Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set (2008)
Designer: Michael Rieneck, Stefan Stadler
Publisher: Mayfair Games
Players: 2-6
Time: 120 minutes

Intro

A 5-6 players expansion and all the pieces fit nicely into the original box, so now you have added variants and plays from 2 to 6.

Gameplay

This is mainly an expansion to allow 5 or 6 players to the original game, but since this would add 6 new master builders, an expansion to the board is also given to add more room. Since this is an expansion, I will only focus on the changes. I am a big fan of the original, but if you hated it, then obviously this is not for you since the main game remains the same.

The main game is pretty much the same, with a few minor changes and some new placement areas. One major difference is how the master builders are placed. Now, you place only 2 of your 3 master builders in the bag and if you are the first one to place a master builder (by paying), you then place your third master builder on the Master Builder Track (on the new board). The first player to pay to place a builder puts his third piece on the space indicated with a number 6, the next one on the number 5 and so on (these spaces are on the new board). Once each player has placed their first two master builders, as in the original rules, then each player places his third master builder, starting with the number 1. This mean that the first person to play a piece will be the last to play his third piece.

The other difference is in the placement of the privilege cards. The permanent cards are placed in Kingsbridge (spot 4) two at a time as in the original game and the 1x and immediate play cards are placed in the Shiring (spot 9e) and one comes up each turn (see below for more info).

Those are the only differences in the game play. The rest comes from additional cards and locations on the new board (there is also now a spot to place the metal cubes, in the King's Ore Mine on the new board).

The new locations are added to the left of the board and are numbered from 9a to 9e, meaning that they play after the King's Court (tax roll), but before the Shiring (where you take the Craftsmen for free). They are as follows:

a)Tax Collector (1 place)
Here you receive the tax instead of paying it (but do not receive a metal resource)
b)Crusades (4 places)
These simply lets you place your workers here for points. This is done during the first phase when you place your workers for production and buy new Craftsmen. There are four spaces using 3 to 7 workers and giving 1 or 2 points
c)France (1 place)
By sending a master builder to France, you get the card “Inspiration of Saint Denis” and during the Cathedral building phase you can reuse a Craftsmen at -1 capacity or use another players Craftsmen at -1 capacity
d)Coast (1 place)
You may sell any number of goods at a price of 1 more then the market (no buying)
e)Shiring (1 place)
You receive the visible privilege card here. One is turned every round, so not all the cards will be seen during the game.

The new pieces include:

-Playing pieces for two new players (master builders, scoring markers, workers, starting craftsmen and summary cards);
-10 extra resources (3 of stone, wood and sand, 1 of metal);
-12 new Craftsmen, two of each for each round. In a 5 or 6 player game, 3 go into the resource pool and 2 into the Shiring, with one card each round not being used;
-1 “Inspiration in Saint-Denis Card” place in france (see above);
-1 extra resource card, a gravel pit getting 1 sand for 1 worker. Now, 8 resource cards are present in the resource phase in a 5 player game and 10 are present (all of them) in a 6 player game;
-10 new privilege cards, mixed into the originals, as above separating the permanent ones form the 1x and instant ones
-4 new event cards, mixed into the originals
-A black master builder for the “William Hamleigh is an unscrupulous opponent” privilege card. This lets you hold a place for one of your Master Builder's so that no one else can use it while you wait to get a cheaper price.

As can be seen, this adds new cards of each form, therefore there is more variety and more options in the game for each item.

Strategy/Comments

As you can see, the game does add quite a bit and if you are often 5 or 6 players and like playing Pillars, this is a must, since the game is pretty much the same, just a little bit longer due to the extra players. I am personally a big fan of the game and enjoyed playing with the expansion, but this is not for everyone since Pillars is not a short or simple game to start with, but since you would only likely buy this is you already like Pillars, then it should simply add to your experience.

The game adds a lot of options and not simply due to the fact that there are extra spaces to play on but also with all the added cards. You can even play with 2-4 players and the regular board with all the extra Craftsmen, Events, Privileges and Resource cards. This is totally up to you, since you may include them all or include and exclude certain ones as you feel, since you may find some cards to be worthless or some to be too strong depending on who you play with. For a tinkerer, this is a great add on, since the options are endless. Personally, I do not tinker and will either use them all or none and I still enjoyed it.

One main difference was the placement of the master builders, where only 2 go into the bag and the third is played in reverse order to the original placement. This removes some of the luck. With 3 master builders in there, the luck of the draw becomes more of a factor, since there are up to 6 extra master builders, but as seen above, not that many extra spots to place them (only 4) and depending on what your strategy is, some of the extra spaces may not be useful (the Coast is useful only if you have extra cubes or a Craftsmen that gives you points for gold and the France space is useful only if you have a lot of one resource and can use the doubling of one card or an opponent stole a card you wanted). This makes the game tight in a five player game and very tight in a 6 player game, so the removal of some luck by making the first person to place also be the last, is a good mechanism.

The resource phase is also more painful since there are 2 new cards in a 5 player game (1 resource and 1 craftsmen) and 3 new cards in a 6 player game (2 resource and 1 craftsmen). Often, each player can take 3 cards, so being first is more worthwhile and the Change Starting Player space is more desired. Due to this, they added the Crusades, which let you get points for your workers and do not force you to use the Wood Mill (which gives 1 gold per person). You really need to think your choice through and not follow the strategy of the guy in front of you, since they may steal the Craftsmen you need before it gets to you. It is also possible, that if you are last, you won't even be able to get a certain resource from the resource cards, since there are only 3 of each type, which is much more of an issue in a 5 or 6 player game then it was in a 2 to 4.

The game is very well designed though to keep people close. You may go for gold and change it into points, focus on producing resources for points or try and steal a lot of points off the board (Kingsbridge Priory and now the Crusades) and all remain fairly close, so each decision is important.

I quite enjoy this game and I find at $25 to $30 this is a worthy addition, since it add so many options while not changing a game that was already great. If you are often 5 or 6 people and enjoy this game, it is a must, since it will not add that much time to the original game and allow it to be an option in a larger group. The wait between players is not very long also, which is always a concern when you add more players in a heavy game like Pillars, so there will not be that added annoyance.

Conclusion

If your group is often 5 or 6 players and you like Pillars, this is a must. The game is great as a 2-4 player game on its own and this expansion also offers the ability to add and remove cards to the original. It also lets you add the expansion board into a 2 to 4 player game, so it adds a lot of variations. If you love Pillars and do not mind the added time from a 5th and 6th player, which is minimal, then it is a nice addition to a great game.

Rating: (8 / 10)