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Cavum box art

Cavum

Game ID: GID0063372
Collection Status
Description

In the mountain there are veins of precious stones. The players build tunnels in the mountain, establish stations in the mountain and in the city, discover veins of precious stones, acquire precious stones, and sell them. The players get points for stations in the city and for selling precious stones. The winner is the player with the most points.

Game Summary
The board is a hex grid, with city spaces along most of the edges. The center hex is a vein of yellow gems: place all 9 in a stack there. The rest of the gems go in their individual market areas (priced 1-9 based on supply).Each round (3 in game), add 5 contracts (showing gem combinations; score big VP if completing them; lose some VP if cannot) to the display. Then auction (using VP) turn order chips 1-4. Players then each get the same set of tiles (hexes with various numbers of track exits, prospecting tiles, veins, option tiles, etc.) plus a dynamite hex based on their turn order chip. Take turns taking contracts until everyone passes.

Then, on your turn, play 1-4 of your 12 actions. These allow you to place tracks (expanding previous tunnels; you can also cover track tiles with tiles having more exits), stations, or veins (which you supply with gems of your choice). Gems (6 types, 9 tokens each) each have their own market where they are stored and which set their max sell price. The last action is prospecting, where you create a path from one of your stations to another, passing through as many veins as possible: take one gem from each vein.

After everyone's 12 actions are used, any exposed dynamite tracks explode and take the adjacent tracks as well (all these are placed in the Buy Pool, which can be accessed by turning in Option tiles)! You score for stations in cities based on the number of empty hexes. Then, for each gem type, players bid (Dutch auction style, bidding for the lowest price they'll accept) and may sell their gems for VP at their bid price.

At game end (after 3 rounds), players sell off all their remaining gems (with lowest VP selling next gem), there's another city scoring, and players lose VP for incomplete orders. Most VP wins!

Year Published
2008
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 1
This page: 1
Sentiment: pos 1 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
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Showing 1–1 of 1
Video SGPxHipMnZM Chairman of the Board game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9949 · mention_pk 82526
Chairman of the Board - Cavum video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Ultra straightforward to learn and play
  • Tremendous flow and tight pacing; 30-40 minute playtime
  • Clean, streamlined mechanics with clear, accessible rules
  • Strong player interaction and blocking dynamic that affects everyone
  • Good hand management keeps decisions meaningful
  • Good production quality and clear iconography; colorblind accessible
Cons
  • Theme feels absent or purely veneer; no strong narrative tie to mechanics
  • Appearance can appear dry/bland despite solid components
  • Swinginess in scaling (particularly 3-player) can significantly affect outcomes
  • Long-term replayability feel may depend on player preference for abstract games
Thematic elements
  • Abstract strategy with a thematic veneer (garum/fish sauce)
  • Abstract tile-placement with bowls and symbols; veneer of fish sauce theme without strong narrative
  • No strong narrative; puzzle/strategy focus
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Area Control — Scoring is driven by symbol density in the player’s rows/columns, controlled by where they place tiles and workers.
  • area_control — Scoring is driven by symbol density in the player’s rows/columns, controlled by where they place tiles and workers.
  • end_game_scoring — Final scores are tallied based on how many symbols of each color appear in the scoring areas, with bonuses for longer lines.
  • hand management — Each player starts with a hand of four tiles and replenishes after each turn, forcing deliberate choices.
  • hand_management — Each player starts with a hand of four tiles and replenishes after each turn, forcing deliberate choices.
  • Push Your Luck — Early commitment to a row/column can pay off or backfire depending on future tile placements and opponent moves.
  • push_your_luck_scoring — Early commitment to a row/column can pay off or backfire depending on future tile placements and opponent moves.
  • scalability_mechanics — The game scales from 2-4 players with different handling (e.g., 3p uses a tile from unused players); four-player play is optimal.
  • tile placement — Players place tiles into bowls in various orientations, influencing potential scoring rows/columns.
  • tile_placement — Players place tiles into bowls in various orientations, influencing potential scoring rows/columns.
  • worker placement — Players can place a meeple to influence a row/column; placement affects end-game scoring and blocking.
  • workers_on_board — Players can place a meeple to influence a row/column; placement affects end-game scoring and blocking.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • ultra straightforward
  • tremendous flow to it
  • clean in its mechanisms
  • no theme whatsoever
  • throwback feel
  • hidden gem
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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