During the second half of the nineteenth century in what was then Ceylon, today known to all as the nation of Sri Lanka, a deadly fungus killed off all the coffee plantations on the island thus causing a serious economic crisis. The Scot James Taylor, and later many other entrepreneurs, set about substituting tea plantations for coffee plantations and hence creating what many connoisseurs today consider to be the best tea in the world.
In Ceylon, players take on the role of the pioneers who developed the Ceylon tea industry. As such, they build plantations in different districts and at different altitudes. They produce tea and try to sell it to the most important export companies. To favor this task, they must win the favor of the counselors of each district and develop the necessary technology that allows them to get ahead of their competitors.
At the end of the game, players score points for having plantations in each district, for meeting demands that have been set, for the level of technological development reached, and for the amount of money collected. In the end, the player who has the most points wins.
—description from the publisher
- Elegant design with high production quality
- Mechanics fit the tea-theme well
- Pacing is fast with no downtime and opportunities to influence others' turns
- Gateway-friendly for new players to area-control games
- Visually appealing components
- tea production, export contracts, district governance and economic development
- 19th-century Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the rise of tea plantations
- historical-economic simulation of tea industry growth
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action_negotiation — The two alternate action options on a card are moved; the first move is free, additional costs apply with progression
- councillor_contract — Consult the district councillor to gain a permanent ability for your player pawn's district
- Harvest — Harvest tea plantations in your hex and adjacent hexes; may harvest opponents' plantations for victory points
- multi_turn_interaction — Actions can be taken not only on your turn but also during other players' turns, reducing downtime
- planting — Place plantation tiles on hexes with your marker; costs rupees; harvesting remains free
- technological_development — Advance on a development track to receive a token usable for an extra action and gain bonus points at milestones
- trade_contracts — Export a specific combination of harvested tea to gain victory points or rupees; contracts occupy spaces on your board
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a beautiful fast-paced area control game about tea
- it's mid-weight to light so it's a great gateway game to attract new people to area control games
- it's very elegant
- the production quality is very high and the mechanics fit very well with the theme
- Rhino says yes the Ceylon it's definitely worth a look