Gameplay
In Virtù players try to become the most influential and powerful through gaining area control and political worth. They do so through wheel building.
Every player starts the game with an assymetrical unique player board. On a turn they get to move their big playermarker on the wheel, 1 or 2 steps, performing the action they land upon. The actions on the board are upgradable and usually have a cost that can be paid in various ways.
Players collect points through area control, cultural development and prestige.
Thoughts
So, what are my thoughts on this isbeautifully illustrated game; strategical delight or too complex? 🧐
It took me a while to get a grasp of this game. Although I still think I didnt get a grasp of this game at all.. The rules were a bit much for me personally, after 2,5 hours of reading the rulebook with 3 players the first time, we were like: 'where did the time go?' 😅. So we ended up not playing it at all.
But, as the game does have some elements I really liked to explore, it came back to the table again!
This time we played with 5, and again the rules were a thing. This time one already played it, but still not everyone felt like playing until the end, since there was so much to look up in the rulebook.
So here I am, struggling with Virtù. A game which really interested me when I heard and read about the wheelbuilding mechanism - Taking 1 or a few steps on the wheel and taking that action, paying with other cards and conquered city abilities. A back and forth movement between your own playerboard and the cities on the map, sounds good right?
This game is not really for me, even though I can truly imagine it being great, maybe it just needs a rewrite of the rules, and maybe there are some strategical gamers out there that love this and think the rules are a piece of lovely apple pie.
So. My opinion in short:
👍 As mentioned earlier, I truly appreciate the thought of this game and maybe some more hardcore gamers can really dig deep with this game. I can definitely imagine this just not being for me.
👍 I really like the component quality and artwork of this game. The board is beautiful and there are a lot of interesting components.
➖ I think the rules are not very logically written. Sometimes explanations come too early and sometimes too late. Again, I really think if this was different it could change things for me!
➖ This game truly needs a lot of preparation, a bit more than watching a how to play video or scanning through the rules. If you're up for it, you might find a gem waiting on the other side
A copy of this game was provided to me by Geronimo Games for the purpose of writing this review. My opinion however remains my own.
Buy me a Ko-fi
