, as prices can and usually do fluctuate regularly and unpredictably.
After all players have performed their three actions, market prices are adjusted. The two wines or water with the "+" token increase in value by one step, while the two varieties with a "-" token decrease in value by one step. Supply and demand now affect the market. If the storage for a particular variety is full, the price drops one level. On the other hand, if the storage area is empty, the price rises one level.
The next change is, in a word, random. It is termed the "wine tasting" event, but bears absolutely no resemblance to a real wine tasting event. Each player selects one of his two market tiles, and plays them simultaneously. Prices are adjusted accordingly. There is little one can do to predict these changes until the last turn, when each player only has one tile remaining. This aspect of the market is particularly unsatisfying.
The game concludes after seven rounds, or when one player reaches sixty or more on the money track. The latter is not as common, but it is achievable. Otherwise, players sell their remaining commodities, adding this to their total. The wealthiest player becomes the toast of Tuscany and wins the game.
Toscana works, but bears little resemblance to the actual wine making industry. It is very abstract, and some of its mechanisms are just shy of absurd. As mentioned, paying workers, wine-masters and consultants with crates of wine is silly. The fluctuation of market prices is mostly arbitrary, particularly the bizarre wine-tasting event, which, as mentioned, has no relation to an actual wine-tasting contest. It is not even close. There are further inconsistencies, all of which makes for a huge disconnect between the theme and reality. That's disappointing, and makes enjoying the game difficult.
The game is essentially an economic game. As I understand it, it was originally designed with a science fiction theme, eventually morphing into its current wine-production theme. I'm thinking the science fiction theme may have been a better fit. Theme aside, the economic aspect of the game doesn't work as one might expect. There is not a direct connection between selling and buying and market prices. Market fluctuations are mostly random and beyond one's ability to predict or assess. Hiring the lobbyist and Mr. Rosé is important and can help somewhat, but their services are available to all players. The result is a rapidly changing market that is difficult to predict and virtually impossible to control.
There are various strategies to pursue. It is vital to get one's wine production up and running swiftly. This means hiring workers and obtaining a steady supply of water. Thus, red wine and water are very important in the first half of the game. Champagne and rose is important throughout the game, as it allows the hiring of the lobbyist and Mr. Rosé, giving a player the opportunity to manipulate the market in his favor. White wine becomes more important later in the game, as it is the vintage of preference of the wine-masters. Players can experiment with various combinations, and there appear to be numerous paths that can potentially lead to success.
Ultimately, what matters most is profit. Players must sell when market prices are high, which as mentioned, is difficult to predict and time. Sometimes things work out as hoped; sometimes they don't. It is wise to have a healthy supply of several different types of wine in order to take advantage of high market prices when they occur. The player who is best able to time his purchases and sales will emerge the victor.
I must mention the game's production values, which are quite good. In spite of this being the first release from the designer's own publishing firm, the artwork – done by the designer himself – and components are all top notch. Any established publisher would be proud. The artwork evokes a feel of the 1950s or 60s, which does seem a bit odd for the theme and setting. Still, the overall design package and quality is excellent.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the game itself. While it works, it is too random and haphazard for my tastes. There is little merit in careful planning, as much of what occurs in the market is unpredictable and beyond a player's control. The theme's disconnect from reality is simply too vast. I never get the feel that the game recreates a true wine-production and sales experience. The game fails to evoke the atmosphere that such a rich theme and setting deserves. That is disappointing.
Mind you, much of this is a matter of taste. I tend not to enjoy games that have too much randomness, and I generally want a theme that is set in the real world to bear a relatively close relationship with the reality it is trying to mimic. That doesn’t happen here. If these sorts of things don't bother you, though, Toscana is certainly worth a try. As mentioned, the game works and does present players with some interesting challenges. It is certainly worth a playing so you can determine for yourself whether or not you consider this top quality vintage or merely table wine.
Greg J. Schloesser
Spieler : 2-5
Alter : ages 10+
Dauer : ca. 90 min
Autor : Paul Laane
Grafik : Paul Laane
Titel : ident
Preis : ca. 35 Euros
Verlag : Aqua Games 2010
www.designaqua.com
Genre : Resources management
Zielgruppe : With friends
Sprache : en dk no se fi
Regeln : en dk no se fi
Text im Spiel : no
Kommentar:
Nice graphics
Well-made components
Huge chance/luck
Some mechanisms have little correlation with the topic
Vergleichbar:
Vinhos, Grand Cru, King’s Vineyard for the topic, all placement game with consideration of neighborhood and output of a square
Meine Wertung: 3
Greg Schloesser:
Toscana works, and if you do not mind a high percentage of luck and a not very plausible topic you can have a challenging game.
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