Alhambra Game Review
Players: 2 to 6 Ages 8 and up
Review by Weird
I need to start out by saying, I have never played Stimmt So, so I can not compare the two games. I was excited to get this game because it won SDJ game of the year, this year. The components are nice, the boards and tiles are made of a heavy grade, they didn't skimp on this. The cards could have been a little better stock and the coating could have been better, but they are not bad. It comes with a bag to draw random tiles from, this could have been a bit bigger, when full you can't mix them up much. I know that we have gotten very picky about our games, but I think this is a good thing.
You setup the game by putting the score board and the building yard in the center of the table. Every player receives a reserve board, two wooden pieces (one to show your color and one for your score) and a starting tile (A fountain). Players take money, one at a time, they draw cards until they have 20 or more in value. this means everyone hopes for a 19 and then draw a 9. It's a nice way to randomize the money start. After everyone has drawn money, the rest of the money is split into 5 stacks, the first score card is shuffled into the second stack, the second score card is shuffled into the fourth stack, after that, they are restacked (5 stack on bottom, fourth next... Next four tiles are drawn form the bag and placed on the building board. The last thing is, draw four money cards and place them face up next to the building board. Now you are ready to play.
A player can do one of three things a turn.
1: Buy and place a building from the building yard.
The yard has four slots, one for each currency, the cost is on each building. You can only buy the building with the kind of currency listed for that slot. You do not get change, but if you have the exact amount, you get another turn. If you don't have a valid placement, you can put the building in your reserve yard. For placement, you must place all tiles in the same direction ( roofs up), you must be able to reach every building from your main tile and walls must be built nest to walls (or the wall must be on the outer edge.
2: Pick up one of the four money cards.
3: Change your Alhambra
You can change your Alhambra by doing one of three things. remove a tile and put it in your reserve, place a tile from reserve on your Alhambra or swap a tile from your Alhambra with one of your reserve pieces. All placement must be legal.
At the end of your turn you fill the tiles and money to four again.
When the first score card is drawn, the person with the most buildings of each color (reserve tiles do not count) gets points, in the first round the points are from 1-6. When the second score card is drawn, the person with the most of each color gets points 8-13 second place scores 1-6. The third score is when the last tile is drawn from the bag, the tiles left go to the person with the most currency of each type. First to third place scores 16-21, 8-13 and 1-6. In each scoring round, all players get a points for the length of longest outer wall in the Alhambra, one point for each section of the longest wall.
The game has a lot of luck in the drawing of tiles and money, but I think it works out well in the long run. I had a problem placing tiles a few of times, I should have taken a little more care in purchases. I think it's easy to get wrapped up into worrying about getting extra turns and not watching your open spots. The walls become a big problem as your Alhambra grows, getting a high wall score in the first round, can bite you in the rear in the long run. This was the first time we played, so it's hard to say how this will hold up. I can say that everyone liked the game on the first play and everyone wants to play again.
Weird