Belfort - Tips & Strategies

One of the biggest mistakes I see new players make is that they engage in “district warfare” were they spend too many resources trying to control one district competing with another player who is trying to do the same. Remember that two second place districts are worth more than one first place district and that being second place often takes much less resources.

Give all of your Dwarfs, Gnomes, and Elves names, and voices. It will annoy the other players to the point where they will not be able to correctly analyze the right play and you will win! It also adds a little player interaction.

WARNING/NOTICE: If you do this while playing with a spouse you may end up sleeping on the couch….but that may not be a bad thing if you just got a new video game and wanted to stay up all night playing it but didn’t want to seem rude.

One of the great things about this game is the strategy that goes into the turn order. As with most worker placement games turn order is very important as it allows you to select the resource you want before all others, but Belfort mixes in the area control mechanic and it really throws this aspect of the game for a loop that can make or break you.

One thing to note in Belfort is that this is not a left to right turn order. Each player has a numbered card that tells their turn order. When you place on the board for turn order you are actually trading with another player. Because of this often times first and last place are often traded the most, but each has their own advantage.

Going first is the best used on NON scoring rounds. This way you can get the best selection of the different guilds that offer you the most return. However, going last is the best on scoring rounds. Going last allows you to see the board and place your buildings after everyone else seeing where you can have the most influence in a section for area control. And the throw a twist at you. In the last round you usually do not want to go last with too many players as you are left with the least amount of options of places to put your buildings.

This is a great mechanic for the game. You really have to work it in a number of ways to come out with the win.

I have taught this game three times now and each time it seems that the players don’t fully grasp how powerful some/all of the guilds can be. I’ve found owning guilds in the early game can be a nice advantage to have in the long run.

When explaining the game be sure to explain each guild that’s available on the board, the benefits of using the guilds, and the benefits of owning the guilds. I’ve found this can put a little more emphasis on the guilds but makes the game play much more enjoyable for everyone.

It’s basic but it really makes a difference when everyone understands.

This game can be crippled with Analysis Paralysis on Scoring rounds, so we’ve created a Time Limit for moves on the final Scoring round. We’re considering placing a time limit on all Scoring turns, but for now the Final round is the only one we enforce.

The major problem we had is that it always felt rushed at the start of the Scoring round placement, so we start the turn by letting everybody look at the board for a minute or two.

Then when we start placing tokens, everybody gets 1 minute to place a token or pass. Since passing ends your turn, and your game, you really need to be quick on your toes.

This works great for our group, but might not work for everyone. Give it a shot and if it seems too tight, try 2 or 3 minutes per person.

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.

When I teach a player and it’s just going to be the pair of us, I leave out the dummy player. The game works fine 2-player without the dummy and they don’t have to figure out the strategy for where to place the dummy before they’ve fully grasped the game.

The Guilds come in sets that Jay and I arranged in sets that would promote a certain “feel” if used together, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use an Interactive guild with a Basic guild. Spice things up by varying the guilds you play with once you’ve got a good feel for how things work. And let us know which combinations of guilds you think are the best – we’re always looking for feedback on our games!