It is with great pleasure that today I tell you about the second work of a friend, already a writer of this blog, that you know with the nickname Nero79, born Stefano Negro, who together with the most experienced author Remo Conzadori, created this new card game: Amul, published by Lautapelit and published for Italy by PlayaGame editions, which will hold at the table from 3 to 8 players, for just under an hour of play.
The game takes us back to the 12th century, to the time when the city of Amul was an important commercial centre, on the Silk Road, located on the banks of the Caspian Sea, in present-day Iran, but where there were already bitter contrasts between Arabs and Mongols, who fought over those territories for centuries.
A card game, with a set collection, intended for the general public, presents an innovative "drafting" mechanism, very slim and effective, which allows it to stand out from the tide of games that use these mechanics.
MATERIALS
In the large box, probably designed for future expansions of decks of cards, there is a small triangular board, whose sole purpose is to divide the table in the market area, in the bazaar area and in the palace area.
The heart of the game are the 147 Market cards, plus 16 Bazaar cards, 9 Palace cards and a few other cards to manage the game itself (turn, first player, first choice and turns).
The Market cards are characterized by the name, by a beautiful design, but what makes them useful to the game are their color, which characterizes the category (objects, resources, merchants, military, characters and camels), some symbols on the left side, which include membership of the Mongolian clan rather than the Arabic, any area of expertise (military, commercial or gifts), but especially the possibility of using the card (hand, table or both).
On the lower part we find the effects of paper, some described with simple graphic elements, while others have a brief inscription.
Above the effects, on the right side, we have the set icon and the indication of which players should be considered for the possible evaluation of the set.
The Palace cards are very similar to the Market cards, except that they can contain, as a symbol of use, only the table.
The Bazaar cards instead, in addition to the table symbol, are characterized by the presence of score indications depending on the type of cards that you will have at the end of the game.
The equipment ends, in addition to the rules and the manual of the cards, the scoreboard.
The Tea Market cards and the tea seller in the Bazaar cards are dedicated to a variant of the game.
On all cards is also indicated the number of players to whom the card itself is dedicated.
The materials are definitely good level: beautiful robust cards, although lovers of conservation will be well advised to equip themselves with protective bags, as the deck must be mixed with each game.
From a graphic point of view, the work carried out by Eilene Cherie and Jere Kasanen is truly remarkable: beautiful illustrations, very ambient, and also very clear the symbols used, so already during the first game, after a first moment of bewilderment due to the rich endowment of symbols, we juggle very well.
THE RULES
The rules are quite simple: the purpose of the game is to have, in your area, accumulated the combination of cards that provide the most points.
The preparation consists in adapting the deck to the number of players, placing the bazaar and palace cards in the dedicated area.
Each player is equipped with 5 Market cards.
Place the First player card on the round card, which will be 9 in all, and assign the First Choice card to the player.
Each round is divided into 3 phases: Supply, Planning and Maintenance.
In the Supply phase each player is provided with a Market card, to be added to his hand, and a number of Market cards is revealed based on the number of players, to be placed in the Market area.
Planning, where we find this new drafting mechanism, consists of choosing, secretly, a card to make available to the market: these cards will be revealed simultaneously and will be added to those already present in the market area.
Then, starting with the holder of the First Choice card, clockwise, everyone chooses a card from the market and puts it in their hand.
At this point, each player chooses a card from his hand and places it in front of him in his area, choosing from the cards that have the table as a symbol of the game (if you play a card with only your hand, it is lost).
The Maintenance phase consists in applying any effects of the cards played, always proceeding in the same order: among the effects we can have the possibility to take a bazaar card, a palace card or an additional market card, which will be placed immediately in your area.
Then remove the remaining cards on the Market and pass the First Chosen Card to the left.
After everyone has made a round with the First Choice card, the order of choice of the cards from the Market and the application of the effects of the cards will be given by the order of military strength (number of military symbols) and, at a draw, by the highest military grade (letter on the cards): those who do not have military strength will continue on the basis of the previous criterion.
At the end of the nine rounds, each player will add to his area the cards in his hand with the hand symbol; cards in his hand with the table symbol are discarded.
We then move on to the point count, which will be done by grouping the categories: the cards can have dry points, points related to collection set (where the set is determined by the symbols of which players to consider), points with conditions of possession or not possession of other types of cards, we then have the camel cards, which provide decreasing points depending on how many camels are on the table.
The bazaar cards give points based on the possession of the 3 resources indicated, while the count of the Arabic and Mongolian majorities give decreasing points to the first three classified.
For the same number of points, the one with the highest military value will win.
IMPRESSIONS
The game has a number of very significant positive aspects: first of all, the innovative drafting mechanism, which allows you to build your collection, both on the table and especially in the hand, in a more controllable than the traditional drafting.
Having cards in hand that other players do not know increases the strategic aspect of the game.
Then we have the ability to play up to 8 players, without affecting the game time dramatically: unless hardened thinkers, the phase of choosing the card to put on the market and then the one to play is simultaneous. The only action you do around is to choose the card from the market, but from experience the time is short: once you take full possession of the symbolism of the cards, the game runs smoothly, thanks to the rules particularly slender, which also adapt to occasional players.
The setting is very accurate, so, perhaps not during the game, but in a phase of sedimentation, you notice that the effects of the cards have not been randomly attached to the element that represents the cards (for example, opium is worth 6 points, but if you own military is worth 0 points, or the fact that the value of oil is increased by the presence of the lamp).
We are talking about a card game, so the random factor is still present: it will not always be possible to pursue their goals, because maybe those cards that you are trying to accumulate there is no way that they come, but usually during the game you can change your strategy: also because watching what they discard (and resume) opponents is of fundamental importance to define their goals.
Very interesting is the presence of camels, because they offer a further tactical aspect of great importance: you tend to play the camels towards the last hands and it can happen that some of them are played in the same round (thus decreasing the value), but above all it is possible that some players are "forced" to play the camel so as not to lower the value to the opponents.
The same dynamics apply to the calculation of Mongolian or Arab majorities, but there may be some players who will ignore these paths to devote themselves to a more targeted collection set.
In short, the way to make points is very varied and there is no main road: of course, having a good position in choosing the cards Market facilitates, but this means accumulating military value that in the end does not bring so many points.
A good combination, therefore, between strategic capabilities and tactics.
The cards available allow excellent longevity, but I would not be surprised if, in the face of the possible success of the game, is expanded in the future with other decks.
The authors have tried, in my opinion, to build a game "7 Wonders", which recalls the appeal, proposing a totally innovative mechanics.