Guildhall - Tips & Strategies

Farmers generate money. Well, at least in this game. You know your opponents are either going to be trading for them or assassinating them. Keep a chapter of Traders going, and also a chapter of Historians. That way you can either steal them back, or just rummage through the discard pile.

My group really likes this game, but it can drag out a bit once you know how to block people from getting your stuff. It’s a great filler game if you just drop the VP requirement down a bit. We like 15 points as a nice sweet spot that cuts the game time by 10-15 minutes. This may change with expansions. You can pull out the really big VP cards to avoid the game ending too quickly due to a luck of the draw (They are a bit big anyway).

Note: This is a great game with a little tweaking. ~G

The Weaver profession is a great way to set up chapter completion, letting you place one or more cards from hand directly into your Guildhall depending on the number you have in play. When you have two Weavers (or more) already and are playing a third, she becomes strategic. The middle action on the Weaver card (for 2+) is to place two cards into your Guildhall and bounce one back into your hand. There are many ways to exploit this to your advantage.

– Place cards into chapters to get to four out of five, then bounce a Trader or Historian for the coup de grace to complete a chapter or two on a second action.
– Place cards, then bounce a Dancer, allowing you to play her to draw more cards and take a free action.
– Place cards, then bounce a Farmer for instant VP.
– Place cards, then bounce an Assassin to slow down your opponents from having a great turn.

If you’re at the point where you are playing the fifth Weaver with four already on deck, you can slough as much of your hand as possible into your Guildhall, and bounce 2 cards back. This requires a fair amount of luck with your hand, but can be a powerful way to set up future turns.