Amsterdam is a reimplementation of Macao with a new setting, improved card balance, and new gameplay elements. It challenges players to build combinations of abilities, as well as to correctly calculate the advantage of delayed gratification for actions.
In the game, players are merchants in Amsterdam near the turn of the 20th century. At the start of the game, two district cards are placed on each of the twelve spaces on the designated board. At the beginning of a round, the next two district cards, as well as two building and two profession cards (each from a deck of 54 of each type) are drawn to form the offer of six cards. Each of these cards has a cost in colored action cubes and grants a new action, special ability, or way to score points. In turn order, each player takes a card from those on offer. Finally, a market card is revealed that allows players to exchange money for victory points on their turn.
Next, the six colored dice are rolled. Each player decides which of the six dice they would like (players may choose the same die), then takes as many action cubes in that color as the number of pips. Players place their new action cubes on their rotatable windrose as many spaces in the future as the number on the dice. Finally, the wheel is spun, so that players gain access to all cubes that were located on the 1 space of their windrose.
Action cubes are used to purchase cards that a player has taken, claim one of the nine types of goods around the city of Amsterdam, and ferry goods or workers through canals to warehouses. Players earn points for delivering their goods, as well as for bonuses on cards they purchase, and the player with the most points at the end of the twelfth round wins.
- Smart resource management and die-draft twist
- Smooth progression and satisfying long-term planning
- Modular feel with Macau heritage adds familiarity
- Thematic cohesion can feel thin
- Some players may find it mechanically dense
- resource management with pickup-and-delivery
- Rotterdam-style port and dock management in a reprint of Macau
- mechanical, planning-forward economic game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- longer-term planning — Steady accumulation of resources and route planning to maximize points.
- pickup and deliver — Move resources around a map to increase presence and scoring.
- resource draft via dice — Draft resources or dice to obtain actions and resources to deliver goods.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The unpredictability with this one maybe a bit too much for my comfort level.
- The board state is very busy and hard to remember what each piece can do.
- Not for me, hence why it's number 10.
- Breezy this game is extremely easy to play.
- I love the way that you have to manage your resources.
- Everything in this game feels good.
References (from this video)
- rich, layered strategic possibilities
- language-specific cards reduce symbol lookup friction
- teaching can be long; language dependency can limit accessibility
- resource gathering and city development
- harbor-based city building with language-specific cards
- heavy on card interaction and language adaptation
- Le Havre
- Dominion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice drafting with resource allocation — draft dice to secure resources and build cities
- hand management with high interaction — cards in hand drive actions and can be fueled by language-specific materials
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is a masterpiece
- infinitely replayable
- an absolute Masterpiece
- this is such a cool game
- an absolute joy to play
- seven and a half out of ten