Tabletop_Gaming__April_2019

74 April 2019

PLAYED

e decisions in Crown of Emara

are not hard, but the sheer volume of

things one can do leaves players a lot

to think about. If that wasn’t enough,

the game also has two dierent victory

point systems. Whichever track, citizen

or house, is the lowest at the end of the

game is the one that determines the

player’s overall position. While that

creates competition for areas around

the boards, as various places generate

dierent types of victory points,

overall it feels unnecessary. e

two-track system mostly just confuses

players and doesn’t contribute a

satisfying crescendo towards the end

of the game.

After six rounds, the game just

ends. Except for some residual

resources that players can exchange

to push their victory point tracks up,

there aren’t any other game-twisting

elements that make the reveal of the

winner more exciting. While there

is nothing wrong with the tried and

tested ‘most points wins’ conclusion,

it’s hard to feel like you have

progressed, as very little has changed

on the beautiful boards. A satisfying

conclusion is missing; the players

could feasibly keep going for six more

rounds and they would be doing

exactly the same things as before.

Crown of Emara is extraordinary

and generic at the same time. Some

of its most interesting elements are

in constant conict with overused

concepts and needlessly convoluted

mechanics. It seemingly looks out

too much for Eurogame lovers,

underplaying its strongest elements in

order to play it safe. In certain respects,

it succeeds; Eurogame fans will nd

plenty to enjoy. However, those looking

for something that oers fresher ideas

might not be satised with countryside

vistas and townscapes alone.

ALEX SONECHKINA

I

n a game of generic Eurogame

bingo, Crown of Emara easily

scores a winning combination.

Medieval setting? Tick. A

smorgasbord of meeples of various

shapes and sizes, and cardboard

pieces galore? Tick. A theme so broad

that you forget about it minutes into

the gameplay? Tick. Various strategic

paths to victory that overwhelm with

their number but are actually fairly

straightforward? Bingo!

While Crown of Emara might not

give the best of rst impressions, there

are some diamonds in its circlet. Even

though the game attempts to distract

players with the pursuit of ancillary

advisers and title cards, its crowning

features mechanically and visually

are the two boards representing

countryside and town environments.

e top-down artwork of both

areas is drawn in three dimensions

and, once populated with meeples

and tokens, they instantly come alive.

It is easy to imagine the homeliness

of the little villages next to the mines

and the busy market street bustling

with things to buy and exchange.

It's a real shame that the box art of

Crown of Emara is so generic and

lacklustre when it has such a winning

look inside. e boards deliver the

entire story and premise of the game

without the need for words.

roughout the game, players will

be moving the meeples clockwise

around the two boards, picking

up resources in the villages and

exchanging them for victory points

and cards in the town. While both

locations are linked through gameplay

and depend on one another, they

also constantly compete for players’

attention. e village entices by

oering players more resources to

supplement future actions through a

simple engine-building mechanic; the

spaces needed to get that engine going

are limited, so the players will need to

occupy them fast to get decent returns.

ere is also an urgency in visiting

the town. e price at which resources

are exchanged for victory points

increases the more people visit

dierent areas in the town – the earlier

players get to a market or a cathedral,

the more they stand to gain from it.

Deciding whether to move a

meeple along the countryside or

town track is the main strategic

tension of Crown of Emara. ere

is the opportunity to plan several

turns ahead, making every turn the

most ecient it can be. e game

creates a robust set of restrictions that

prevent players from roaming the

environments carefree, by restricting

their movement and limiting the

number of actions they can perform.

Not quite t for a king

Crown of Emara

45-75m 1-4 12+ £46

WHAT’S IN

THE BOX?

◗ Scoring track

◗ Four countryside

locations

◗ Four town locations

◗ Nobility board

◗ Four player boards

◗ 16 books

◗ 12 signet rings

◗ Two gold coins

◗ 12 breads

◗ 12 favour tokens

◗ Four donations

markers

◗ Four gift markers

◗ Bread marker

◗ Stone marker

◗ Statue

◗ 36 action cards

◗ 20 nobility cards

◗ 14 event cards

◗ 22 advisor cards

◗ Four turn overviews

◗ 44 resources

◗ 16 craftsmen

◗ Eight councillors

◗ Four citizens

◗ Four buildings

TRY THIS IF

YOU LIKED...

LORDS OF

WATERDEEP

Lords of Waterdeep

offers a more

robust theme and

executes the loop of

exchanging goods

for points with m ore

satisfaction, but

Crown of Emara

offers a dynamic

market system

and environments

that attempt to

break away from

worker-placement

conventions.

(^) PLAY IT? MAYBE
Attempting but failing to break away
from some of the more overused
Eurogame staples, Crown of Emara
is as beautiful as it is generic.
order to play it safe. In certain respects,
it succeeds; Eurogame fans will nd
plenty to enjoy. However, those looking
for something that oers fresher ideas
might not be satised with countryside
vistas and townscapes alone.
ALEX SONECHKINA