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Hobby Forum Index » Games - Board » [Review] Oregon...
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| Greg J. Schloesser... |
 Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:43 pm |
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Design by: Asi and Henrik Berg
Published by: Hans im Glück and Rio Grande Games
2- 4 players, 1 hour
Review by: Greg J. Schloesser
Oregon was released at the Spiel in Essen in 2007, and frankly, it really
didn't grab my attention. Reaction to the game from the few folks with whom
I spoke was mixed. I knew the game was being released in the United States
by Rio Grande Games, so I decided not to strain my already burgeoning
luggage further and passed on purchasing a copy until I returned home.
Much to my surprise, Oregon, designed by newcomers Asi and Henrik Berg, has
become one of my favorites from the 2007 Essen crop. It is easy enough for
families and non-hardcore gamers to grasp and play competitively, yet offers
enough challenge and decisions to keep hobbyists interested and engaged.
While one's choices may seem limited at times, in reality there is ample
room for clever moves by properly managing one's cards and taking advantage
of an ever-changing board.
Set in the "rush to the west" era of the mid-1800s, Oregon challenges
players to populate the vast land with settlers and communities, hoping to
take advantage of the growing towns and abundant reserved of gold and coal
waiting to be mined in the surrounding mountains.
The game is played on a board depicting a 15 x 20 grid, separated into
twenty-five sections containing six squares each whereupon tiles and farmers
can be placed. Players will play farmers and building onto these spaces,
scoring points by placing buildings next to their farmers and vice-versa.
The placing of buildings and farmers is dependent upon the playing of the
proper two cards, which allow the players to place a tile or farmer onto the
corresponding section of the board. The five "landscape" types are listed
along both the top and side of the board, and when playing two cards, the
player will find the section where the row and column matching those cards
meets and place a piece somewhere within that section.
There are two decks of cards: building cards and landscape cards. The
building cards depict the various buildings - post office, harbor, church,
mines, etc. - while the landscape cards depict one of five different
symbols - wagon, eagle, campfire, settlers or buffalo. Players will have a
hand of four cards, and on each turn may play any two, and then refill their
hand. When playing two landscape cards, they place a farmer onto one of the
six unoccupied spaces in the section that is at the crossroads of the two
landscapes depicted on the cards. If a player plays a building card, he
must also play a landscape card, and is free to place a matching building
tile onto any section in the row or column matching that landscape symbol.
When placing a farmer, a player will immediately score points based on the
adjacent building or buildings. Points generally range from 1 - 4,
depending upon the type of building, and in the case of the church, up to 8
depending upon how many other farmers are adjacent to it. Coal and gold
mines work a bit differently, allowing the player to take a face-down token
of the appropriate type. The value of these tokens range from1 -3 for coal,
and 3 - 5 for gold. Placing a building works similarly, but every player
who has farmers adjacent to the building earns points. Thus, care must be
exercised to make sure opponents don't score more points than you!
Each player possesses a "joker" and "extra turn" token. The joker can be
used as any landscape card, while the extra turn token allows the player to
immediately take another turn before drawing replacement cards. Once used,
these tokens are inverted and cannot be used again until they are restored.
To restore these tokens, a player must place a farmer next to appropriate
building (or vice versa): warehouse for the joker, or train station for the
extra turn token. These buildings only yield one point, but their power
granting the restoration of the special tokens is invaluable. This is one
of the keys to the game, as having these joker and extra turn tokens at
one's
disposal increases your placement flexibility and allows one to take two
turns in succession, thereby increasing the scoring opportunities.
Another scoring opportunity is to arrange a group of three adjacent farmers,
which earns the player five points. This is an easily overlooked rule, but
is worth remembering as the points can be significant.
The game ends at the conclusion of the round when a player places his final
farmer, or a pre-determined number of building types is depleted. Players
then reveal and add the value of their coal and gold tiles to their victory
points, and the player with the greatest total is victorious. The game
generally takes less than an hour to play to completion.
When learning the game, my first thought was that the placement
opportunities would be quite limited. In truth, however, there is quite a
bit of flexibility here. Possessing four cards allows for considerable
latitude, and the presence of the joker expands one's options further. It
is critical to keep the joker and extra turn tokens activated, so placing
next to the appropriate buildings to reactivate them is an important move.
The game also allows for some advance planning, placing farmers or buildings
on one turn in order to take advantage of these placements on a subsequent
turn. Of course, wily opponents will likely spot these moves and, if
possible, take advantage of them.
It is also wise to place farmers in a fashion that will earn you points on
your opponents' turns. Remember, when a building is placed, it scores
points for ALL players who have farmers adjacent to it. Thus, it can be
wise to place farmers near your opponents' farmers in order to take
advantage of subsequent building placements.
Oregon is a fine light-to-middle weight game. It offers players with an
abundance of significant choices and strategies. While the card draw does
play a role, players can usually find enough options to overcome any "luck
of the draw" problems. I'm happy to make the journey to the vast wilderness
of 19th century Oregon any time!
--
Greg J. Schloesser |
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