Clans of Caledonia (2017)

How to Play Clans of Caledonia

At the beginning of the game, each player drafts a clan, each with their own particular special power. These include being able to sell milk, aged whiskey in barrels to sell for more money, expand over sea spaces, and so on.

During a game round, each player performs their choice of an action, in player order, until all players pass.

• Build: You build animal herds that produce wool or milk, fields that produce grain, or specialty buildings that convert those basic goods into refined goods (such as whiskey, cheese or bread). Players can also placed to increase coin collected each round.
• Trade: You can buy and sell basic and processed goods, based on how many merchants you can deploy. Purchases drive the market prices up, while sales bring prices down.
• Acquire a Contract: You can select a new contract to fulfill, paying costs based on the round.
• Fulfill a Contract: You transfer the specified number of processed goods and meat from your supply to earn points and other rewards.
• Upgrade technology: You pay to increase the amount of coin you earn per turn, the number of merchants you can deploy, or range you can build.

At the end of each round, players produce basic goods based on the units deployed. You can convert basic goods into processed goods if corresponding buildings are built, and collect gold based on number and type of deployed workers. A scoring phase ends the round, with victory points earned based on the scoring criteria for that round.

After 5 rounds of play, a round of final scoring occurs. The three reward goods (tobacco, cotton, and sugar) earn increasing point values based on their rarity in fulfilled contracts. Players earn points for having the most fulfilled contracts and most settlements. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins!

Clans of Caledonia Review

“Clans of Caledonia is an incredibly strong game! A puzzle that I’ve found thoroughly engaging despite its rather long play time. Indeed, aside from those one or two points where the rules aren’t as generous as I felt they could be, the only place Clans really suffers is in comparison to Terra Mystica. There really are a lot of similarities, but the differences do make for a very different game, certainly to the degree of owning both.”

Matt, creakingshelves.com

“Clans of Caledonia is a game that appears complex at first glance, but is the epitome of “easy to learn and difficult to master.” Straightforward rules belie a game with a great deal of depth and variation between plays. Each game played provides players a completely different, yet rewarding game experience, making Clans of Caledonia a title that will grace our gaming table for years to come.”

Alex Rosenwald, boardgamequest.com

“Clans of Caledonia does a lot of things right. I get a good sense of growth and I can feel strong and special. The variable round scoring, modular map, and variety of clans keeps each game feeling fresh. The artwork is vibrant and inviting (which is par for the course for artist Klemens Franz) and the little wooden bits are adorable…”

Alex Singh, islaythedragon.com

The content of this article is originally from Board Game Geek and boardgamequest.com. For more information and a better understanding of the game, you can watch the videos below.