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Game Info
Year
2007
Collection
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Description
This expansion is part of the second set of Age of Steam expansions designed by the Steam Brothers.
The India map is the result of the requests we had from many people to have maps that keeps the feeling of the basic map. The new rules are simple but the result is a challenging map. The main new rules concerns the production rule and the moonsoon that affects your economy
Austria is a 2 player only map and originally appeared in 2005 as part of Age of Steam Expansion: Austria, Switzerland & The Netherlands. It features a completely changed economy with no shares available and three goods shipment phases. This map combines the excellent 2-players rule set by John Bohrer with the Steam Brothers design. Many thanks to John Bohrer for his incredible support!
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video PrcSxzJ1OmQ
Heavy Cardboard Rules Teach at 1:16 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 86140 · mention_pk 222131
Click to watch at 1:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- The map offers decent build options for the first round due to three cubes per city.
- Production on the first round is viable.
- The map encourages cooperation to an extent.
- The acrylic tiles look good on screen.
Cons
- There is a dispute on the rule for the second goods cube during production.
- The monsoon phase can be costly, especially when players have many shares.
- The distribution of cubes on the board can be frustrating.
- Building in certain spots can lead to players going backwards financially.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — Players bid for turn order and other benefits like first build or loco.
- Delivery — Players deliver goods cubes to cities based on their track connections.
- Goods Growth — Goods growth phase is removed and replaced with cubes coming out when a player connects to a city for the first time, with a maximum of three cubes per city.
- Monsoon Phase — A die roll affects all players equally, with a roll of 1 meaning no money is owed, 2-5 meaning players owe $1 to the bank, and a 6 causing all players to pay $2.
- production — The player who chooses production first selects a city, then randomly draws two goods cubes, choosing one to place on the map and the other assumed to go back into the bag as per normal Age of Steam rules.
- Track building — Players build tracks connecting cities, with costs varying based on terrain and the number of connections.
- Urbanization — Players can 'urbanize' a city, which affects connections and cube placement.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The main McGuffin in this game and what it is is when a player connects to a city for the first time they then take that new city.
- The big dispute is what to do with the second Cube I assume it goes back out there.
- Everybody owes a buck to the bank to uh basically monsoon season has taken out our Rail and damaged it and that's the upkeep cost however if somebody rolls a six we all boo them and then we we all pay two bucks
- I really hate the distribution of all these cubes.
- I think we often undervalue Loco in this group and although we always take it first and think it's the most valuable I still think we under valid even on that like we should be taking more shares and just because it it saves you deliveries yes yep it translates to points so yeah we think it's the most valuable thing but I think it's like the most valuable thing and then some
- My goal is to just not finish my goal is to beat Fowler tonight that's that's it a four so not a negative score there you go that is my goal tonight
- This map wants cooperation to an extent.
- The acrylic tiles just work so well they really do look good on screen don't they
- I was just looking at the art of the row
- I think we're coming to too
- I know I can get away the rest of this game without taking any more shares
- I I don't know if I should have taken first got six so it it's it's one
- you're going backwards
- This is a goofy goobers
- It's funny like maybe I'm wrong but I don't think I think I think I'm probably going to finish third
- It's not good
- The cube that comes out it goes right here
- My game's over
- I think I should have dangled save myself two points
- I don't think that that's going to play out
- This is a very pretty track too
- I'm so annoyed because I keep looking at this point
- This is tighter than I thought it was going to be
- My goal is to just not finish my goal is to beat Fowler tonight
References (from this video)
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Video N-nXmKjspUI
Heavy Cardboard Playthrough at 6:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86157 · mention_pk 222236
Click to watch at 6:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Good map for 5 players, felt tight and aggressive.
- Production McGuffin (cubes coming out of a bag) helped visualize routes.
- Map encourages strategic depth and planning.
- The bidding for actions like Loco and turn order was very aggressive and engaging.
- Acrylic tiles looked good on screen.
Cons
- The map being laminated was a drawback.
- The city of Madras didn't offer enough incentive to connect to in a 5-player game.
- Some ambiguity around the rule for the second cube during production.
- The monsoon die roll could be frustrating, especially when it hit players with insufficient funds.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Age of Steam
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players bid for turn order and take actions like building tracks, taking shares, or using special actions like Loco or production.
- Goods delivery — Cubes are placed on cities and then delivered along the tracks for points and income.
- Income and expenses — Players manage their money, paying for track segments and potentially losing money during the monsoon phase.
- Monsoon Phase — A dice roll during the monsoon phase can cause players to lose money, adding an element of risk.
- production — A special action where a player draws two goods and places one on the map, with some debate on the rule for the second cube.
- Route Building — Players build tracks connecting cities on the map.
- Share ownership — Players can take shares in companies, which impacts income and victory points.
- Urbanization — A mechanic that modifies cities, potentially impacting cube placement and player strategies.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The bidding was really aggressive
- I wish there was a reason to go to Madras
- I hate that it's laminated from standpoint
- The monsoon is so brutal
- I was like I need to get to six Loco and I never could
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video jbA53Kx25Vc
Heavy Cardboard Review at 7:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86138 · mention_pk 222129
Click to watch at 7:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Good and tight map.
- Production McGuffin cubes were helpful for visualization.
- The map likely made for a more aggressive overall experience.
- It's a really good map.
Cons
- Wish there was a reason to go to Madras (e.g., a fourth cube).
- The laminated board is difficult from a lighting standpoint.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Age of Steam
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — The game offers multiple interesting actions, making the choice between them significant.
- bidding — The bidding was described as aggressive due to the importance of what is gained.
- Dice Rolling — The monsoon die roll is discussed as a factor that can affect game decisions and outcomes.
- Production action — The production action was used by players and its cost was discussed.
- Route Building — Discussion about managing routes through cities and the cost of laying track to reach cities.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think the reason Martin did better than shre and I is because he managed his routes through those cities better.
- I wish there was a reason to go to Madras.
- The bidding you don't say yeah and I think it's because in this game what you get for this version matters not like there's only one or two good things but there's a whole bunch of things that are interesting in the way that in some of the maps only one or two actions are often interesting and in this one there are often times where there are three or four that are more interesting and you care about the difference between third place and fifth place or fourth place which isn't always the case.
- I hate that it's laminated from a lighting stand Point um but that's only like legitimately it's because this is how they used to come yeah cuz theme Brothers they it was you know Mom and Pop type production type stuff this is not one of the ones that's been redone in the not no unfortunately I actually spent the time today going through like oh wait is it in one through four so hopefully it gets it gets reprinted I think it's a really good map it has Austria on the other side yeah have not played it yep
- I don't mind it it's it's it's in a little bit of so it's missing the DI rolls otherwise right right right for when when these come out and that is completely player driven and to be full disclosure we're still not 100% sure what to do with that second Cube so therefore you revert to regular agest steem rules which says put it out there but don't know if that was right so maybe there were a couple extra cubes than should have been but yeah and spot what if you roll the start of the round I think that completely misses the whole threat of yeah the the the implied threat I like like prepare for it you know it's Insurance are rounds when you're like it doesn't really matter I have plenty of money I would love not to lose an extra dollar but if rolls a six who cares um and then there are also rounds where you're like I just I just need it yeah
- those it changed role it changed decisions throughout the game absolutely those middle three rounds I accepted going backwards I was like ah fine whatever Monsoon it's fine um because otherwise I was not going to be getting working towards actually being improving
- yeah so interesting uh I I like the map um it's yeah so there you go that's uh it's AG of steam India so uh one of 29 in the books for the patreon drive
References (from this video)
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