Game Night Light 30

We had a weekly beer exchange and game night yesterday. We played The Shores of Tripoli.

You can see this older post for more information and the starting map when I played it solitaire.

Let's start with the beer exchange.

It took us a couple hours to play. You could go faster with experience. I especially recommend being fully familiar with all the cards that provide you with all your abilities to act. Holding the right cards at the right moment are crucial. And understanding what your enemy can do is important.

We jumped in with no real awareness of the victory conditions. Based on knowledge of the last blog post on this game, the American player at least knew that taking Derne as early as possible is important in either chain to victory.

One disastrous Tripolitan foray through the blockade line at Tripoli devastated the Tripolitan privateer fleet. That was key to ruling out an early victory by getting piracy gold.

The Americans lost a frigate on blockade duty--sunk and luckily not captured. And the Tripolitans bribed the Swedes to send their frigates home, so America lost the use of two more frigates.

But America took Derne. And after driving two of Tripoli's North African allies neutral, was able to play the card that allowed America to gain an acceptable peace treaty. Had Tripoli captured that frigate instead of sinking it, America would have had to destroy the frigate to get the treaty.

I still don't have a feel for the game balance. It is a card-driven game so a lot depends on the cards you get in the first 5 years. Although knowledge of the cards and victory conditions can shape what you keep in your hand to save for later. Or discard knowing you can get it again late in the game.

Also, keep in mind that you should try to make a play for victory within the calendar year. New cards in your enemy's hands at the start of the year could thwart your plan if you start at the end of a year and try to finish it the next year. Although shaping the battlefield late in the prior year is useful.

And luck is big. Hot American die rolls smashed the Tripolitan raiding fleet in one piracy foray. Although poor American rolling in the Derne ground battle early did not change the result after enough rounds of combat.

Anyway, a fun game. Simple with interesting options each turn. And certainly a a high quality game in looks.