Jake Waltier

Per the rules, the 2-player game does not have a fixed ending as with other numbers of players, but instead continues until all but one (or zero) non-settlement building has been built. This can lead to long, meandering game endings unless someone is trying to force the end of the game by building buildings (which can sometimes be worth fewer points than other actions). If you prefer a fixed ending, play 6 or 8 more rounds (not 7, because it would give the first player an additional turn) and have a final settlement phase as you would with other numbers of players.

Rather than bag the goods and pile them up on the table, store them in a craft box and only remove them as players need them. This decreases setup and takedown time as well as required table space. I use an Artbin 4006AB (http://artbin.com/crafts/default.asp?p=Details&c=STORAGE+ESSENTIALS&s=SOLUTIONS+BOXES&i=4006AB) and it is the perfect fit. I use half of each column for each good, except the 5-gold tokens fit into a 2-space and all the wood, plastic, and 5x multiplier tokens fit into a 4-space.

While they give you the pieces required to lock each wheel with one arm (or hand, or spinner), don’t close and lock them! There aren’t enough arm pieces to leave the wheels permanently locked. Just put the larger plastic piece through the spinner and one arm, and set it on the table. Unless you pick up the wheel (which you shouldn’t do anyway) you won’t have any issues, and you don’t have to include a tool to help you remove them.

I found storing and organizing the goods and francs to be a pain until I found a package of small square containers at my dollar store (in Seattle) and again at a different store (in San Diego). If you stumble upon a 10-pack of small square containers with locking lids, pick it up. The boxes are exactly the right size and shape to both store the tokens in the box and also conveniently hold them on the board during play. It’s as though they were made specifically for this game.

However you can store the bits, do it conveniently and watch your enjoyment of the game grow.

If you find that certain companies tend to be ignored and their stocks clog up the market, try this variant.

If a player places two airplanes on the board in one turn, that player can take all the stocks of a single company from the lineup. For example, all of the shares of Air Amigos. None of the cards can come from the top of the deck – they all must be from the visible lineup. The cards are also not replaced until the end of the turn, so a player cannot keep replacing cards and taking them if they are of the same company as initially chosen.

This house rule provides some incentive for taking stocks in high-stock-number-but-low-value airlines. The cards can be added to the portfolio in bulk, or can be easily traded for Air Abacus stock.

Sometimes while trying to decide between two great building contracts, you can forget how many action points you’ve spend that turn. Here are two easy ways to track action points:

1) Glass stones. A handful of glass stones (or square glass beads) make for a very tangible and visible marker of how many action points you have available. Put them on your player board when it’s your turn, and slide them off as you spend them.

2) An eight-sided die. Using an eight-sided die (or d8, in gamer terms) is a convenient way to track something. While slightly less tangible than glass stones, it’s still easy to use and doesn’t take up much space in the box. If you can find one, use a “spindown” d8, where each face of the die is bordered by the higher number and lower number, for easy counting.

Note that one player will have 8 action points a turn, so prepare to track 8 actions points, not the standard 6.

While this is an excellent game, certain circumstances can make the game play and feel longer than it should. To limit overall game time and downtime, try these tips:

1) Limit the number of players to 3. The area control mechanics need at least 3 players to really shine, but beyond that it can add a lot of time.

2) Fight analysis paralysis. Tell players to plan when it’s not their turn so they can act quickly when it is. Also, tell them it’s okay to make less-than-optimal decisions for the sake of fun.

3) Shorten the game. If you want to include several players but don’t want to spend all night placing dwarves, try the variant of only playing until the second scoring round instead of the third. Keep in mind this lessens the impact of long-term benefits from buildings, and thus shifts the balance of effectiveness toward immediate benefit buildings like the gatehouse or keep, but as all players should be aware of this it should not be considered a balance issue. Make sure all players are in agreement in regards to this variant – finding out the game is over when you expected a few more rounds can be a night-ruiner.

Of course, if you do have all night and all the players are used to significant downtime, go ahead and play how you like.

If you’ve filled a road and you have just one action left, it can be tempting to complete the route and claim your skill upgrade or kontor. However, if you abandon it and leave it empty, the next player can jump right in and claim it herself. If there is no immediate benefit to completing that route on that turn (such as an additional action), leave your traders and merchants blocking off other players and keeping them fighting over other routes. Complete the route first thing next turn, and then enjoy the benefits of your new acquisition.