In CENTURY: GOLEM EDITION, players are drafting cards that allow the trade of coloured gems, which in turn are used as currency to purchase Golem cards.
Depending on player count, a certain number of Golems by a player triggers the end game. Then its just a case of points, coins, and left over gems to determine the winner.
Of course, there is more to it than that.
All players start with the same cards; take two yellow gems, or upgrade twice. It then falls to the market cards you’re able to draft to make your hand more powerful.
But, when you play one of your cards, it’s not available until you spend a turn recovering your cards.
This you can choose to do whether you’ve played one, five, or all your cards, so timing your plays and recovery can be critical.
Also, choosing which Golems to go for is important too. The two end cards in the row are worth bonus coins, which are worth extra points at the end of game.
CENTURY: GOLEM EDITION is a beautiful game, and it plays fast. Players only have a choice of three actions each turn, and if everyone knows what they’re doing, it can move at quite a pace.
The components are fantastic too and make the whole game stand out when set up on your table. Large cards, metal coins, and nice-looking plastic gems that are consistent across all three games in the trilogy.
The few problems I have with this game stem from the cards in the trading market.
Most of the cards in the game change gems up or down the chain. Only a rare few just give you gems.
If one player gets a couple of these, it can be hard to compete. You would constantly be starting with Yellow, and then using other turns to upgrade, while that player can produce the higher cost gems for free.
And the market itself can lock up and that’s frustrating and slows down the game.
Overall, CENTURY: GOLEM EDITION is short and beautiful, and makes a great gateway game in your collection.
Always Play Blue 