Queen Games Alhambra: Revised Edition Board Game

Product Information

You get the original Alhambra plus five expansions, each of which has four different modules. So that’s a light to medium weight game plus twenty extra modules.

Alhambra Board Game | Info Page | Board Game Halv Alhambra Board Game | Info Page | Board Game Halv

The Thieves adds 12 thief cards, which are given to the players at the start of the game. A player may play a thief card between turns (except before their own turn) and take a currency card matching the type of thief card played. A player can buy a building tile from the building market. He must pay at least the price shown on the tile and use the currency displayed next to the tile in the building market. Some are very simple. For example, The Diamonds is basically a currency wild card and Vizier’s Favour allows you to play out of turn to grab a particular building that you want. The Change is another simple, but very useful addition. With it you receive currency coin(s) whenever you end up ‘over-paying’ to buy a building. These coins can then be used alongside your regular currency and often enable you to pay the ‘right money’ when buying a building and thus gain a bonus action. Alhambra fulfills its role as a very light game that gives you the enjoyment of constructing a building without a complicated rules set or long game length. Leave this one on the shelf when your hardcore Euro-playing friends come over for game night, or if you have a gaming group that is interested in innovative mechanics or immersive theme. Once you get the hang of the rules, a 2-3 player game can be easily completed in under an hour, which is definitely a selling point.Each player is given a starting tile, which they place on the table in front of them, and 2 counters in the colour of their choice. One counter is placed on the starting tile and the other in the bottom left corner of the scoring board. When your turn is over it is the next player's turn. Before the next player decides what to do, any money cards or building tiles which have been removed are replaced with new ones so that there are four of each again. If you reach the end of the money cards the discarded money is shuffled and placed face-down to make a new pile. The success of Alhambra has also led Henn to release or re-release some other games under the Alhambra name and Moorish theme: Master builders use currency in the form of numbered cards with different colours to build their own Alhambra. Rather like 7 Wonders, there is no central board but a building marker with four building tiles on display, each square requiring a different colour currency: Blue, green, orange or yellow.

Alhambra board game: A four-sided review - Go Play Listen Alhambra board game: A four-sided review - Go Play Listen

Play exciting games against the computer in 4 difficulty levels. Or compete locally with your friends on one Device. Or play online with other players all over the world. The interactive tutorial makes it easy to start even without knowing the rules. If you already know the game start directly against the AIs. Adjust the game speed by selecting the right level of animations for your style of play. The player with the fewest cards starts; if two or more players are equal the player with the lowest amount of money starts. If the players are still equal the youngest starts. It should be noted that there have been many expansions released for Alhambra over the years, and now Queen Games sells them in a massive collector’s edition including the base game and all the expansions. Not having played with any of the expansion sets, I’m not in a position to review them, but they may be worthwhile to research more about when considering whether to own Alhambra. Final Thoughts Utilizing your reserve board can be beneficial in certain situations, whether to snag a building you will need later on or to prevent an opponent from adding it to their own structure. The best master builders in the whole of Europe and Arabia want to demonstrate their skill. Employ the most suitable teams of builders and make sure that you always have enough of the right currency. Because no matter whether they are stonemasons from the north or horticulturalists from the south, they all want a proper wage and insist on their “native” currency. With their help towers can be constructed, gardens laid out, pavilions and arcades erected and seraglios and chambers built. Compete against your opponents to build the Alhambra. The third and final scoring round now takes place. The player who leads on the scoring board after this last round has won. If two players are level the game is a draw.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars – A decent tile-laying game that will appeal to both newcomers to the hobby and hardcore gamers looking for lighter fare. This Arabian-themed game is the most recent update of the 1992 mafia board game Al Capone. Originally released in German, the English language version of Alhambra was put together by Uberplay before they went the way of the dodo. Thankfully, creator Dirk Henn has continued to release extensions and as of 2013 there are six extensions available, but here we’ll focus on the original, a game that marries strategy and planning and will particularly appeal to those with a flair for design and an interest in aesthetically colourful games. One for the Architects The 3rd round of scoring takes place at the end of the game; points are then also awarded to the players with the third highest number of buildings of each kind as shown in the example and on the points table on the tile reserve board. The Street Trader adds traders and circular trader tiles. Trader tiles are given to each player at the start of the game, and are placed adjacent to any tile. If a player builds in the location of the trader tile, they may place a trader of a matching colour from the trader tile to the building (or exchange a trader for one of another color), and the trader tile is moved. There are three traders on the trader tile at any given time. Points are awarded based on the number of traders in building tiles. You must be able to reach each new building tile "on foot" from the starting tile without crossing a wall and without going off the tiles.

Games Alhambra Big Box 2nd Edition Board Game Queen Games Alhambra Big Box 2nd Edition Board Game

If you don’t already own Alhambra, then you should definitely invest in the Big Box version rather than the core game. It does cost a little more, but it’s going to provide you with a lot more variety and replayability over the years ahead. If it is a topic that has not yet been covered, you can most likely find more information here on your topic of choice. From official Alhambra useful links to very unofficial ones.A further consideration is how much of a pure Alhambra experience do you want? Some modules (Bonus Cards & Currency Exchange) are a natural extension of the core game, whilst others (Invaders & Treasure Chamber) are more tangential and take it off in a slightly different direction. For anyone unfamiliar with Alhambra, it’s a tile-laying game where the goal is to build the best possible walled city by purchasing buildings using four different currencies. This one requires patience as the more you play, the better you get at making those decisions. I personally find the scoring system a little frustrating, as it’s all too easy to be caught out with too few of certain colours, and unless you score consistently well on every round it’s easy to be left behind by other players.

Alhambra (Revised Edition) | Board Games | Zatu Games UK

Alhambra is a game that requires judgement and skill in timing. It’s not just about gathering money but knowing when to buy a tile and when to wait for a better one to turn up. Designing your Alhambra is also fun, knowing where to place the tiles so you can acquire the most points from your wall. Visually it is very appealing, as the different coloured tiles combine to make each individual Alhambra a thing of beauty, and if you manage to build a long extending wall it’s extremely satisfying. The player with the fewest cards starts; if two or more players are equal, the player with the lowest amount of money starts. Another determining factor is, is the time available to you to play the Alhambra big Box? As mentioned above some of the modules will increase the playing time, whilst others have little or no impact on game length. The number of points awarded increases each scoring round. The winner is the player who has been awarded the most points by the end of the game.

Setup

A player can take any one of the money cards from those lying face-up, or several money cards if they do not add up to more than 5 (the currency does not matter). The game ends when – at the end of a player’s turn – there are not enough building tiles left in the tile dispenser tower to refill the building market.