:strip_icc()/pic2672796.jpg)
/pic168035.jpg)
/pic2439037.jpg)
/pic568561.jpg)
Thus, I trepidatiously offer the news of a new version of Medici due out in Q2 2016 from Australian publisher Grail Games, which to date has primarily published small games consisting mostly of cards, such as Matcha, Elevenses, and Too Many Cinderellas. In what is perhaps a good indicator of things to come, artwork on this edition of Medici comes from the more-than-able hand of Vincent Dutrait, as can be seen on the cover below:
:strip_icc()/pic2672797.jpg)
For those who don't know Medici, here's an overview: Each player is a merchant who wants to acquire and sell goods. Goods are represented by cards that come in five colors (types of goods) and are valued 0-5; an additional card is valued at 10, but has no type.
On a turn, a player reveals 1-3 cards from the deck one at a time, stopping when desired. Once the player stops, each player in clockwise order, starting with whoever is to the left of the active player, can make a single bid on this lot of goods; the active player can make the final bid. Each player bids with their points, so you're giving up current points to build toward more in the future. Each player has a boat that can hold at most five items. When you win an auction, you place the goods on your boat, moving up markers on goods charts that track how often you've dealt in a particular type of good.
Once everyone has filled their boats (or you've run out of goods in the deck, since players are not forced to bid), whoever has the lead or has placed second on each goods track scores a bonus. In addition, the player who has the "heaviest" boat — that is, the boat with the highest sum of values — receives a large bonus, with the other boats receiving smaller bonuses based on their "weight" (except for the lightest boat, which receives no bonus at all).
You then shuffle all the cards and complete two more rounds the same way. If you reach certain positions on the goods tracks, you receive bonus points, thereby giving you an incentive to specialize in particular types of goods — but usually at the cost of trying to create a heavy boat. And every time you bid, you're throwing away points, so you're constantly fighting against the tide (and the other players) to move ahead.
Grail Games notes this edition of Medici will contain "rules and component additions" that will allow the game to be played by only two players, whereas the player count on all other editions has been 3-6.
In a press release announcing this edition, Knizia writes, "Celebrating my 30-year anniversary, I am very excited to announce that Medici will once again be made available to board game enthusiasts. The new artwork and expanded rules will do nothing but add to the gaming experience Medici provides. It is one of my favorite games, and I am glad to see it back."
Me too, although my fingers will be crossed until Q2 2016 in the hope that this edition will finally turn out to be the one good enough to ship home to mother...
:strip_icc()/pic2671288.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic2529184.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic2668518.jpg)
/pic2651468.jpg)
