You are a Nomarch in Ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh put you in charge of a Metropolis and its region. The flooding of the Nile is coming to an end and the lands of the Valley are ready to offer their riches. Organize the collection of resources, build districts with the most lucrative shops, supply them with goods and earn the most Debens for the glory of the Pharaoh. The player who will make the best use of the resources of the Nile Valley will win the game.
Fertility is a simple resource management game that raises tough decisions for you to take. Each turn, you collect some of the riches of the Valley of the Nile and immediately decide how to use them : supply one of your Shop to earn money, or spend them to build new districts, offering you new opportunities. Be wise because your choices are irreversible. None of the resources already stocked in your shops can be moved or reused until the end of the game. But any resource unspent by the end of your turn will be definitively lost. Optimize your turns and choices if you want to win.
A player’s turn goes through three fast and simple steps. They start by placing one of their Valley tile on the central board in order to collect resources : alabaster, bovines, papyrus flowers, grapes or wheat. They then have the opportunity to spend these resources to build a new District tile on their Metropolis board, for opening new opportunities. Lastly, they supply their Shops in their Metropolis by stocking the remaining resources. Any resource that a player has left unused at the end of their turn is lost. So, the aim is to collect as many resources as possible, but even more to be able to optimize how to use them. The game ends after 9 turns and each totally supplied Shop is worth money for their owner. The player with the highest amount of money is the winner.
- Domino mechanic is satisfying
- Flow is quick and clean
- Limited replay value; setup variation minimal
- Resource management and trading for points
- Domino-based resource placement with grid/tiles
- Abstract/resource-focused
- Calico
- Dominion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice placement — Place domino-like tiles to generate resources for purchases.
- domino placement — Place domino-like tiles to generate resources for purchases.
- Immediate resource spend — Resources must be spent on the spot; no long-term hoard.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- for 14 bucks I'm buying it
- it's an excellent deal
- the grid moving mechanism just makes the game so much more interesting
- I loved how unique this is
- if you like Harry Potter World then you should buy this game period that's all
- for 39 bucks absolutely
- Planet is brilliant this is one of my first reviews that I did for this channel
References (from this video)
- Low complexity, accessible
- Limited depth and thematic payoff
- Domino placement and resource collection
- Egyptian theme
- Fertility
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice placement — Place domino-like tiles to collect resources.
- domino placement — Place domino-like tiles to collect resources.
- tableau building — Use resources to add tiles to your tableau for points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- theres no good or bad games objectively
- every game has its own unique profile
- the five attributes: theme mechanics components strategy and complexity
- the perfect board game formula
- identify the strengths of a game even if those strengths are outside of their own perfect board game formula
References (from this video)
- Streamlined, quick play around 40-45 minutes
- Clear point engine and shop mechanics
- Rules can be dense and decisions heavy for a lighter game
- farm/domestic production and resource chain
- Domino-style tile placement with shop tiles
- light euro
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- End-of-round incentives — End rules and nine-turn structure
- Resource-to-shop tile drafting — Spend resources to acquire and activate shop tiles
- Set collection / point engine — Earn victory points via shops and monuments
- Tile placement (domino pieces) — Place domino-like domino tiles to generate terrain resources
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is so much fun because it gives you such a wide variety of things that you could do
- I think this is a game of skill and you don't see games of skill very often with very short
- Isle of Skye Journeyman adds a lot to this game but it detracts from some of the greatness of the original game
- Lisboa is a heavy game; there's a lot going on
- Teotihuacan has a lot going on
- Western Legends is a sandbox with tons of directions you can go