My Village (2015) Board Game

My Village is a board game released in 2015 by designers Inka Brand and Markus Brand. It is a city-building game that incorporates dice rolling, worker placement, and contract fulfillment mechanics. The game has garnered praise for its strategic depth and engaging gameplay.

Game Components of My Village

Player village boards (identical except for the two numbers in the white play banner)

Villager pieces (abbot, councilman, traveler, craftsman, merchant)

Grim reaper and disk marker

Time track

Main house, money barn, story tree, school, and play area on each board

Cards for various areas (monk, church, council chamber, meeting place, field, customer, travel, craft building)

Rat marker and rat invasion track

Book of chronicle graves and anonymous grave spaces

Coins and story points

How To Setup My Village

To set up **My Village**, start by placing the main board in the middle of the table. Each player selects a village board and places it in front of them. The game begins with each player having one villager of each of the five professions. Cards are set up around the main board in their respective areas (monk, church, council chamber, etc.). The grim reaper is placed on the bridge, and the disk marker is positioned to the right of the bridge. The rat marker is placed on the space indicated by the number of players.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Time Management: Players manage time by moving the disk marker around the time track as they perform actions.

Resource Allocation: Players allocate villagers to different areas (travel, crafts, market, council, religion) to add cards and perform actions.

Building and Expansion: Players improve their village by adding buildings and fields.

Travel and Exploration: Travel cards offer varying prestige points but may require additional gold to progress.

Story Collection: Players collect and protect story points from rat invasions.

Game Objective: The game ends when a certain number of villagers have passed away. The player with the most prestige points, earned from buildings, fields, customers, monks, travels, and protected story points, wins.

Player Experience

**My Village** is engaging and dynamic, with a mix of strategy and luck. Players need to balance various tasks such as building, traveling, and managing their villagers’ lives as they age and pass away. The game moves smoothly as long as players keep their turns concise, allowing for planning ahead while others take their turns. The different numbers on each player board encourage strategic thinking and reduce competition for specific cards.

Pros

Deep Strategy: Offers a rich and complex gameplay experience.

Balanced Mechanics: Travel cards and other actions are balanced to provide varied options.

Engaging Theme: Players get to manage their own village, making decisions that impact its growth and success.

Replayability: Different setups and player choices ensure high replayability.

Cons

Complex Setup: Setting up the game can be time-consuming due to the numerous cards and components.

Lengthy Games: Games can take a significant amount of time, especially with more players.

Luck Factor: Dice rolls and card availability can introduce elements of luck that may frustrate strategic players.

Personal Thoughts on My Village

**My Village** is ideal for fans of complex strategy games and those who enjoy managing resources and balancing multiple tasks. It is particularly suited for players who appreciate deep thinking and planning, but may not be the best fit for casual gamers or those looking for quick, light-hearted experiences. The game’s theme and mechanics make it a great choice for gamers interested in building and managing their own village, navigating the challenges of time and resource allocation.

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