OUR REVIEW

Reigning from Horseback

Die Staufer

In the retinue of Henry VI.

Essen 2014 for me was not as productive as in previous year - which, of course, is an entirely subjective impression. But it could also be that the previous years did spoil us a little but - not every year can produce such tasty game bits as Terra Mystica, Tzolk’in, Russian Railroads, Brügge or Concordia - to name only a few of the best ones. But all the same I managed to find one gem of a game that has convinced me and which I would like to present to you: “Die Staufer” by Andreas Steding, published by Hans im Glück Verlag. I have encountered this designer already in his games “Nuremberg”, “Firenze“ and „Hansa Teutonica“, so he was no unknown quantity for me, and Hans im Glück as a publisher usually is the equivalent of a guarantee for a good game.

The title itself is leading one a bit astray, because the topic of the game is not the Staufer dynasty, but one of their most famous scions, Henry VI., Emperor of Germany and King of Sicily, and the game does not concern itself with his historic life but with this travels. He himself was not really temperate in achieving his goals. Two facts link Henry VI. to Austria: First - The Babenberger Duke Leopold V. hands over to him King Richard the Lion Heart, whom he offered a somewhat forced hospitality at Burg Dürnstein after the uproar at Akkon in the 3^rd Crusade, and did share the not unsubstantial ransom with Henry VI. Secondly - folk lore has it that Henry VI.’s father, Friedrich Barbarossa sits deep in Salzburg’s Untersberg Mountain waiting for his resurrection when his beard has grown three times around the table. As, the story tells, the beard has circled the table only twice since 1190, he might have to wait for some time yet. (The German folk lore has him waiting underneath Kyffhäuser, but that is an entirely different story.)

The game.

The cover shows us Henry on a horse, which might be taken as a cue to his reign from horseback and on the flow of the game.

When you open the box you find a plethora of components. We start with a hexagonal board which will be the center of the board. On this board the turn order is regulated and also the two main action via two tracks, that is, the placing of meeples and the supply of meeples.

Next to the six sides of this board you place the trapezoid regions. Those regions represent important venues in the life of Henry VI. First, Dutch Nijmegen, where he was born, then Aachen where he was crown, and also Strasbourg as his official imperial seat and also the venue for the meetings of the realm’s nobles. Augsburg was the venue where he got engaged to Constance of Sicily. In Milano he got married to Constance two years later. And, finally, Palermo, where he was crowned King of Sicily after his victory and where he was interred. All these locations will be visited by the King and by us as his retinue during the course of the game. The placement of the locations happens randomly and need not be in chronological order.

Six boards with different numbers of victory points are placed on the regions and vary the values of the respective regions. Furthermore, each board shows several office seats, which vary in costs from 3 to 7, and also show a bonus that varies from board to board.

An external track for supplies shows the varying option for supplies. All those boards mentioned so far are double-sided and relate to a certain number of players.

A central element of the game are 72 chests in four different colors. Chests in orange color earn you victory points once in the game or brings meeples from the provinces to your court. Chests in turquoise color reduces your costs for offices and allows you improvements in turn order and for supplies. Brown chests are scoring victory points at the end of the game in relation to the number you collected. Purple chests can be swapped in pairs for prestige cards.

There are 35 of those prestige cards, but only one third of them is used for each game. Those prestige cards, too, provide various advantages, usually permanent ones for the whole of the game, whereas the chests - with the exception of the brown ones - can only be made us of once.

110 meeples in five different player colors are made up from 15 „noblemen“ (tall) 75 „envoys“ (small) and 20 “family members” that are used for the action board and the external victory point track.

19 rounds tiles supplement the more than abundant components and are used to make each game different. They relate to the sequence of regions that will be scored next, to the current location of the King as well as the speed with which he travels through his realm. Furthermore, they might determine a second region for scoring. From this alone - when my mathematics have not deserted me - more than 200 variants are possible.

The course of the game:

A starting player is chosen and this determines the turn order first once in clockwise direction and then twice in counter-clockwise direction. Each player begins the game with three envoys and one nobleman. Underneath each office seat you place a randomly chosen chest, and also underneath the supply track. At the start of each game, in each case, there are two regions to be scored.

Each player is also given three task cards which determine either which regions you should occupy at the end of the game or in which two or three regions you should be represented or which categories of office seats you should have claimed. From those tasks can come more than 30 victory points, so they are a very important element in the game.

Beginning with the starting player and then all players in turn have now a choice of deciding either to claim an office seat and to acquire the respective chest or to get additional meeples from general stock, the so-called provinces, to his court. For this you can also acquire one of the chests previously placed. At the King’s location offices are only available if you pay the price that is stated next to them. But, if you decide on another region, you have to pay additional travel costs by placing meeples, the further you travel, the more meeples - you must place one meeple in each region that you cross. In each of the three rounds you have to take three such decisions. Chests that you have acquired can be used any time to make use of their advantages. When all players had their turns, you do a scoring.

In the previously determined regions you score the majority of office seats independently of their original costs. Those costs are only relevant in case of a tie. Then victory points are awarded and also bonuses. Then you relocate meeples on the office seats to the provinces and the King travels, according to the currently valid rounds tile, one to three regions. In each region that he passes he frees meeples that were placed there to pay for traveling; the meeples return to their courts of origin. In the scored regions and at the supply track you then place additional chests - it can happen that there are several chests underneath an office seat. The next turn order is determined, precedence is given for those players who have decided to get supplies. The next round can start.

The game is driven by the dilemmas of decisions. Should I try to win the current region about to be scored in order to acquire victory points and bonuses or should I gamble on the next scoring? Which office seats yield valuable chests or might a privilege be of better use for the rest of the game? Which decisions are taken by my fellow players and have I managed to take my task cards into account? Because for those tasks preparations should be made, too! You are always short of meeples, but each decision to acquire more sets you back as regards to speed in occupying regions. Options are manifold in the game and each game is different due to the aforementioned variations in the set-up. All in all, the game gets an unequivocal recommendation from me for buying it.

Last but least I would like to mention the rules of the game. The editors - Gregor Abraham and Hanna & Alex Weiß - have produced an exemplary rule book which other companies should try to emulate.

Rudolf Ammer

Players: 2-5

Age: 12+

Time: 80+

Designer: Andreas Steding

Artist: Franz Vohwinkel

Price: ca. 40 €

Publisher: Hans im Glück 2014

Web: www.hans-im-glueck.de

Genre: Placement, collecting

Users: With friends

Version: de

Rules: de en jp

In-game text:

Comments:

A game with the usual high HiG quality

Exemplary rules

Many different strategies for winning

Compares to:

Other worker placement games with collecting sets

Other editions:

Z-Man Games, Arclight (announced)

My rating: 6

Rudolf Ammer:

“Die Staufer” is a complex but not at all complicated worker placement game, that allows you to win on many levels and that plays differently each time due to its variability.

Chance (pink): 0

Tactic (turquoise): 2

Strategy (blue): 2

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 0

Communication (red): 0

Interaction (brown): 1

Dexterity (green): 0

Action (dark green): 0