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Game Info
Year
1999
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
This Reiner Knizia game, produced by Hasbro's European division, casts players in the roles of dukes who are trying to establish duchies along the banks of the Rhine River. Players hold a hand of cards that correspond to numbered plots on each bank, and they place knights in open plots for which they hold the corresponding cards. After establishing duchies, players attempt to expand them to include more plots of land, as well as buildings - such as castles, cathedrals, and cities. These buildings both add to the value of a duchy and provide their owners with advantages during game play. Combined with a uniquely Knizia-style scoring system, this game has some very interesting dynamics.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
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Video tdE50o7G-DQ
News at 3:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67585 · mention_pk 163729
Click to watch at 3:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Double-sided board balances gameplay for different player counts.
- New art makes for a beautiful package.
- Gameplay experience is more involved than anticipated.
- Lots of strategy in card management (sandbagging).
- Walls add a layer of area denial and blocking.
- Scoring is dynamic with opportunities for points from lost control.
- Random token setup increases replayability.
- Expansions like boats, goal cards, landmarks, and power cards add depth.
Cons
- Original game had issues with certain player counts.
- Gameplay involves more than initially apparent from rules.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- original game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance — Playing cards is the primary action, with strategic choices on when to play or hold cards.
- Area Control — Players gain majority in duchies to place a duke, and the player controlling the majority of churches gains the bishop.
- area influence — Players place influence tokens on numbered spaces and can bolster their area by adding tokens beside already placed ones.
- card drafting — Players play cards from their hand and will shuffle the deck when they draw up to the joker.
- Modular board — The game features a two-sided board and random placement of tokens, enhancing replayability.
- set collection — Players aim to control the majority of churches to gain the power of the bishop.
- Variable player powers — The bishop token allows players to displace other tokens on the board if they play the matching card, and new power cards offer unique abilities.
Video topics + discussion points
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Quotes (from this video)
- Tantrum House crowdfunding conipion.
- Raw the Dice game and Rhinelander.
- Now we're going to give you a quick overview of both of these games.
- Just like in the original game, once RAW reaches the end of the track, the epoch ends and the board is scored.
- Disaster strikes, meaning you get to determine the punishment for all the other players.
- Rhinelander is an area influence game for two to five players.
- It was one of Canitia's most elegant designs, except for the fact that they didn't like it at certain player counts.
- The way the deck works in the game is that you'll play cards until you draw up to the joker and then you'll reshuffle the deck immediately.
- And so there's a lot of strategy just in holding on to cards so that other people can't get them.
- There were lots of little strategies like that that I didn't see coming when I sat down to play the game.
- That is the main way to score points in the game.
- Really interesting stuff.
- 25th Century does a really great job of putting together some really nice packaged games.
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