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Altiplano is a bag-building game along the lines of Orléans, set in the South American highlands of the Andes (the "Altiplano"). The competition for limited resources is considerable, as it was in Orléans, but the greater focus in Altiplano is on building up your own production to be the best that it can be - or at least better than that of the other players!
The object of the game is for players to use their goods to produce more goods that will be worth points in the end. Each player starts with a unique role tile, giving them access to different goods and methods of production. Players have limited access to production at the start, but they can acquire additional production sites during the game that open up new options. The various types of goods — such as fish, alpaca, cacao, silver and corn — all have their own characteristics and places where they can be used. For example, silver can be sold for a high price at the market, fish can be exchanged for other goods at the harbor and alpaca can produce wool at the farm that can then be made into cloth.
Aside from building up an effective production, players must fulfill their orders at the right time, develop the road in good time and store their goods cleverly enough to fill their warehouses in the most valuable way. Often, a good warehouse keeper is more relevant in the end than the best producer.
30 Hour Marathon: Hours 13-17
- Engaging bag-building mechanic
- High resource diversity
- Strong thematic setting for a Euro game
- Can be heavy for new players
- Older edition may affect availability or access
- mercantile bag-building and resource management
- Andean high plateau with a focus on resource gathering and trade
- economic/abstract
- Clash of Cultures
- EPO
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bag building — Players assemble bags of resource tokens and draw from them to perform actions.
- bag-building — Players assemble bags of resource tokens and draw from them to perform actions.
- economic_engineering — Optimizing resource conversion and ordering for scoring potential.
- Engine Building: Efficiency — Optimizing resource conversion and ordering for scoring potential.
- Resource management — Managing a variety of resource types with different values and uses.
- resource_management — Managing a variety of resource types with different values and uses.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I love the input from the community and I want to expand that input to the YouTube world as well
- five games that in this upcoming month of June most likely near near the end of June
- the first one is Altiplano
- I'll include the link or the poll… down in the description below for you to participate
References (from this video)
- deep engine-building with multiple viable endgame paths
- satisfying planning phase that rewards long-term planning and flexibility
- strong synergy between boats, buildings, and warehouse scoring
- rules can be dense and intimidating for new players
- late-game planning can feel punishing if mismanaged
- farming, trade, and artisan production in a small village
- Andean frontier village, resource management
- analytical playthrough with emphasis on resource flow and endgame scoring
- Orléans
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bag_building — players draw and activate tokens from their own bag to perform actions.
- boat_and_endgame_scoring — building boats provides endgame points and access to new resources; endgame scoring emphasizes both buildings and orders.
- extension_market_and_orders — a market of extensions and orders that modify actions and scoring.
- planning_phase — a simultaneous planning phase where players place actions on a shared map using planning tiles.
- warehouse_and_buildings — resources are stored in a warehouse; buildings grant endgame points and unlock scoring opportunities.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a bag-building game
- fish are worth zero points at the end of the game
- buildings give you quite a bit of victory points
- boats give us points and access to hard to grab resources
- the market is a place to pick up extensions and orders
References (from this video)
- Innovative bag-building flavor
- Engaging planning phase
- Rules can feel heavy
- Setup can be involved
- city planning, logistics
- High-altitude city/bag-building theme focusing on resource management.
- abstract
- Gizmos
- Reef
- Baron Park
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bag building — Draw and place tiles from a bag to fulfill city plans and trigger bonuses.
- bag-building — Draw and place tiles from a bag to fulfill city plans and trigger bonuses.
- Resource conversion — Trade in resources to fit objectives and optimize scoring lines.
- Resource management — Trade in resources to fit objectives and optimize scoring lines.
- set collection — Acquire resources to upgrade or complete objectives for points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Gizmos is one of my all-time favorites.
- Baron Park is all about efficiency.
- If you're not cheating, you're not trying.
- Baron Park is all about efficiency, and the bears are watching.