Review
East Indiaman
East Indiaman is a tight, quick, slightly odd game that takes some patience before it reveals itself. Its rulebook is not helping, and five players make the table feel rather cramped.
- Published
- 2018
- Designer
- David Wang
- Publisher
- David Wang Studio
- Players
- 2–4
- Playing time
- 90 min
East Indiaman sat in my collection for more than a year, not through lack of interest but because its rulebook has the familiar air of a document daring you to work it out alone. Give it a little patience, though, and a tight, pleasing game starts to emerge.
It is not quite worker placement, however much it resembles one at a glance. You have a set of ships and tokens, and their purpose keeps shifting: sometimes you spend them; sometimes you turn them into goods or outposts. The interesting decision is whether to preserve them as options or sacrifice them to get moving.
The interesting decision is whether to preserve them as options or sacrifice them to get moving.
TheCuttlefish
It moves quickly, but it is tight in the way that makes you feel somebody has already claimed the space you needed. At five players, with the fifth coming from a mini-expansion, it felt especially crowded; there was little breathing room on the table or in the choices. I would happily try it again with four. That may be where it finds its sea legs.
The rulebook needs work, but the game itself was not unpleasant at all: quick, constrained, and odd enough to deserve another chance with the right player mix.
The rulebook needs work, but the game itself was not unpleasant at all: quick, constrained, and odd enough to deserve another chance with the right player mix.
TheCuttlefish
Source: BoardGameGeek
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