Glen More II: Chronicles is a sequel to Glen More, expanding the gameplay substantially compared to the original game.
In Glen More II: Chronicles, each player represents the leader of a Scottish clan from the early medieval ages until the 19th century, a leader looking to expand their territory and wealth. The success of your clan depends on your ability to make the right decision at the right time, be it by creating a new pasture for your livestock, growing barley for whisky production, selling your goods on the various markets, or gaining control of special landmarks such as lochs and castles.
The game lasts four rounds, represented by four stacks of tiles. After each round, a scoring phase takes place in which players compare their number of whisky casks, scotsmen in the home castle, landmark cards, and persons against the player with the fewest items in each category and receives victory points (VPs) based on the relative difference. After four rounds, additional VPs are awarded for gold coins and some landmarks while VP penalties are assessed based on territory size, comparing each player's territory to the smallest one in play.
The core mechanism of Glen More II: Chronicles and Glen More functions the same way: The last player in line takes a tile from a time track, advancing as far as they wish on this track. After paying the cost, they place this tile in their territory, with this tile activating itself and all neighboring tiles, triggering the production of resources, movement points, VPs, etc. Then the player who is last in line takes their turn.
Improvements over the original Glen More include bigger tiles, better materials, new artwork, the ability for each player to control the end of the game, and balancing adjustments to the tiles for a better suspense curve. The game is designed to consist of one-third known systems, one-third new mechanisms, and one-third improvements to Glen More.
The "Chronicles" in the title — a set of eight expansions to the base game — are a major part of these new mechanisms. Each Chronicle adds a new gameplay element to the base game. The "Highland Boat Race" Chronicle, for example, tells the story of a boat race in which the winner needs to be the first to reach their home castle after navigating their boat along the river through all the other players' territories. The "Hammer of the Scots" Chronicle adds a neutral "Englishman" playing piece to the time track that players struggle to control to get an additional turn — if they can afford him, that is, as he is paid using the market mechanism. All Chronicles can be freely combined, although designer Matthias Cramer suggests that players use only one or two unless they want a "monster game".
Another major change to the game is the ability to invest in famous Scottish people of the time, who are represented through a new "person" tile type. Persons not only have their own scoring, they also trigger one-time or ongoing effects on the tactical clan board. This adds a new layer of decision making, especially since the ongoing effects allow players to focus on a personal strategy of winning through the use of the clan board.
—description from the publisher
- campaign-style modules add replayability
- mechanics feel connected to farming economy
- older design language may feel dense to newcomers
- agriculture, trade, and resource exchange
- Rondell-driven farm resource management and trade
- strategic, modular
- Gaia Project
- Terra Mystica
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Rondel — Advance on a rotating wheel to gain actions and resources.
- Rondell (action wheel) — Advance on a rotating wheel to gain actions and resources.
- Tile/board management and trade — Acquire tiles/resources and trade for points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- there seems to be an element of farming or agriculture to most of his games
- cozy to the farming theme… with bluegrass music in the background
- nostalgic part of me… Harvest Moon
- Rosenberg isn't the only person who has designed a farming game
References (from this video)
- Elegant tile-laying with clean tension and accessible depth
- Clear thematic flavor and satisfying spatial planning
- Can be tight on space on smaller tables
- Some players may prefer more direct conflict or interaction
- tile-laying, resource optimization, and scoring via constructed landscapes
- Caledonian highlands and tiles-based land development
- tile-laying engine-building with evolving river networks
- Grand Austria Hotel
- Great Western Trail
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Influence scoring through territorial expansion on the board.
- area-control — Influence scoring through territorial expansion on the board.
- engine building — Improve future turns through tile placement and resource management.
- engine-building — Improve future turns through tile placement and resource management.
- set collection — Gather resources and match sets to score.
- set-collection — Gather resources and match sets to score.
- tile placement — Place tiles to build landscapes and connect regions for points.
- Tile-laying — Place tiles to build landscapes and connect regions for points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We got all the Great Western Trails and Great Western Trail El Paso.
- Grand Austria Hotel alltime banger right there.
- For my money, I think this might be the best shelf that we
- bite-sized version of Gloomhaven with like 25 scenarios.
- Awesome tile lane game.
- That's awesome.
- I don't know.
References (from this video)
- best tire-placement design in the collection
- strategic depth and tension
- not as accessible for casual gamers
- tire-placement with resource management
- medieval/fantasy landscapes
- dense euro with tight pacing
- Orleans / Terra Mystica family of heavier euros
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine building — build up scores through tiles and resources
- engine_building — build up scores through tiles and resources
- tile placement — tile-based scoring with resource management
- tile_placement — tile-based scoring with resource management
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- probably my favorite tire placement game of all time
- this one is like a companion game to el grande
- Arc Nova certainly the hotness at the moment
References (from this video)
- best use of the time track system in this theme
- great base game with rich Chronicles expansion
- can demand long table time for full effect
- additional Chronicles add complexity to balance
- tile placement, rivers and buildings with a time track
- glens and rivers with historical-themed development
- clockwork modular expansion via Chronicles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/resource production — placing buildings to generate resources and points
- modularity via Chronicles — additional content layers that turn gameplay
- tile placement — advance along a time track to access tiles and activate bonuses
- tile placement with time track — advance along a time track to access tiles and activate bonuses
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- board gaming Perfection such a an intricate and nuanced design
- the best negotiation game out there
- fast so engaging
- I can't find a fault with this game it is just so much fun
- one of the original area control style games
- the time track system I've ever seen
References (from this video)
- Deep strategic options with multiple viable paths to victory
- Strong integration of clan board mechanics with tile placement
- Vibrant theme and satisfying resource economy (barley to whiskey)
- Rule density may overwhelm newcomers
- Endgame can hinge on precise timing and optimization of landmarks
- Setup and component weight may be intimidating for new players
- Clan growth, land development, resource conversion (barley, wood, stone) into whiskey casks and victory points
- Scottish Highlands with clan-based village development and river-based placement
- tile-driven, multi-activation engine with heavy emphasis on timing and spatial planning
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- clansman movement and activations — Move Scotsmen to unlock actions and unlock bonus effects across the board.
- landmark and activation chains — Landmark cards provide endgame bonuses and can amplify the effects of activations across tiles.
- market/coin economy — Sell resources on a shared market to generate coins which contribute to points and specialist actions.
- Resource conversion — Convert barley, wood, and stone into whiskey casks, coins, and other valuable assets via activations.
- Resource management — Convert barley, wood, and stone into whiskey casks, coins, and other valuable assets via activations.
- scoring tracks and endgame scoring — Four major scoring waves (Scotsmen, landmarks, whiskey, person tiles) plus endgame bonuses.
- tile placement — Place tiles to expand your territory, activate locations, and access resources.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this first one here is going to generate a barley which we can add onto the tile
- it's now time to roll the die
- we stitched together our winning strategy by being able to make a lot of resources and then sell those to the market to get a bunch of coins
- the third scoring is just around the corner but they've decided instead of sending this Scotsman back over here to their home castle they actually want to move it right over here to increase their possibility of activating up here
- we have ended the game with 63 points
References (from this video)
- Best time-track implementation in the medium-weight space
- High player interaction with strategic tempo
- tile placement and time tracking
- medieval landscape with time-track mechanisms
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile placement — players place tiles to build a landscape with scoring tracks.
- Time track — the time track advances and limits turns, rewarding efficient play.
- time track progression — the time track advances and limits turns, rewarding efficient play.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm trying to only keep the games that I really love because of course I have so many games coming through on the channel.
- Theme isn't really important to me. It's all about the mechanisms.
- I do share a collection with my brother.
- Beige euros.