Tabletop_Gaming__Issue_27__February_2019

74 February 2019

PLAYED

dierent branches of the government

• whether that’s building the Great
  Wall to protect from Mongol attack
  or engaging with in-palace intrigue


• helps it all make perfect sense. It is
  ultimately up to the player to decide
  which parts of the board they would
  like to get involved with and which
  objectives to chase in order to progress.
  ere are a couple of elements
  that set Gùgōng aside from the typical
  worker-placement gameplay template.
  In order to place a worker on the
  board, players need to exchange gifts


• cards of values one to nine – with the
  ocial responsible for that particular
  area of government. If the gift value
  is higher, the player can perform the
  respective actions, whereas with a
  lower value card, they just get a new
  card for the next round. As there are
  limited cards in play, it is fairly easy to
  know what every opponent has in their

A

bribe is not a bribe if it is an

exchange of an expensive

gift for a slightly cheaper gift

and a favour, right? At least, that was

the policy of Chinese ocials of the

Forbidden City under the rule of the

Longqing Emperor, who attempted to

battle the increasing bureaucracy and

corruption of the Chinese government...

apparently to little success.

is is the main inspiration behind

Gùgōng, a worker-placement game set

in the Forbidden City where players

are the noble families vying for favour

with the Emperor by innocently – and

lawfully – exchanging gifts (denitely

not bribes!) with the highest ocials

for an assortment of favours. e

theme is a strong glue that holds

together what could otherwise could

be perceived as a disparate collection

of mini-games.

Mechanically, Gùgōng is still a rather

unconnected mishmash of area-

control, set-collection and even racing

games that are activated through

worker placement and somehow

found on the same board. However,

having various ocials, responsible for

No bribes required

to put this on the table

GÙGŌNG

60-90m 1-5 12+ £54

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED... COIMBRA

Coimbra is slightly better at easing players through a panic-inducing, complex-

looking board behind which simple yet excellent gameplay is hidden. However,

both games do well at uniting a variety of mechanics on the same board into

coherent and exciting play.

WHAT’S IN

THE BOX?

◗ Game board

◗ Five player boards

◗ Round marker

◗ Start Player marker

◗ Next Start

Player medal

◗ 38 gift cards

◗ 11 solo cards

◗ 32 travel tokens

◗ Six bonus

travel tokens

◗ 15 decree tiles

◗ 20 jade

◗ 15 Grand

Canal ships

◗ 60 servants

◗ Five double servants

◗ Five travellers

◗ Five envoys

◗ Five VP discs

◗ Five intrigue markers

◗ Three destiny dice

hands and even anticipate their moves,

which adds a nice layer of strategy and

indirect player interaction.

What makes the exchange of cards

even more meaningful are the destiny

dice, a series of randomly-rolled

numbers that, if matched at the end of

the round, give players extra workers,

the supply of which is always tight. is

makes every turn a tug-of-war between

actions the player either wants to or

can take, the available number of

workers and, nally, a gentle nudge

of the destiny dice that encourages

players to compete for the same cards.

So, while there are plenty of spots

on the board, even in the two-player

mode, there is enough competition

and interaction between players.

Gùgōng is a game that greets new

players by overwhelming them with

a complex-looking board, slightly

ddly setup and a smorgasbord

of iconology. Once the anxiety of

this rst encounter subsides, it

becomes clear the gameplay is very

straightforward and easy-owing

from round to round. It does feel,

however, that the proportion of setup

time versus actual gameplay (which

lasts only four rounds) is unbalanced.

When the board is completely set up

it looks gorgeous, but the number of

small cardboard pieces that require

sorting out and placing overextends

the preparation time and feels slightly

unnecessary considering how simply

and swiftly the game actually plays.

Despite its excesses, Gùgōng is an

easy game to like. While essentially an

assortment of small mini-games on the

same board, a clever and interesting

theme brings all of its elements

together into a unied whole that’s

greater than the sum of its parts.

ALEX SONECHKINA

PLAY IT? YES

Governmental corruption is definitely

wrong, but play your gifts right and

you will succeed for sure in Gùgōng.

While the message is a bit off – if

there was intended to be one at

all – this is a solid worker-placement

game that is easy to enjoy.