Tavern Masters: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Cooperative/Competitive, Hand Management, Simultaneous Action
Player Age: 13+ Player Count: 1 - 6 PlayersTime to Play: 20 - 30 Minutes
Game Designer: Dan Kriss
Player Age: 13+
Game Designer: Dan Kriss
Objective:
Throughout Tavern Masters you are trying to prove that you have the best bar at the tavern festival. This is done by stocking an abundance of food and beverages as well as hiring the best staff to serve as many patrons as possible and keep them there. Each patron has a want that will get them into the bar but giving them what they like will keep them at the bar between rounds. Each patron you attract will give you one gold and the first player to reach 20 unspent gold will be the tavern master.
Card Anatomy:
Tavern Cards:
Tavern cards come in two types; goods and staff. The anatomy of the cards work the same. There is the type on the top right, the cost on the bottom right, and an ability (if there is one) displayed in the middle below the image. Staff cards do have a discounted option that will allow you play the staff member for free if you have the prerequisite shown below the cost.
Patron Cards:
Patron cards have a banner at the bottom centre that shows the wants that character has. Having this want in your bar is what attracts the patron to come inside. Patrons also have a type and effect at times like the tavern cards. They also tend to have likes. These likes will keep the patron at your bar after the round ends, meaning that as long as your bar has what they like you can keep them around every round to keep the coins flowing.
There are also noble patrons who are harder to play as you need a card in your tavern that allows you to play nobles. The benefit of the nobles is that they will have drastically stronger effects and will give you two coins every round instead of one.
Setup:
- Shuffle the tavern cards and patron cards separately.
- Each player begins with three gold and four tavern cards.
How to Play:
There are three phases; the day phase, night phase and counting the till. Players will simultaneously play through these rounds together so there are no turns as such.
Day Phase:
To begin the day phase you draw three tavern cards (excluding the first round of the game). Using your accumulated gold you will spend that to play any tavern cards in your hand. During this phase you can trade gold or tavern cards with other willing players.
Night Phase:
The night phase is when you attract patrons to your tavern. Each player will draw three patrons, the players can then play any patron card in their hand that have a want met.
Counting till:
During this phase each player will gain one gold for each patron and two gold for each noble patron. They will then discard the cards in their hand down to five cards. Each patron will then be discarded and leave the taverns unless the tavern they are visiting has their like.
The first player to reach 20 coins after the counting till phase is the winner and the Tavern Master.
Final Thoughts:
Pros:
- Fun engine building race to gain 20 coins.
- Competitive, Cooperative or solo modes.
Cons:
- Involves a lot of luck of the draw
Tavern Masters is a fun gateway game that has easy rules and a quick playtime. At first glance, the rules look a bit too basic but the game works, this is an entry-level tableu builder about trying to get patrons into your tavern, and if you are really skilled, having them stay. Expansions add more luck, more backstabbing and more content. This is a game that I wouldn't judge purely on its luck or simplicity because this game is a lot of fun and I am eager to dig into the expansion content.
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