Century: Golem Edition

Century: Golem Edition is a great addition to my collection. It was very easy to introduce to my gaming group and get going quickly. The rules are straightforward and there is always a tight race for the most points and everyone always feels like they have a chance of winning. The components are a good quality and the game is nice to look at when set up. Cant wait to try and merge with the other Century: Golem games.

Oh this game is SO GOOD. Where have you been all my board game life? I wouldn't pay $32 for it, but if it's on sale or cheaper grab it. This is a quick game. One page of instructions. Easy and quick to learn. And so much fun. The turns are so quick and you're always on edge what your opponent(s) are going to do. It's just THAT GOOD and my favorite of the trilogy. I like Golem theme more than Spice Road theme. The components are fantastic, especially with the Golem version. I recommend 'sleeves' because there's so many cards being handled. Sleeve Kings makes a perfect fit for this size cards.

Century: Golem Edition is the best version of the Century games. The game play is fast with interesting choices throughout. The chunky gems are so tactile-fulfilling and we love the golem artwork.

So easy to pick up & learn! Love the components & art!

The motto of this trilogy of games is: Get Gems. Convert Gems. Profit. A fantastic lighter weight game. Easily taught, and enjoyed by players of all ages. Reminiscient of games like Splendor, but different enough to be included in your collection, even if you already have Splendor. Can be combined with the other 2 games in the series???? 7 possible combinations that actually work well together? Yes, please.

Super easy and super fun

Been looking for this version for a while. So glad I finally found it. Great game with great replay ability. Easy to learn and teach.

I bought my sister the re-skinned version of this game Century: Spice Road for Christmas. After a few games of that I decided we needed a copy of it and picked up the Golem Edition. The game plays the exact same, but I prefer the Golem Edition. The game is a streamlined game that I find is easy to explain; the instructions are a single double sided piece of paper. The game play loop is quick and varied enough that no-one feels like they have been shafted. On your turn you get to do one of four actions: Play an Action Card, Draft an Action Card, Refresh your Hand, or Buy a Victory Card. Playing action cards is pretty straight forward. The game gives you easy to read iconography that lays out what the card does. No need to reference the manual or read a block of text. They come in three simple options with easy to read iconography for what to do: produce (mine), upgrade, or exchange. Production cards get you gems from the bank to add to your caravan (you can hold up to 10). Upgrade cards let you upgrade one or more gems (they have a rank of Yellow > Green > Blue > Pink). You upgrade as many times as the icon shows (typically two). Exchange cards let you trade some of your gems in to the bank for other gems (netting an increase). Drafting is simple. You can take the lead card for free, or any other card visible in the stack at a cost of one of your gems per each card you skip over. When you draft a card it goes in your discard and any gems that were on it become yours. Refreshing (Resting in the game terms) is picking up any cards you've played and adding them back into your hand. Unlike games with more cards (say Dominion), you don't have a deck. Cards have only two states: in your hand to play, or in your discard pile played/bought. Buying Victory cards ("golems") is also straight forward. They have a number of gems on the bottom. When you have the appropriate gem, you can trade them in to the bank and get the victory card. If the card is in the lead two spaces you also get a bonus coin worth 3 or 1 victory points (a way to help drive pre-planning). Each person's turns can take seconds, so the game flows pretty quickly (until you hit a moment of analysis paralysis which is thankfully rare). Honestly our games only slow down when we forget to tell the next person it is there turn. It is a good game to play during a meal or while chatting. It's a good filler game and sit game to play while visiting. It is easy to pick up, and it's not one that tends to have a single person dominate. So why do I prefer the Golem Edition? Besides enjoying the fantasy theme more, I think the Gems are easier to tell apart due to their vibrancy. They are also colorblind friendly so my brother-in-law can play. The build quality of the game is good. Nice cards, easy to read, and hefty metal coins. My one gripe is I wish the insert had more room for the cards, they barely don't fit, and it could have been easily fixed. I'll likely replace the insert with a custom one at some point. Other thoughts: this is the first game I got a play mat for. It's made me appreciate play mats.

I bought my sister the re-skinned version of this game Century: Spice Road for Christmas. After a few games of that I decided we needed a copy of it and picked up the Golem Edition. The game plays the exact same, but I prefer the Golem Edition. The game is a streamlined game that I find is easy to explain; the instructions are a single double sided piece of paper. The game play loop is quick and varied enough that no-one feels like they have been shafted. On your turn you get to do one of four actions: Play an Action Card, Draft an Action Card, Refresh your Hand, or Buy a Victory Card. Playing action cards is pretty straight forward. The game gives you easy to read iconography that lays out what the card does. No need to reference the manual or read a block of text. They come in three simple options with easy to read iconography for what to do: produce (mine), upgrade, or exchange. Production cards get you gems from the bank to add to your caravan (you can hold up to 10). Upgrade cards let you upgrade one or more gems (they have a rank of Yellow > Green > Blue > Pink). You upgrade as many times as the icon shows (typically two). Exchange cards let you trade some of your gems in to the bank for other gems (netting an increase). Drafting is simple. You can take the lead card for free, or any other card visible in the stack at a cost of one of your gems per each card you skip over. When you draft a card it goes in your discard and any gems that were on it become yours. Refreshing (Resting in the game terms) is picking up any cards you've played and adding them back into your hand. Unlike games with more cards (say Dominion), you don't have a deck. Cards have only two states: in your hand to play, or in your discard pile played/bought. Buying Victory cards (golems) is also straight forward. They have a number of gems on the bottom. When you have the appropriate gem, you can trade them in to the bank and get the victory card. If the card is in the lead two spaces you also get a bonus coin worth 3 or 1 victory points (a way to help drive pre-planning). Each person's turns can take seconds, so the game flows pretty quickly (until you hit a moment of analysis paralysis which is thankfully rare). Honestly our games only slow down when we forget to tell the next person it is there turn. It is a good game to play during a meal or while chatting. It's a good filler game and sit game to play while visiting. It is easy to pick up, and it's not one that tends to have a single person dominate. So why do I prefer the Golem Edition? Besides enjoying the fantasy theme more, I think the Gems are easier to tell apart due to their vibrancy. They are also colorblind friendly so my brother-in-law can play. The build quality of the game is good. Nice cards, easy to read, and hefty metal coins. My one gripe is I wish the insert had more room for the cards, they barely don't fit, and it could have been easily fixed. I'll likely replace the insert with a custom one at some point. Other thoughts: this is the first game I got a play mat for. It's made me appreciate play mats.