Porta Nigra Review

Drew

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Posted by Drew on Feb 25, 2016

Porta Nigra is all about building up various great works in Rome. And, as it was done historically, players build the whole thing with various colors of bricks. It is the first game in Stronghold’s Great Designer series and it is a simple, appealing title to introduce this new brand and it offers a new title by two truly great designers indeed- Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. It’s a simple and accessible game. But that simplicity belies a strong strategic element and an experience that constrains choice, forcing players into careful management of precious resources.

Every player starts with a master builder who can construct the great buildings. Each building resides in a different quarter of the board as do each of the colors of bricks. Players also have a pile of eight cards in their personal deck, each of which allows a number of actions and has several symbols. A card that allows two actions, for example, might have three symbols. So you get to pick two of them to do on a turn.

A player has a hand of only two cards, though. So you must choose between them. And once chosen you generally can’t do everything the card depicts. So in each round, you are not only choosing to do certain things – taking incremental steps toward your master strategy – but also choosing what to bypass.

The two main actions allow you to either buy bricks or build parts of a structure. For either, your master builder must be where those things are. So if you want to buy red bricks, your master builder has to be in the red brick quarter. If you want to build the Basilica, then you have to be in its quarter. If you aren’t there, you pay to move your builder.

Victory points are awarded whenever you build something. Generally, the higher the tower and the more valuable the brick (blue bricks are worth less than yellow, for instance), the more points you receive. There are always six building cards on display. Each shows a color and a structure. If you build that color on that structure, you get the card. At game end, you get points for sets of those cards. There is also end game scoring based on who has the most bricks in each structure. The one with the most points wins.

Porta Nigra is unexpectedly enjoyable. The game space is, theoretically, wide open. You have a ton of different actions available and numerous ways to get points. Plus, you find yourself regularly picking up little bonuses like building and honor cards. So you constantly feel like you’re achieving. There’s something to be said for the enjoyment that comes from numerous micro-successes.

The game just feels happily satisfying because you are accomplishing something on nearly every turn. Yet Porta Nigra avoids the “point salad” feeling of games where every turn and every action rewards the player. It’s more that this game about planning, tactical choice, and outwitting your neighbors feels so very entertaining.

Despite that, the experience isn’t an airy, brainless breeze. Even though the playing field is wide open, the cards significantly constrain your choices. If you had access to every action, the game would be predictable and dull. And, if the game limited you to one action on a turn, it would likewise lose much of its charm. Instead, players have limited choices, but can do multiple things on a turn – sometimes sneaking out big plays.

This is no multi-player solitaire. You have to constantly eye what your opponents are doing and move to intercept. Use your bricks to build where they were likely to go; or build before they can interfere with you. Plus, there are a lot of little tricky maneuvers. The brick market fills to 14 bricks, but doesn’t refill until it falls below 7, meaning that if there are exactly 7 bricks on your turn, maybe you don’t buy one. Leave the slim brick market for the next opponent and hope that he buys bricks so that it will be full before your next turn.

Ultimately, Porta Nigra is a fabulous way to kick off the Great Designer series. It creates huge opportunities for great play while also challenging you to use your cards prudently. It necessitates long term strategy as it can take several turns to buy the right bricks and build in the best spaces.

But it also emphasizes tactics. From turn to turn, players grapple with the best use of their cards. Completely tactical play may not net you the most points, but if you don’t stray from grand strategies when the opportunities are there, you may also fall short. Knowing when to jump on an apparent opportunity, and knowing when it’s better to stockpile bricks for a few more turns, is the dominant question presented during gameplay. Players can even grab “influence” which can be turned in for various actions – essentially buying flexibility for later turns.

Still, there are nits that can be picked. Even though the bricks are “black” or “red” in game terms, they are all represented by the same dull gray plastic bits. And, while they are stacked on the board for an eye catching three dimensional effect, it also means that careless hands can easily tip them over while reaching across the board or even putting new bricks into the market.

The problems, though, lie with the practical methods of playing the game, not with the game itself. While a modicum of caution should be able to avoid any terrible mishaps, others can replace the plastic bricks with more stackable objects (perhaps Lego?).

As far as the game goes, though, it’s an absolute treat. This is perhaps the most enjoyable Kramer/Kiesling title in recent years. And those without a deep and abiding love for the euro should be able to get behind the strong player interaction and tactical considerations.