9 at the UNO Park Community Center on 5/21 for a night of Americana games – games that utilize a map of the USA and/or represent something American. We chose industrialization with Robber Barons as well as Carnivals and the Wild Wild West..

IN: Steve, Armando, Zach, Chris, Nicole, Julie, Reimi, Rob, Danny

Hab & Gut/ The Rich and the Good (led by Zach) 2008 stock manipulation game where players are stock brokers during the second Industrial Revolution, trying to make as much money as possible while also coming across  good citizens by donating money to charity. During the course of the game, players purchase or sell shares of stock, and then manipulate the stock prices with the cards that they share with their two neighbors. Additionally, players donate stock to charities, which is sold off at the end of the round for the charitable donation.  The game uses a system of shared information where each player knows a little of what is about to happen in the markets, with each player knowing different pieces of information. The player who makes the most money at the end of the game is the winner, provided that he or she is not the person who donated the least to charity.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38863/the-rich-and-the-good

On Tour (led by K-ban) 2019 roll & write where players are taking their Band on the road on a USA map. On each turn, two ten-sided dice are rolled to make two two-digit numbers. For example, a roll of 3 and 7 creates the numbers 37 and 73. All players write each of those numbers in a state on their map. The regions they can write in are restricted by three cards turned up in the middle of the table. At the end of the game, each player draws a route on their map, starting with a low number and visiting adjacent states with higher and higher numbers. Players get a point for every state they visit. There are also some bonus points available, a way to get wilds, and a variable set-up step that makes every game different.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251412/on-tour

The Grand Carnival (led by Armando) 2020 game where players compete to create the most impressive carnival by carefully planning their carnival’s layout, building attractions, hiring staff, and managing the crowds. Each turn, players cover a number on their player board, then select an action. The covered number determines the effectiveness of their action — and won’t become available again until the next round. The 3 possible actions are: • Place a Foundation Tile to place on your fairground.  Each tile is a 2×2 grid and is made up of construction sites and walkways. Attractions can be placed only on construction sites, whereas guests can move only on walkways. • Build an Attraction: Select a polyomino attraction and place it on the construction sites on your fairground. The size of the attraction you can select depends on the number you cover. Larger attractions can collect more tickets (and can be worth more points), but can be difficult for guests to move around. • Move a Guest: Select a guest token and move it along the walkways on your fairground. The distance a guest can move depends on the number you cover. If a guest moves next to an attraction, place a ticket token on that attraction. If you move enough guests, you can hire a carnival barker; barkers help guests move quickly through your carnival, but take up precious space in your fairground. Players also race to be the first to achieve group bonuses that bestow additional abilities. After seven rounds, the game ends. Players earn points from sets of the same size attractions, sets of each size of attraction, carnival barkers, guests that move all the way through your park, and their tickets.  There is a penalty for empty construction sites. 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/289081/grand-carnival

Union Pacific (led by K-ban) 1999 Alan R. Moon train game that was originally Airlines, then UP and finally Airlines Europe. It’s easy to see how this design eventually became the author’s meal ticket in Ticket to Ride. This is a route building and shares game where players either add to track on the mapboard of the USA or add stocks to their tableau to eventually earn dividends that occur on 4 occasions. The strategic tension on timing when to play shares to the table is palpable.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/94/union-pacific

Capital City (led by Zach) 2017  fast-playing card game where players have one year to help build the most famous town in all the West! Each season, the train brings in city slickers and kinfolk from the east to help players run their new businesses on Main Street. Hire workers carefully, keeping in mind that members of the same family help each other reach success faster! Dollars are useful, but victory points (VPs) are like pure gold! At the end of the year, the player with the most VPs wins the game and becomes the new Mayor of Capital City! Players have four rounds represented by the seasons of the year to expand their Wild West town. First, they bid for player priority order for the current season. Next, they choose character cards from the train to put to work, then purchase building cards to form Main Street. Then, players attach character cards to the building cards to earn dollars or VPs! Attached characters are workers that provide bonuses to the current player and other players with characters from the same family! At the end of four seasons, the player with the most VPs wins! 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/229241/capital-city

Ticket to Ride (led by Nicole)  This 2004 German Game of the Year (SdJ) that features set collection and route building is probably Alan R. Moon’s most widely known design, and a mainstay in game collections everywhere. Players collect cards of various types of train cars they then use to claim railway routes in North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who fulfill Tickets – goal cards that connect distant cities; and to the player who builds the longest continuous route.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride

Steve