The Estates

The EstatesThe Estates is part of a range of games called 'Simply Complex' from Capstone Games. The aim is to provide games which are a hearty meal, yet delivered in bite sized portions of satisfaction. The Estates certainly achieves this, but be warned this is a game with 'high player interaction' which is another way of saying it is incredibly mean! The basic premise sees you and the other players building a series of towers in a four by four grid. Over the

The Estates is part of a range of games called 'Simply Complex' from Capstone Games. The aim is to provide games which are a hearty meal, yet delivered in bite sized portions of satisfaction. The Estates certainly achieves this, but be warned this is a game with 'high player interaction' which is another way of saying it is incredibly mean! The basic premise sees you and the other players building a series of towers in a four by four grid. Over the course of play this grid can be shortened or lengthened, but the important thing is that when a row has a tower in every possible space it is considered 'complete' for scoring purposes. At the start of the game all the wonderfully chunky and tactile building blocks are placed in a bag and 24 are drawn out, formed into a 3x8 grid. These blocks are numbered 1-6 and come in one of six colours. Next to these are a shareholder certificate for each of the six colours, the major piece and the three shortening/lengthening pieces. Each player is given 12 cheques of one million each and no more money will enter the game. A bag of roof tiles is also placed to one side. On a turn you choose one of the game pieces and put it up for auction. The bidding starts with the player to your left and everyone can raise or pass until it gets back to you. Then you have a choice - accept the bid, take the money of the bidder and let them place the piece, or pay the bid to the highest bidder and place the piece yourself. With roofs and block these must be placed on the board, but the other pieces can be discarded or used. If you place the first block of a colour onto the board you also take the share certificate for that colour, this in turn means you have the opportunity to score points at the end of the game. To do this you want one of your colour blocks at the top of towers on completed rows, then you will score all the numbers on blocks and roofs in your towers. However if the row isn't complete you will lose those points instead. The other pieces add some mischief to all this by doubling points (positive or negative), and changing the lengths of the rows for better or worse. The gameplay loop is amazingly interactive and the choices it presents are compelling. The value placed on the items on display is always changed thanks to the fixed amount of money in the game, and winning without owning any shares is entirely plausible if you set your sights on ruining every other players chances! The Estates is a high player interaction game where you will constantly be at odds with other players, this doesn't suit everyone but for those who like that style of game The Estates is a very good example of one! Player Count: 2-5 Time: 40-60 Minutes Age: 10+