Trajan Boardgame

I purchased this game after having played several other games by the designer, Stefan Feld, such as Castles of Burgundy, Luna, and Amerigo. I am a fan of the playing style of his games, which many refer to as a “point salad” (i.e. there are lots of different ways to get points throughout the game). For some people this is great and provides variability, and for others it is very annoying that there is no clear direction or strategy. I will leave it up to you to decide what is best for yourself. But on to this game….The first thing to talk about is the Mancala for action selection. It works really well and adds a great feeling to the game that is tense, strategic, frustrating, challenging, and rewarding at the same time. It may take a couple of plays to really get it, but it has made each game I play fun and interesting. On any given turn you will have multiple things to think about: what action do I want to do, can I even do that action, how many moves would it take, would that trigger a Trajan tile, would that add pieces to another tray and mess up a future action, should I do another action first, what action does my opponent want to take, can I get a double action first, can I meet my peoples demands this turn, etc. If this sounds painful to you, you most likely won’t love this game. I find it to be satisfyingly deep while still very playable.After playing this game a few times I have decided it is my favorite Feld game (so far), taking over the top spot from Castles of Burgundy. While it is very similar to the more recent Amerigo, I think it is a far superior game and I would always recommend this over that game. On the surface it appears complex with lots of pieces, a semi-complicated turn mechanism, and multiple actions available every turn. However, the game plays beautifully and smoothly. You can never do everything you want and you will always wish the mancala was just slightly different to get a great move. This tension gives the game a great feel and yet the games I have played go very quickly.I would highly recommend this game if you are interested in this type of “point salad” game. If you don’t like the designer’s other designs or other games of this type, this won’t be the game for you.

Excellent game. Very different to anything I have played before.Essentially you have two different strategy games going on at once. Moving your pieces in the trays so you can get the action you want and then doing the actions on the main board.Lots of different ways to play. You can build, conquer, trade or dominate the senate. So far we have found all the ways to be fairly well balanced so no - one completely dominates meaning everyone is in the game with a chance to win towards the end. (unlike games like risk where one false move means 2 hours of slowly losing with no chance to win).If you like strategy board games or computer games its worth a try.Games take an 1-2 hours to play, expect to spend a while on your first game as it is complicated. But its still fun and after a couple of games you will have picked it up

Excellent game. I did "try before I bought" online at Boîte à Jeux, so I did know what to expect, but still, it's even better in the... cardboard.I have given the game 5 stars as it is well-designed and has a load of different mechanics that keep your brain working time and time agin. The action pots is genius - it's nice to see a game with a new and interesting way of making a semi-random-semi-straegic move, and that's only the first part of your actual go.

this game is really good, it came with no damage and I am very happy with this purchase.

Good quality, excellent game play scenario, highly recommended

Unique mancala mechanism makes this game very original amongst other German-style board games. Many options available, some player may fall into AP, but that's a good quality of this game in my opinion. I rated this to 10 from 10 in BGG.

It's a pretty good game in its own right with lots of different ways to approach collecting victory points, but as I was playing I kept seeing it as a poor man's Tzolk'in. Still, the bowl concept is pretty cool!

Interesting mechanic of game, but I have expect more interaction between players