Beschrijving
Encyclopedia
The year is 1739, and as aspiring naturalists and adventurers, you’ve been hired by the Comte de Buffon – Darwin’s predecessor – to help him create the first encyclopedia of natural history. This requires you to conduct research, organise ambitious expeditions and publish studies of the world’s most fascinating creatures!
Gameplay
Encyclopedia is a dice-based worker placement game. At the beginning of each round, you draw and roll dice and then place them on your player board. It’s important to monitor what actions other players possibly want for their turn because you might entice them to pick the dice from your board. This will grant you small but interesting extras. The dice can then be used to perform an action each turn. Some action require a specific value while other actions require a specific color. There are lots of ways to mitigate these requirements.
The Embassy will help you prepare for your expeditions. The Bank will raise you funds and at the University you’ll hire your research team. Once you’re ready to go, you’ll choose the Animal cards you wish to study. Then you’ll organise expeditions to observe them in their natural habitats. Your observations will result in publishing papers. These will give you the opportunity to become the biggest contributor to Buffon’s Encyclopedia. Every publication you make will earn you Victory points. At the end of the game, you’ll score points based on collections of Animals and research amassed during play. The naturalist with the most points wins!
Summarised
The game’s beautiful theme – with gorgeously illustrated animal cards – ties in strongly with its mechanics, making the rules easy to grasp so that you can jump straight in to devising the perfect strategy. If you plan your expeditions correctly and studie diligently you can set up some satisfying big point turns. The game plays very smooth and the dice rarely cause you any trouble because there are lots of ways to manipulate the dice to change their colour or pips.
The solo mode is very well done, providing you with different bots with different skill levels. They can also be added to your two or three player games.
