Family
Alter 8
Spezial
Cocoa beans sacrificed to Quetzalquoatl
Chocolatl
Be rewarded with huts, points or pyramid stones
I want to start this review with a selection of a few randomly selected thoughts and remarks that came up while unpacking and setting up the game and reading through the rules.
* At the very start I want to note that in this game for 3-5 players by Günter Burkhardt at Quined Games great care was taken to make the game transparent for players. More on that later!
* A few of my fellow players, remarked that the game is far away from ist title, I cannot follow this argument, because
* Chocolatl seems to be also an other name for one of the old Aztec gods, the feathered snake god Quetzalcoatl.
* I definitely must remark on the absolutely high quality of the rules despite there being a few tongue-twisting names straight out of Middle America’s ancient history in the text – the already named Quetzalquoatl, plus Cholulu, Tenochtitlan and others.
* Another positive feature of the rules is the absolutely clear and well-formulated description of the game – the rules have an extra column where the most important elements are repeated and illustrated.
* Back to the topic. The game’ topic is the time of the Middle American Aztecs, who constructed impressive pyramids and who held cocoa in high esteem as an important part of their culture.
* Therefore I think that the title is more than justified, and, considering the multitude of games published, a good choice because there cannot be many games with this title or a similar topic.
But now to the game! In my opinion it is an entertaining game for a short 45 minutes. The number of rounds is variable due to a choice of end-of-game conditions, but there are never more then 7 and so it is a very straightforward game.
During the game you offer sacrifices to the gods by bidding with bags of cocoa, represented an identical deck of cards for each player. Straight at the start you sacrifice one of the 13 cards of value 0-13 by setting it aside face down; this card yields victory points at the end of the game. Already this can be used for a little tactical consideration. A high card would yield lots of victory points at the end of the game, but will be sorely missed during the game when bidding, as the bids are the core of the game. I think that you should, especially in a first play, decide on a card of middle value.
Then preparations are made for the start of the round, this also happens in all of the other rounds. Three dice are rolled to determine the harvest of cocoa beans. Then one bid card from each of two stacks, one of them with slightly higher values, is placed on station 6 of the board. Stack is maybe an exaggeration as at the start the stack holds 6 cards. A black die is placed, according to the rules it can show any of its faces … but it is of utmost importance to move the round indicator, because this gives different amounts of points in each round.
And now we can start.
You place your secret bids under a scheme of the 6 stations, which can yield victory points in several different ways. Both the highest bid and the lowest bid bring advantages/victory points or disadvantages for the bidder. And that is the point where you could try to place your bids according to your strategic priorities – if you can talk about strategies in this game, because basically the game is rather simple and suitable for beginners, and can absolutely be played on a gut level. Anyway, you have two cards each for the 6 stations, the card values are added when the bids are evaluated.
Depending on the position of the leading player one of three bidding methods is used. If the leader stands on red and for the first round the following method is used: You place all 12 cards – 2 each to every station – beneath the scheme of stations. If the leader stands on a golden spot, you bid for each station separately, after each bid the bids are turned up and evaluated. If the leader stands on a green spot, you place one card each for each station, then all these cards are revealed and players place a second card, again face down. This is the variant that best allows you to take into account possible strategies or tactics of your fellow players.
The objects at the first station are “Chocolatl” and “Old Man”. The highest bidder immediately wins one victory point and receives Chocolatl. Chocolatl is a tie breaker to the advantage of his owner for the rest of the round. The player with the lowest bid receives Old Man, he has the effect to lower the following bids by one, but he gives you a bonus in the first bid of the next round, where he is again an object of the bid.
In case of ties involving only players without Chocolatl the bid goes to the player furthest behind on the victory point scale, and in a further tie the one whose marker is on top.
Then we move to the second station, where three players can earn victory points. This is also the moment where the cocoa harvest – determined by the three white dice rolled at the start of round – comes into play. The results of the roll are the victory points and are allocated to the three best bids, respectively.
At the third station the winner of the bidding has two options. First, he can build a hut. This hut earns him +1 in any bid at any station for the rest of the game, with the exception of station 3 itself, as here the huts must be preserved and to pay for this upkeep the bid is lowered by one. The second option is to take a black bonus die, which can either be rolled anytime to enhance a card bid by the result, or rolled once at the end of the game for victory points. If building a hut, the player deposits one of his markers to indicate the bonus, and in addition to that he also receives a tile. SO forgetting the bonus should be impossible.
The fourth station takes us at long last back into the era of the Aztecs, because now we build pyramids. At this station the winner of the bid may place 2 markers into the pyramid if the difference between his bid and the second highest is equal to or higher than 3. These markers earn bonus points for the player who contributed most markers when a level is finished. Ties here are also decided by Chocolatl. Furthermore, the markers score one victory point per marker at the end of the game and a bonus of three points for the player with most markers. When the difference in the bids is lower than 3, both players can place markers; the player with the higher bid decides who goes first – this can be of importance in case of levels being completed. At the end of the game there can happen a tie for the allocation of the bonus.
My personal opinion: Pyramids are not the method to win the game.
Why? Well, because already at the fifth station we play for valuable victory points, especially in the first rounds. The amounts of victory points up for the bidding dwindle every round. In the first round the winner of the bid receives 8 points, the second 4 points. In round 2 and 3 you can still get 7/3 and 6/2. From round 4 on only the winner of the bid scores points, 5, 4,3 and 2. But take care! The player with the lowest bid must accept two minus points at this station.
Finally, we have reached station 6 and have mentioned nearly everything that is of importance for the game. At this station your goal is, mainly in the first rounds, to receive more valuable bidding cards to be able to discard the lower ones, especially the Zero card. These higher bidding cards can give you enormous advantages in the following rounds. If you still have your Zero card in the fourth round, you will have trouble to bid successfully at important stations!
At the end of the game player score the points for the pyramid. The player holding Chocolatl scores 3 more points and the player holding “Old Man” loses 3 points. The card sacrificed at the start of the game is turned up now and each player scores its value. The player who was most generous with his sacrifice receives a bonus of 3 points in addition to the value of his card. If you have a spare black bonus die you roll it now for additional victory points.
The player with the highest total has best gratified the gods and wins the game.
In a 3-player game it can happen that the cocoa harvest playes a rather unimportant part in the game, if you roll rather similar values.
A note to dedicated gamers: If you have 45 minutes to fill, this game is ideally suited as a filler or as an entry or final game at an evening of games. The interesting point is that you should be able to read your fellow players to influence the outcome to your advantage at some of the important stations. Distributing cards evenly will – especially in a game with the maximum of five players – not be successful. If you like to see emotions as a consequence of successful or unavailing action you will like the game.
Finally, I would like to remark again on the absolutely fabulous clarity and clear arrangement of the game – there are even 6 scheme boards for five players, which illustrate the stations and their properties clearly and briefly. As most players have used their own board to deposit the bids, one can place the spare board in the middle of the table for all to see. And if despite everything, you have a question, the rules will answer them quickly and clearly.
Hans Mostböck
Spieler : 3-5
Alter : ages 8 and up
Dauer : ca. 45 min
Autor : Günter Burkhardt
Grafik : Ryan Laukat
Vertrieb A. : Piatnik
Preis : ca. 35,00 Euro
Verlag : Huch & Friends / Quined 2010
www.huchandfriends.de
Genre : A game of bidding and optimization
Zielgruppe : For families
Mechanismen : Bid for stations and their advantages
Kommentar:
A nice filler game with a good mixture of chance and a little tactics
Components fit the topic very well
Very good family game
Vergleichbar:
The Pillars of the Earth for resolving stations, generally all bidding games
Atmosphäre: 5
Hans Mostböck:
Chocolatl offers a quick game for experienced gamers and a beautiful game with interesting mechanisms demanding a little tactic and empathy for a family.
Zufall 2
Taktik 2
Strategie__ 1
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Interaktion 3
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