Ceylon (2018) Board Game
Ceylon is a board game released in 2018 by Ludonova. Designed by Chris Zinsli and Suzanne Zinsli, the game is set in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) during the colonial era. Players take on the roles of plantation owners competing to produce and export the most valuable goods.
## Game Components of Ceylon
– Game plan
– 4 Player Game Boards
– 46 Action Cards
– 32 plantation tiles
– 9 terrain tiles
– 8 councillor tiles
– 7 starting tiles
– 20 contract cards
– 1 contract overview card
– 17 technology tiles
– 4 bonus tiles (for capturing all areas)
– 82 cardboard coins
– 1 teapot – beginner’s indicator
– Rules in English and Spanish
– Wooden material in players’ colors: 1 player piece, 24 discs, 32 plantation markers, 40 boxes of tea.
## How To Setup Ceylon
Players start by choosing a starting field on the board, ensuring each player begins in a different region. Each player places their field token and their worker on this field. Players also start with their leaves filled on their player board, which mark the fields they have planted. The technology track is initialized with each player having one disc on it[2.).
## Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective
– **Action Selection**: Players use action cards, each showing two possible actions. The player chooses one action and other players can take the other action.
– **Planting Fields**: Players can plant fields in different districts by paying $5.
– **Harvesting Fields**: Players can harvest their own or their opponents’ fields.
– **Technology Development**: Players can move up the technology track by paying $5, receiving bonus tiles that provide additional actions.
– **Councillor Influence**: Players position cards to determine which action they take and which action other players can take.
– **Area Majority**: Points are awarded for having plantations in each district.
– **Contract Fulfillment**: Players earn points for meeting demands set by export companies.
– **Technological Advancement**: Points are awarded for the level of technological development.
– **Money Accumulation**: Points are earned for the amount of money collected during the game.
The objective is to accumulate the most points by the end of the game.
## Player Experience
Ceylon offers a highly interactive and strategic experience with minimal downtime. Players need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each action, considering how it affects both themselves and their opponents. The game encourages strategic planning, tactical decisions, and a bit of social interaction as players compete to establish the most successful tea plantations.
### Pros
– **High Interactivity**: Minimal downtime due to the action selection mechanism.
– **Strategic Depth**: Players must make meaningful decisions that impact both themselves and their opponents.
– **Thematic Integration**: The game theme is well-integrated into the mechanics, making it immersive.
– **Simple to Learn, Deep to Master**: Easy-to-understand actions with complex strategic implications.
### Cons
– **Complexity for Younger Players**: While the minimum age is 10, the game’s complexity might be challenging for younger players.
– **Length of Play**: The game can take between 46-60 minutes, which might be too long for some players.
## Personal Thoughts on Ceylon
Ceylon is ideal for fans of Euro-style games who enjoy strategic planning and tactical decision-making. It is suitable for players aged 10 and up, although younger players might find it challenging due to its complexity. The game’s thematic depth and interactive mechanics make it a great addition to any board game collection, particularly for those interested in territory building and resource management.
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