Some thoughts on the game. Posted at Thought Hammer yesterday: http://www.thoughthammer.com/product_reviews_info.php?produc...

'This may come across more as paean than thumbnail review but here’s a game that satisfies an itch. Exploration is always an exciting part of any game and the islands of the South Pacific, the Polynesian Triangle in particular, were a veritable tabla rasa of discovery for the early peoples of this region circa 500AD. Conquest of Paradise focuses on an expanse of blue ocean no less than 16 million square miles in breadth, yet anthropologists point to the unity of language, arts, customs and tradition and conclude that the settling people are a single racial unit! That’s a whole lot of travel via reed canoes. The game itself, of course, foreshortens the explore/discover ratio to a manageable level and the odds in CoP favor a successful voyage.

Players begin with a small community on a settled island off the coast of Australia. They send out explorers to chart the vast Pacific ocean and search for habitable land. Explorers discover atolls, islands and archipelagos, or return empty handed . . . or sail off course or, worst case, eventually become lost at sea. The exploration mechanics are clever, intuitive and fun. As other islands are discovered, colonists are dispatched to settle them, building villages and scoring both victory and building points. Besides exploring and colonizing, clearing land and developing villages, players can build war parties and war canoes to defend, or yes, aggress upon their neighbors. Lines of communication between outlying islands within a players domain are crucial to consolidating power and control. Arts and culture can be pursued as well, represented by card events germane to a burgeoning Polynesian race.

The game moves along like a filled sail and game decisions soon bear fruit. Our games of CoP clock in under two hours. Down time with two or three players has not been an issue; there is plenty to think about and observe between turns. Fog of war is present in CoP through inverted counters; opponents won’t know if you’ve got a war host or mild mannered colonists, war canoes or transport boats, or whether reports of such are simply Rumors, cleverly represented by a chit of its own!

There is plenty of talk about the luck factor in games nowadays. There is plenty of luck in CoP, most of it in the discovery phase, but then, discovery is intrinsically a dicey business. Personally I enjoy the luck of the draw balanced against what I can do in light of the results. In particular, I like how the process of exploration by the great exploring canoes Hawaii Loa, Hotu Matua, Kupe and Ru, are represented not only by the results (atolls, off course, islands, lost) but the gamble that was part and parcel with long distance open water sailing . . . knots are depicted on the back of a chit to represent the accumulative travail and hardship of the journey. You never know how many knots will be on a chit and they are cumulative! The choice is agonizingly delicious (or is that masochistic?) between pushing one’s luck and sailing, say, one tile further, or turning the big canoe around for home. Too many knots means you’ve tempted lady fate one time too many. You’re lost; now you miss the ability to send out an exploring ship on the subsequent turn. As a kayak expeditionary, myself, in real life, I well relate to the heady decisions made out on the water.

Components are standard fare for GMT, in a word, industry benchmark (except the box). Graphics are top notch and the soft blue tonality to the ocean tiles are pleasing to the eye. The Art & Culture cards are card stock and oversized and convey the import they represented to these cultures. Included with the game is twenty pages of Designer's Notes! Engaging, insightful and informative (AND well written) this booklet alone is worth the price of admission, Finally, the box itself is the BEST I’VE SEEN IN THIRTY YEARS OF BOARD GAMING, making an arguable inference as to what’s inside.

CoP is a fresh and highly playable design of empire building at its humblest level. Taught by someone who knows the game, the learning curve is a breeze; on your own, it isn’t half bad. I found that by soloing the simple mechanics of exploration, movement and building, the game quickly lined itself out. What I MOST appreciate about a game design is evident here. That being the obvious effort and passion for a particular subject, painstakingly translated into a workable design, and developed finally into a quality, finished product. The theme of CoP is especially rich and the game engine well tuned. I recommend you take it for a ride.'



robbage