Ulm is at its historic heyday: There is a constant hustle and bustle in the prosperous free imperial city. At the beginning of the 16th century, the city has one of the largest municipal territories within the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Success and wealth are not only due to Swabian thriftiness, but mainly the result of the citizens’ business acumen and skilled craftsmanship. Trade in works of art and commercial goods such as wood, wine, salt and textiles is flourishing; for the most part, these goods are shipped by barge or raft on the Danube river. People are busy building the cathedral - the social heart of the city - that will at one time have the tallest church steeple in the world. Everybody of distinction meets around the cathedral. The influential guilds and patricians dominate city life; and if you want to accomplish something, you need to be in the good graces of the right people.
In Ulm, players try to expand their spheres of influence and to make optimal use of the hustle and bustle on the marketplace around the cathedral. The game has one simple basic rule: Push 1 Action tile into the Cathedral area and carry out the 3 associated actions! This way, the Cathedral tower gets taller and taller over the game. The objective of the game is plain and simple: try to accumulate the most victory points through activities in different areas of city life in Ulm and do it before the end of the 10th round, when the construction of the Cathedral is concluded.
Who will make the best use of his means and resources over time and will go down in the annals of the city’s history as an important citizen?
- fast to teach
- replayability within the same compact system
- fits the same tiny box as other Packo games
- depth may be shallow for heavy gamers
- lightweight drafting with quick rounds
- Travel-sized micro-game collection; abstract strategy feel
- playful, accessible
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Draft cards with potential scoring or action points for future turns.
- card-drafting — Draft cards with potential scoring or action points for future turns.
- set collection — Gather cards that fulfill simple scoring conditions across suits.
- set-collection — Gather cards that fulfill simple scoring conditions across suits.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- eight full board games in this one little pouch
- this set is absolutely brilliant absolutely genius
- we were blown away with how much you can do in such a little package
- the cards are two-sided one is positive one is negative feel upside down
- in Sly you're drafting these cards face down into the hen house
- this is a horse racing game
References (from this video)
- engaging hidden information element
- family-friendly with accessible scoring
- compact and replayable
- the fox mechanic can add luck elements
- foraging/resource gathering under pressure
- Travel-sized micro-game collection; set-building with hidden drafting
- playful, family-friendly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- closed drafting — Players draft cards face-down into a central area (the hen house).
- Hidden drafting — Players draft cards face-down into a central area (the hen house).
- set collection — Points come from forming high-value hen sets; fox threat adds risk.
- set-collection — Points come from forming high-value hen sets; fox threat adds risk.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- eight full board games in this one little pouch
- this set is absolutely brilliant absolutely genius
- we were blown away with how much you can do in such a little package
- the cards are two-sided one is positive one is negative feel upside down
- in Sly you're drafting these cards face down into the hen house
- this is a horse racing game