In July 2018, Raccoon Tycoon by Forbidden Games was successfully released on Kickstarter financed. Only half a year later, the backers had their game in their hands. Now, around 5 years later, Raccoon Tycoon has also appeared in German game stores thanks to Piatnik. Find out in this review whether the cutely designed economic game is fun or rather dry.
Astoria is a land of rapid economic growth and high productivity. Factories are sprouting up across the land and savvy business magnates are sensing a big deal. They want to make a fortune on the peak of these developments. They produce goods, build new factories and buildings, invest in new companies - all to achieve even higher profits. The possibilities in Astoria's golden age are limitless!
Simple basic principle…
In Raccoon Tycoon we take on the role of aspiring tycoons who try to produce a variety of goods on a constantly changing market and sell them as profitably as possible. With this money we can take part in auctions or invest in new buildings that provide long-term advantages. The person who has collected the most victory points at the end wins.
On our turn we must perform one of five actions: production, selling goods, auctioning shares, building or acquiring territory:
To produce we play one of our hand cards and increase the market value of the goods in the upper part of the card by $1 per good and take any 3 goods tiles from the lower part of the card. Sell we have goods, we choose a type of goods and sell all our goods of that type for the current value – then the market value is reduced by $1 per sold goods tile. auction off shares we choose one of the two face-up share cards and name a starting price of our choice. All other players can now bid until only one person is left - this person receives the share card. erect a structure we buy one of the four openly displayed buildings and place it in front of us. acquire territory We must fulfill the requirement for goods tokens and hand them in to receive them.
Once we have carried out one of the five actions, it is the next person's turn. The game ends as soon as the last share card has been auctioned, the last building has been constructed or the last area has been acquired.
… many possibilities
With these action options, we try to gradually increase our holdings of money and goods in order to convert them into victory points in the form of territories, shares and buildings. While territories simply give the victory points printed on them, the aim with share cards is to have invested in the same company as often as possible or to have bought the same type of share card. The more shares you own, the more points you get at the end of the game. In addition, you get an additional 2 victory points for each pair of share and territory cards at the end of the game.
With a few exceptions, buildings usually only give you one victory point. However, the investment is worthwhile, as buildings offer significant improvements for the rest of the game. For each building, we not only get more space for our goods tiles (we start with a storage limit of 10), but also an effect that lets us collect more goods of a type, for example, or gives us positive bonuses whenever a player starts an auction. However, you have to weigh up whether an investment will really pay off in the end, as some are quite expensive. Since it's all about victory points in the end, you should think carefully about whether you want to invest in a building, for example, or whether you would rather bid for a share.
Information about Raccoon Tycoon
| Number of people: 2-5 people Age: from 8 years Playing time: 60 to 90 minutes Difficulty: Family game Classification: Economic Game, Set Collection, Bidding Game idea: Glenn Drover Illustrations: Jacoby O'Connor, Annie Stegg Publisher: Piatnik, Forbidden Games Official Website: Link Year of publication: 2023 Language: German Cost: 34,95 Euro |
Conclusion
Raccoon Tycoon is a fairly simple economic game that manages to replicate the theme well. Every decision we make feels like it has major consequences that we need to be prepared for. If we decide to invest in a building, for example, we can be sure that we will have less chance of winning an auction for the time being. Since all information is open, it is also important to keep an eye on our competitors and strike at the right moment. For example, we have the opportunity to snatch cards that our competitors need, take money out of their pockets at auctions, or sell goods in advance that they might want to sell.
There aren't really any major negative points here. The simplicity of Raccoon Tycoon means that some elements are based on luck. You just have to have the right cards in your hand at the right moment to be able to sell them as profitably as possible. And with Raccoon Tycoon, too, you can plan well, but with four or five players the situation on the game board can look very different than it does after your own turn. None of this is really bad, but it should at least be mentioned briefly.
Ultimately, Raccoon Tycoon is a game that can definitely be played as a nightcap or during a cozy evening with people who occasionally play games.
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Raccoon Tycoon - The sales success from the USA! The strategic... * |
29,82 EUR |
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