Mundus Novus
2-6
13+
60
The Art of Trading in the New World!
It is the sixteenth century. You are a powerful merchant in search of riches from the recently discovered New World (Mundus Novus). To transport gold and precious commodities (cocoa, corn, vanilla ...), you and your fellow conquistadores will charter fleets of caravels, seek the support of famous backers, build warehouses and buy goods. Expand your business empire and make a fortune!
An immersive, tactical game with three ways to win means endless replayability!
images © Asmodee
User Reviews (2)
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At heart, Mundus Novus is a simple set collection game that sees the players as traders in the new world, trading goods cards in order to acquire developments (like ships, storehouses, and special-power-granting conquistadors) and earn coin that may eventually win them the game. The winner is either the richest player when someone reaches 75 doubloons (or the development card stack runs out), or the first person to “shoot the moon” and have one card of each good type in their hand.
While these multiple paths to victory (and ability-altering special cards) are suggestive of a viable medium-weight experience, hardcore gamers might be let down by the overall package. While the trading mechanism is clever and the developments allow for various strategies, meaningful tactical choices are somewhat limited. Keeping track of what kinds of goods your fellow players are taking allows you to make smarter choices (and even deny trades to leading players), but these choices rarely have a long lasting impact.
As such, Mundus Novus occupies a middle ground: casual and family gamers may be a bit bewildered by the mechanics at first, but will definitely warm to it as they become familiar with its lightweight interactions. Strategic and avid gamers may be initially interested in the potential for strategy and tactics, but may be turned off by its lack of depth. Mundus Novus is a good game, but it is a light one. Play with 3-4 and you’ll be treated to a good bit of super-filler (5-6 players is doable, but tends to drag).
Opening Broadsides
Mundus Novus is an attractive card-game in which players compete to win via one of two methods through the canny trading of Resources, skillful hand-management of cards and the shrewd acquisition of Developments.
The game-play involves charting a course to victory by either acquiring 75 coins or revealing a full set of 10 different Resources, before your opponents. To do this, you’ll need to trade your own cards with those of the other players to allow investment in Developments, which improve your ability to gain Coins – and/or Resources – in future rounds. Simply acquiring Developments will not lead to victory itself and the skill comes in choosing when to Develop, when to Trade and when to Sell for Coin.
Of course, you may not be aiming to win by amassing Coins and instead be seeking El Dorado and hoping to achieve victory by declaring 10 unique Resource cards. But it’s a high-risk strategy that observant players can spot and possibly thwart, or their rampant acquisition of Coin may simply be too fast to beat.
Pros
+ Rewards observant players.
+ Good production quality.
+ Supports up to Six players.
+ More than just a filler.
+ Meaningful choices.
+ High re-playability.
+ Language independent.
Cons
– Game-play is harder to explain than it should be.
– Two-player experience is lacking.
– Can take longer than expected.
– New players may not be competitive against old hands.
Passing Shot
I’ve enjoyed Mundus Novus whenever it’s hit the table, and victory is usually a close-run thing with plenty of meaningful and – at times – tough decisions to make. However, I sometimes feel that for the time invested I could have played a few lighter and funnier games or something heavier and more engaging.