Game: Portobello Market

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

historysteph — 2008-11-15T23:32:48+00:00

XanderF wrote:
Jim K wrote:
THEME

Problem is...she'd keep singing all the way through the game!

Youtube Video

Portobello road, Portobello road
Street where the riches of ages are stowed.
Anything and everything a chap can unload
Is sold off the barrow in Portobello road.
You’ll find what you want in the Portobello road!

That's where I'd heard that song. I thought about getting this for my sister, but I don't want that song running through my head anytime we play it!

Thread: Win a copy on European Chain of Generosity

matejbatic — 2008-11-04T09:20:21+00:00
Check out this link. Please read the rules at the top of the page if you are unfamiliar with the European Chain of Generosity.

Best,
Matej

Thread: Re: build - move - build - move?

rokter — 2008-09-12T09:24:21+00:00
thx.

Thread: Re: build - move - build - move?

SteveK2 — 2008-09-12T08:55:07+00:00
Yes. You can move the bobby before, during or after placing market stalls.

Thread: build - move - build - move?

rokter — 2008-09-12T08:06:40+00:00
Let's say that i want to move bobby accros a few empty alleys and i take 4 actions. Can i build a stall in empty alley (to cross for free), move bobby for free across that alley, build another stall in empty alley, move bobby for free, build another stall... etc.?

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

unixrevolution — 2008-09-11T20:00:18+00:00
Stately Wayne wrote:
unixrevolution wrote:

I think your strategies could use a little work. The endgame feels compelling for us, but we do more customer placement early. The multipliers from having good customers or giving your opponents bad ones can tip the scales, and be much more important than the late-game real-estate grab.

Worked perfectly! I introduced the concept of placing customers earlier as a way to fuel your market scoring decisions, and my kids got it right away. They began slapping down grays to thwart each other, and lined up to get the most out of the pinks. We've even gotten better at using the multiplier tokens to advance themselves/bedevil others. Much more fun--thank for the strategy tips!

I'm pleased that they worked for you!

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

Stately Wayne — 2008-09-11T19:50:45+00:00
unixrevolution wrote:

I think your strategies could use a little work. The endgame feels compelling for us, but we do more customer placement early. The multipliers from having good customers or giving your opponents bad ones can tip the scales, and be much more important than the late-game real-estate grab.

Worked perfectly! I introduced the concept of placing customers earlier as a way to fuel your market scoring decisions, and my kids got it right away. They began slapping down grays to thwart each other, and lined up to get the most out of the pinks. We've even gotten better at using the multiplier tokens to advance themselves/bedevil others. Much more fun--thank for the strategy tips!

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

Kestril — 2008-09-04T03:23:37+00:00
***note to self*** never read a positive Vasel review while the checkout screen on my FOGS is on the other tab. Game added - thanks Tom!

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

Stately Wayne — 2008-08-30T21:34:16+00:00
unixrevolution wrote:

I find it odd that you said the score a distric rule was too much for your 6 and 8 year olds. The 4 year old, I take it, is either a child genius or wasn't playing

I think your strategies could use a little work. The endgame feels compelling for us, but we do more customer placement early. The multipliers from having good customers or giving your opponents bad ones can tip the scales, and be much more important than the late-game real-estate grab.

The 4-year-old, despite her genius qualities, enjoyed moving the colored cube scoring markers more than playing the game itself, so the jury is yet out on her comprehension of the advanced rules.

I'll try encouraging more customer placement -- now that you mention it I *think* I see how that could drive the "landgrabbing" stage of the game. If you saw a pink+pink segment, that would provide a swift incentive to get your stalls in that row; likewise, dropping a pair of gray customers would take the steam out of an opponent who had a lengthy stretch of prime real estate he was hoping to capitalize on. We'll give it a try!

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

unixrevolution — 2008-08-30T12:57:09+00:00
Stately Wayne wrote:
Marvelous review as always, Tom.

I had a demo of this for the first time at Gen Con 08 with the fine folks at Playroom. I always stop by their booth when I go to GC, since my family (three kids: 8, 6, 4) appreciates their games so much -- Catch-a-Match and Sherlock come with us on almost every trip for their portability and constant crowd-pleasing play.

I was so surprised to see a Eurogame at Playroom, I scooped one up. (It had NOTHING to do with the sultry British accent cooed into my ear by the lovely attendant giving me the demo. Nothing, I tell you!)

It is, as you say, simple to teach but with compelling decisions to be made at each turn. For simplicity's sake, I omitted one rule in the first game (the option to "score a district" using one of your turn markers). I felt that rule was one complication too many for the 6- and 8-year-olds. But when we played it a second time, I explained the new rule, and BOTH my sons used it to their advantage. (The older boy slapped a 4X marker on a 12-point district! A 48-point coup! So proud am I.)

I have one concern I'm hoping you can help with. Having played it twice with my kids, I can say we started with strong enthusiasm each time (and thought favorably of it when we were through), but felt a certain anti-climactic disappointment at the very end. The trigger to end the game is that one player places his final stall, and then the round finishes out. In both games, we could feel our options running out, and were left with more plays we had hoped to make.

Even more odd: The way we played, we were never in position to get all the way to placing the Baron, the final customer piece. With the rush to grab real estate, seldom were we placing customers, so that we never got close to that final black figure. And the more people used their multiplier tokens, the less imperative there seemed to be to place customers. So the closer we got to the end, the less tension there seemed to be. I'm curious: Are we playing it incorrectly, or are our strategies just weak?

I find it odd that you said the score a distric rule was too much for your 6 and 8 year olds. The 4 year old, I take it, is either a child genius or wasn't playing

I think your strategies could use a little work. The endgame feels compelling for us, but we do more customer placement early. The multipliers from having good customers or giving your opponents bad ones can tip the scales, and be much more important than the late-game real-estate grab.

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

Stately Wayne — 2008-08-30T05:07:53+00:00
Marvelous review as always, Tom.

I had a demo of this for the first time at Gen Con 08 with the fine folks at Playroom. I always stop by their booth when I go to GC, since my family (three kids: 8, 6, 4) appreciates their games so much -- Catch-a-Match and Sherlock come with us on almost every trip for their portability and constant crowd-pleasing play.

I was so surprised to see a Eurogame at Playroom, I scooped one up. (It had NOTHING to do with the sultry British accent cooed into my ear by the lovely attendant giving me the demo. Nothing, I tell you!)

It is, as you say, simple to teach but with compelling decisions to be made at each turn. For simplicity's sake, I omitted one rule in the first game (the option to "score a district" using one of your turn markers). I felt that rule was one complication too many for the 6- and 8-year-olds. But when we played it a second time, I explained the new rule, and BOTH my sons used it to their advantage. (The older boy slapped a 4X marker on a 12-point district! A 48-point coup! So proud am I.)

I have one concern I'm hoping you can help with. Having played it twice with my kids, I can say we started with strong enthusiasm each time (and thought favorably of it when we were through), but felt a certain anti-climactic disappointment at the very end. The trigger to end the game is that one player places his final stall, and then the round finishes out. In both games, we could feel our options running out, and were left with more plays we had hoped to make.

Even more odd: The way we played, we were never in position to get all the way to placing the Baron, the final customer piece. With the rush to grab real estate, seldom were we placing customers, so that we never got close to that final black figure. And the more people used their multiplier tokens, the less imperative there seemed to be to place customers. So the closer we got to the end, the less tension there seemed to be. I'm curious: Are we playing it incorrectly, or are our strategies just weak?

Thread: Re: Fast and fun abstract - with certain problems

ZackStack — 2008-08-21T19:44:57+00:00
Thank you for the informative review highlighting the good and the bad. I was thinking of picking this up off the sale rack at my local store, but now I don't think its quite what I'm looking for... Thanks for saving me some coin!

Thread: Re: [Review] Portobello Market

unixrevolution — 2008-08-11T19:02:55+00:00
Thanks for the great review, Tom!

Portobello is a great game. It really defines what a good, short, medium weight Euro can do.

The board itself defines "functional yet beautiful".

Thread: [Review] Portobello Market

TomVasel — 2008-08-10T13:24:16+00:00
I usually like the games from Playroom Entertainment, although I still tend to think of them as a children's game company - due to their excellent Bright Ideas line. However, Portobello Market (Playroom Entertainment, 2007 - Thomas Odenhoven) really surprised me. As we initially set it up and went over the rules, I expected something along the lines of Ticket to Ride (no real connection - the games only looked similar). What I wasn't expecting was a decent medium-weight game that only takes about thirty minutes to play! The co-production with Schmidt Spiele helped, but it's still an excellent addition to the Playroom line.

Now this may be too quick for some people - and indeed some complain about the short time frame. But if, going into the game, you know that it will end quickly, then every play counts. There's nothing really new in Portobello Market - and that includes the pasted-on theme - but it produces a very satisfying play. There is little randomness, simple scoring, and some tough decisions on when exactly to score that likely will win or lose a player the game. There is a decent amount of interactivity with other players, and the components are superb. A great game to fit into thirty minutes!

The board is made up of various roads (lanes) which have from two to six spots on which to place market stalls (each stall has a value of '1" to "3"). The lanes connect various squares on the board and are set up so that they are arranged in groups of three. These groups form a district, and some lanes are part of two districts. Each player takes a certain amount of market stalls of their color, depending on the number of players, three action tokens (2,3, and 4), and a small reference board. A bag is filled with ten customers - five gray citizens, five pink aristocrats; while an eleventh customer, the black baron, is placed near the board. A stack of neutral tokens is placed near the board, with the "3" tokens on top, then "2", then "1" tokens. Players put a cube on the scoring track, and one player is chosen to go first. This player places a "Bobby" piece on any district and takes the first turn.

On a player's turn, they may use any of their action tokens, taking the amount of actions shown on it. They then flip it over and cannot use it until they've used all three action tokens. A player may use their actions to do two different things on their turn.
- They may place a random customer drawn from the bag on one of the empty squares on the board. Once the last customer is placed, the black baron is placed on the remaining square, and this action is no longer available.
- They may place a market stall on one of the spaces in a lane that is in the district where the Bobby is present. The first stall must be placed at one of the two ends of the lanes; all following ones must be placed next to the preceding one.

No matter what they do, the player has the option of moving the Bobby for no action points. They may move the Bobby as far as they want, but for every lane that the Bobby crosses, they must pay a victory point. If another player has the majority of stalls in that lane, the victory point paid goes to that player; if it's a tie between two other players, one victory point must be paid to each. On the flipside, if the moving player has the majority of the stalls in a lane, they may cross it for free.

When every space in a lane is filled, AND there is a customer at both ends; then the lane is scored. Depending on the citizens at the ends of the lane, a modifier is multiplied by the points on each market stall, and the players receive points accordingly. (For example, if there are two citizens at the end of the lane, the modifier is "x1"; but if there is a baron at one end and an aristocrat at another, the modifier is "x4".

A player can forgo their entire turn to "score" a district. To do this, they must sacrifice their "2" or "4" action token and place that token in a district, which does not already have a token. The player (and only that player) scores all of their market stalls in the three lanes in that district, which is multiplied by the action token they've placed. They then take the top action tile in the neutral pile to replace the tile they've used.

The game ends after one player has placed their last Market Stall. At this point the round is finished, but unfinished lanes are not scored - EXCEPT those that contain the black baron. After these lanes have been scored, the player with the most points is declared the winner.

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: As with most Playroom games, this one has very high production values. The wooden stalls are very easy to grasp and play, and the customers are tall wooden people (like basketball-playing meeples). The tiles are thick and are faded out on one side, so that players know when they've used them. The board is a top down view of the town with terrific artwork (no surprise that it's done by the greatest board game artist - Michael Menzel). Everything fits inside a quality medium-sized box with more, good artwork. As I said in my introduction, the game looks slightly like Ticket to Ride, with the different colored markets spreading from square to square, but that illusion will be broken once players start up the game.

2.) Rules: The rules are printed on four pages, with full color illustrations and examples. The game itself is very simple. The only parts that might be tricky to new players are the movement of the Bobby and the playing of a tile to score a district. In every game I've played, people plan their move out, often forgetting that they have to move the Bobby adjacent to the lane they are going to place their stalls on. Still, though, this is an easy-enough game to introduce to practically anyone; and even though the game plays quickly, players will understand it even faster.

3.) Customers: There is a variant rule in which all the customers are placed in a random line, so that players can see the customers that they are going to place; but I like the random feel of pulling them from the bag. Customers are incredibly important, and it's not a surprise to see all eleven of them on the board quickly. While putting down stalls is key to getting points, it's a powerful thing to decide which lanes get which modifiers. Since the aristocrats cause the majority of the higher modifiers (two of them give "x3"), placing them is key; but it's just as important to stick citizens at the end of lanes dominated by opponents.

4.) Strategy: The initial thing players will see is that they should place their stalls on spots with a lot of points (i.e. "3" or "2" spaces). At the same time, the game goes a little deeper than that. Sure, there are the modifiers, which really can change up the game to a degree; but the real crux of the game is when a player plays their action tokens to score a district. I would go as far as to say that's the most important decision a player makes the entire game. There certainly is an incentive to do it early, as getting a "1" action token near the end can slow a player's game down to a crawl. And even worse, it's dreadfully annoying when another player takes a district you want to score. This also increases the player interaction of a game. If players allow another player to dominate a district with their stalls, then they will literally score enough points to practically win them the game if they get that scoring token down. Because of this, monopolies on streets will be rare once players know what they are doing, as players will place stalls simply to keep those scoring tokens from being too powerful. Again, for this reason I think the game should be played twice in a row for new players, as they (even if they've been warned) will likely ignore the potency of the scoring tokens - to their dismay. A second game will see them coming back, most certainly wiser.

5.) Time and Players: I can certainly recommend two games in a row if only because the game plays so quickly. The box says thirty-five minutes, and that's likely longer than the game actually takes - especially with two players. Interestingly enough, the game is pretty good with two players, but it seems to really shine with four, if only because there is more interaction and competition for market stalls. The game, because it is so quick, will initially seem like a light, simple game; but there's more to it, and it almost has a medium-weight feel.

6.) Fun Factor: The game could essentially be boiled down to some math computations when placing stalls and scoring tiles, and moving the Bobby. The artwork helps bring the theme across a bit; but since everything moves so fast (there's almost no downtime, and every move other players make certainly effects you!), the game has a high interest factor. It's fun to set up a good scoring district for yourself, or managing to place a stall in a lane with the Bobby. Most of the fun comes from a quickly rising tension about when players will place their scoring tokens. The game can come to a screeching halt, so players have to be quick without jumping the gun.

Portobello Market is a game that, if it took over an hour, would become repetitive, boring, and one that quickly would land on my "outgoing" pile of games. But because it's quick, it has a rapid tension level and is simple to teach others - I really enjoy it. It's a good start to a game night, because it has some real meat despite its short length; and although I may be getting tired of the "market" theme, it works well enough here. I would recommend trying this game out - from a company that has marketed mostly children's games, this one is for everyone!

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com

Thread: Re: If 1st player has an advantage, what is the best 1st move?

olavf — 2008-08-04T15:08:49+00:00
jearles wrote:
Regarding the last player placing the Bobby. That is not what the PlayRoom rules say. They say, "A player is choosen to go first, and they place the Bobby on a Bobby Spot in any of the Districts on the Board."
I have the German version, which says: "Vor Spielbeginn stellt der Spieler rechts vom Startspieler den Bobby in einen beliebigen Distrikt. Dann ist der Startspieler am zug."
"Before game start the player right of the start player places the Bobby in an area of his choice. After that it is the start players turn."

I can't control if it is in the English rules but I think it is a very important rule!

Thread: Re: If 1st player has an advantage, what is the best 1st move?

jearles — 2008-08-04T11:16:53+00:00
reapersaurus wrote:
whoa! The LAST player places the bobby!
Well, that would certainly change the way the game plays out!

And can you, or can you not, take 2 ends of an alley?
As we played it, you could take any end stall. Once you took one end stall, you could take the opposite end stall if you wanted, without filling the in-between stalls of that alley.
Was that wrong?

You can't take both ends of an alley. See Page 2: Place a Market Stall.

The first Market Stall in a lane may be placed at either end. Thereafter, each one must be placed next to the last one in the Lane (i.e. the Lane may only be built up from one side)

Regarding the last player placing the Bobby. That is not what the PlayRoom rules say. They say, "A player is choosen to go first, and they place the Bobby on a Bobby Spot in any of the Districts on the Board."

Now, maybe they meant that was all this player does and play moves to the next player, but I've played that the first player then gets to take actions. I do agree that this does give the first player an advantage, as they can place a market stall without having to move the Bobby (and lose Victory Points).

Thread: Re: If 1st player has an advantage, what is the best 1st move?

reapersaurus — 2008-08-04T11:03:50+00:00
whoa! The LAST player places the bobby!
Well, that would certainly change the way the game plays out!

And can you, or can you not, take 2 ends of an alley?
As we played it, you could take any end stall. Once you took one end stall, you could take the opposite end stall if you wanted, without filling the in-between stalls of that alley.
Was that wrong?

Thread: Re: If 1st player has an advantage, what is the best 1st move?

olavf — 2008-08-04T08:22:06+00:00
I'm missing two things:
-the startplayer is not completely free to start where he wants: the last player in row starts the game with placing the Bobby. The startplayer can still start where he wants but has to go there first and pay for it.
-you can't start with taking all the 3 stalls in an area; you have to start each alley in one end and then fill it from that side. You can't choose both sides without the middle.

Or I'm not getting what you're telling or you have the rules wrong.

Thread: If 1st player has an advantage, what is the best 1st move?

reapersaurus — 2008-08-04T06:25:24+00:00
I've read that the perception with Portobello Market is that the 1st player has an advantage.
When I played, I went first and used 4 actions of course and ended up winning the game almost wholely from the point I manufactured (alley and district scoring) from this first move.

So that begs the question - let's solve this game.

What are the best couple first moves, given the board layout:

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I'm thinking it would be the 4 top 3 stalls in the 2nd from the bottom right district. It gives you dominance of 2 travelable alleys, makes it not too likely that someone will take the dead-end bottom 2 3-score stalls, and even sets you up for the far-bottom-right district, since people won't likely build there very early.

I chose the 4 3-score stalls in the bottom-left district, and walked away with the game.

Image

amwiles — 2008-07-18T15:33:00+00:00
Bobby

Thread: Re: Map Accuracy

SteveK2 — 2008-07-11T07:13:51+00:00
As an alternative, Scotland Yard is a totally different sort of game, but the map is much more realistic. The only snag is that it doesn't quite extend as far west as Portobello Road

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Thread: Re: Map Accuracy

Corbain — 2008-07-11T07:05:10+00:00
yes, it does sound a fun game indeed, but I just know that it will be a little dissapointing that the map won't resemble at all the streets of her new home.

Thread: Re: Map Accuracy

SteveK2 — 2008-07-10T18:10:39+00:00
stormseeker75 wrote:
Its a fun game though, regardless of how unaccurate it is.

Agreed, but the map sounds a bit of a deal breaker.

Thread: Re: Map Accuracy

stormseeker75 — 2008-07-10T17:17:48+00:00
Its a fun game though, regardless of how unaccurate it is.

Thread: Re: Map Accuracy

SteveK2 — 2008-07-10T16:47:47+00:00
As the box says "London 1921".

That's a London in some alternate universe where in 1921 everyone wore Victorian clothes and all the vehicles were horse-drawn carriages.

That's a London where Portobello market was slam bang next door to the Houses of Parliament (handy for our representatives to pop out for a few basics in the days before John Lewis).

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So yes ... it's a realistic map of London. It's just not our London.

Thread: Map Accuracy

Corbain — 2008-07-10T16:29:24+00:00
Does the street map resemble even anything close to Portobello Road and its environs? From the pictures of the board it would appear not, and is just a historical mish mash of London streets.

The only reason I ask, is that I am thinking of getting this game as a present for my GF who recently moved to a flat just off Portobello Road and I don't really want for her first words on seeing it to be "but it looks nothing like Portobello Market!".

Many thanks in advance.

Thread: Re: Fast and fun abstract - with certain problems

zauk — 2008-06-10T10:09:11+00:00
Thx for your review: I found very useful, to understand better the game, the photos you added.

The game seems to be 'light', but still interesting.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

Jim K — 2008-06-09T12:54:10+00:00
I agree that it ends too quickly with 4 players. But, you could look at it from the standpoint of, "What can I do to get in there quick, rack up some points and block some people out before the game ends?" In other words, racing against the clock becomes a part of your strategy, and you need to keep an eye out for the end game coming on.

With 2 players though, the game slows and you have more time to develop your strategy.

In either case, a shorter feel makes it more likely that everyone will want to go for another game or two. Plus, I'd rather a game like this be a little on the shorter side, because if it was much longer, it would feel like it's overstayed its welcome.

The thing I like about the game most, is that it isn't just another light strategy game. It is a great value, and you'll get more from this game than just another TTR. There's enough here that is different to warrant buying another game...at least that's the line I always give my wife.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

cuzzle — 2008-06-09T06:26:20+00:00
My biggest problem with the game is how short it is! It always seems to end as things are getting interesting (especially with four players). I wish they included enough of the market stalls to play any of the colors with two players, or try longer games with more pieces. Almost everyone I've shown it too seems to go "That's it?" when the game ends. If the game were maybe 10 minutes longer I would raise my rating considerably.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

Daddy-O — 2008-06-09T03:17:02+00:00
What an interesting review. This is a game that I have never really given a chance, but now I just may have to take a better look at. It couldn't be a very good seller, as German Games has reduced it's price to only $19.95. Sounds like excellent value to me.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

unixrevolution — 2008-06-08T19:08:33+00:00
My friend has this one, and it's a terrific 2-4 player light game. One thing of interest, is that I think if someone asks "how can a game board be beautiful yet totally functional at the same time?" this is the board you should show them.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

Bolger — 2008-06-08T06:13:45+00:00
Great review. I very much aggre that the game is better than its reputation here on the geek. A very good light game.

Thread: Re: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

XanderF — 2008-06-08T02:21:34+00:00
Jim K wrote:
THEME
You can't say that the theme is a reason to buy it. It's somewhat pasted-on, but not terribly, and it actually does work and add to the charm of the game. But it's not like you are going to say, "Oh look, an outdoor market-themed game -- I don't have one of THOSE yet, I have to have it!" No, the theme is an afterthought, a by-product of the gameplay. Its charm manifests itself once the magic of the gameplay starts to shine through.

I dunno, I think the 'theme' would get my wife interested enough to play it. (She'll basically never find 'a game mechanic' compelling, but theme or background is what does it for her).

Problem is...she'd keep singing all the way through the game!

Youtube Video

Portobello road, Portobello road
Street where the riches of ages are stowed.
Anything and everything a chap can unload
Is sold off the barrow in Portobello road.
You’ll find what you want in the Portobello road!

Thread: Far above what I expected, now a favorite.

Jim K — 2008-06-07T22:59:57+00:00
In short, this game deserves a far better rating than the one it has on BGG. For all that it is, all in one package, my rating of Portobello Market is a solid 8, maybe 8.5. It doesn't possess the necessary elements to make it a 9 or 10; for me, a game must have the mechanics, depth and worthwhile of Puerto Rico, Caylus or Age of Empires. So, an 8-8.5 rating for this type of a game is saying alot about it.

When I say "this type of game," I refer to its weight and mechanics. Its weight is light-light/medium, comparable to Alhambra. Its mechanics are track-laying and scoring, similar to Ticket to Ride, yet its scoring system is far different from TTR's. In my opinion, Portobello Market's one-of-a-kind scoring system is what really makes it shine. More about that later, though.

My wife found this at our FLGS and she had to have it. After researching it more, I decided to give it a try. I had my doubts, as the publisher, Gameroom, had put out some other games we had for our kids, more juvinile/boring/simple games, so I was worried this would lack depth and enjoyment. I was really wrong. And, I love being proven wrong this way!

COMPONENTS
No complaints here at all. The box is solid, has a nice matte finish, just like the board. The board's artwork is beautiful, very similar to Pillars of the Earth's, believe it or not. It is 4-panel board with a decent scoring track around the edge. The market stalls are very nicely painted wood, as are the customer figures. The reference cards and turn tokens are cardboard, but are the same matte-finished cardboard stock as is used in the box. The instructions are printed on a glossy, colorful sheet, and are very easy to understand.

GAMEPLAY
If you're like me, you love a game that offers you one decision after the next. In Portobello Market, you must first decide how many actions you want to take, either 2, 3, or 4. Right there off the bat, it differs from many games that issue you a set amount of actions to take each turn. The catch is, once you use a numbered token dictating how many actions you will take, you will not have access to it until the other ones are used.

Secondly, you decide which actions to take. You can lay a market stall along a piece of road, and here you must decide whether to start a new road, or continue on another one, one where you've built or one which another player has already started. By starting a new one, you can often hog the higher value stall spaces for yourself; by continuing another player's road, you can rob them of the points they would have gotten for the entire road. Each stall space on a road is numbered; this is the point value for placing a stall there. How much total your stalls along the whole road will be worth once the road is finished is determined by the type of customers on that road.

As a second action, you may also draw a customer from the bag and place it. These go at the ends of the roads. There are gray and pink customers; the pink are more valuable than the grey, so placing them can be strategic. For instance, you draw a grey customer. You and your opponent both have stalls on a road. Do you want to lower your own stalls' value by placing it there, thereby lowering your opponent's stalls' value as well? Or should you place it somewhere else? Conversely, with the pink customers: Do you want to ensure that the point value of your stalls will be maximized by using it, even though it may mean your opponents will benefit from it as well?
Once a road is full of stalls and a customer is on each end, the road is scored. You total the points of your market stalls, and then there is a multiplier given based on the type of customer on each end.
To deepen the customer placement mechanic, there is one black customer available once all the others have been placed. This one is the most valuable of them all, and whoever places the last regular customer gets to place it, offering a great scoring opportunity.

Another available action is taking your 2- or 4-action token and using it to score an entire block of market stalls. you total up the number of stalls you have on a block and multiply it by 2 or 4, whichever token you used. Here another question is raised: do you use it on your stalls, or use it where your opponents stalls are, preventing him from scoring that block?

The endgame is triggered when one person has used his supply of stalls, and the rest of the players get to use the remainder of their actions.

REASON TO BUY
What makes this game stand out? Why would I buy it if I already owned Transamerica, Through the Desert, or Ticket to Ride? For me, it's the scoring system. Not only must you decide where you place your stalls, but the customer placement really adds a flavor, and tension, that makes a potentially mediocre game exciting. You can't always stick it to an opponent without also sticking yourself.

THEME
You can't say that the theme is a reason to buy it. It's somewhat pasted-on, but not terribly, and it actually does work and add to the charm of the game. But it's not like you are going to say, "Oh look, an outdoor market-themed game -- I don't have one of THOSE yet, I have to have it!" No, the theme is an afterthought, a by-product of the gameplay. Its charm manifests itself once the magic of the gameplay starts to shine through.

AGE/PLAYER SCALE
We often play this with our 5- and 7- year old boys. While they might not always grasp the strategy, the gameplay and choices are simple enough for them to make one and follow through with one. They always remember to flip a turn token facedown, and remember which actions are available and how to proceeed taking them. So, it is a game kids will love -- we've introduced it to teenagers and older kids who have loved it too. Older folks would definitely enjoy it as well; there aren't too many finicky details and actions available, and the actions are simple enough to remember.

There is a lot of player interaction going on here, between blocking others out of roads, playing customers that affects other's stalls, and so on. That being said, I think this game actually works BEST with 2 players. It seems to last longer and offer more time to see your plan through, and has less chaos. 3- or 4-players adds some levels of strategy, but the game seems to be over faster and you have less opportunity to do things, since each player starts with less stalls. It is very similar to Arkadia in this respect.

GAME LENGTH AND REPLAYABILITY
This plays in about 20-40 minutes, depending on the amount of players. Probably more like 30 minutes with 4 players who know what they're doing. There may be some potential for analysis paralysis, but not that much.
You'll definitely want to try this one again and again. It is a great choice for wives or girlfriends who enjoy lighter, shorter games, but don't want to sacrifice strategy or gameplay. As for me, after playing it, I often wonder how the game would have come out if I have done something specific differently.

OVERALL
I very much prefer this game to TTR and Through the Desert. There is much more going on here than in either of those games. Don't let the simplicity of it fool you. You'll have more strategic decisions to make here than in Ticket to Ride. The gameplay feels more rewarding to me than Through the Desert. I could play this a few times a month, still enjoy it and want to play it again. Make no mistake, I usually prefer heavier and meatier games, like the ones I mentioned at the top of this review, but this game offers a great break from those. Even though the decisions can be tough, and there are some tense moments, it's actually a pretty relaxing experience to play this game. Like I said, I give it an 8 or 8.5.

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RustanR — 2008-05-22T11:57:45+00:00
Lautapelit.fi Scandinavian version, second printing with awards

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envision — 2008-04-26T02:28:27+00:00
Playing Portobello Market in Bali

Thread: Re: A 2 player session with my 7 year old

onenatv — 2008-04-19T15:32:09+00:00
Thanks for the session report. It's always fun to play with your family. I introduced this game to about 10 people today and most seemed to enjoy it. This is a nice gateway game if you don't have time for TTR.

Thread: A 2 player session with my 7 year old

todi — 2008-04-19T04:59:30+00:00
My son Sushanth has been bugging me for a new game and I decided to teach him Portobello Market. I had got the German edition recently, but the game is completely language independent and the excellent rules available on the Geek should suffice.
It took about 10-15 minutes to explain the game to him but it had enough going for him to not feel restless. He got involved with the rules quickly and as I explained some elementary scoring he started brushing up in his mathematical tables!
We got the game going and I got into an early lead. Both of us avoided paying for moving the Bobby and instead concentrated on placing market stands on districts where the Bobby was stationed. I had played a few games earlier but playing with the kid was quite different and a lot of fun. Sushanth was keen to get the pink guys on the corners of the alleys because of the higher scoring.
As the game was drawing to a close I had a good 35 point lead and though I could close him out by placing all my market stands. But he quickly placed his x4 counter and raked up huge bonuses and beat me by a good 30 plus points.
Excellent game to introduce younger children and a lot of fun for adults also and can be used as a good gateway game.

Thread: Re: Endgame?

SteveK2 — 2008-04-07T07:21:50+00:00
It's based on a good English translation of the original German rules, but subsequently confirmed by the US publishers here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1707027#1707027

Thread: Re: Official ruling: For Bobby movement, deduct point from self for each point given to another player(s)

JeffyJeff — 2008-04-06T20:20:50+00:00
kevinb9n wrote:
I see... I actually really dislike the "bash the perceived leader" aspect to many games, though...
How would not giving more points to the leader be "bashing" the leader? Actually this game doesn't have many ways to "bash" the leader.

Thread: Re: Official ruling: For Bobby movement, deduct point from self for each point given to another player(s)

kevinb9n — 2008-04-06T20:16:28+00:00
I see... I actually really dislike the "bash the perceived leader" aspect to many games, though...

Thread: Re: Official ruling: For Bobby movement, deduct point from self for each point given to another player(s)

JeffyJeff — 2008-04-06T17:22:08+00:00
kevinb9n wrote:
I haven't played yet, but this makes me wonder whether poker chips would be a more handy way to keep the score.
It would make it easy as far as the Bobby movement... however whenever a street is scored, it would be a lot of chips (or you'd have to deal with different denominations).... also the current scores would be harder to determine as that can be a factor when you choose which route to move the Bobby (ie. who you are giving the points to, usually don't want to give them to the person who looks like they are winning).

Thread: Re: Official ruling: For Bobby movement, deduct point from self for each point given to another player(s)

kevinb9n — 2008-04-06T17:18:18+00:00
I haven't played yet, but this makes me wonder whether poker chips would be a more handy way to keep the score.

Thread: Re: Endgame?

JeffyJeff — 2008-04-06T17:10:00+00:00
SteveK2 wrote:
Just to be more specific ... the game end is triggered when a player places their last Market Stall. The round is played so that every player gets the same number of turns.
Are the original German rules more explicit about that? It sounds like that may right, but the only mention of a "round" in the English rules translation (from the German publisher's site) is a single mention regarding the end of the game.

There's no marker in the game to mark the start player so it can be remembered easily at the end game (of course this game lasts a third or a quater as long as most games so it's not hard to just remember) when the game is designed such that all players get the same number of turns.

However in some games, when the end game is triggered, it triggers a "final round" where everyone else (and sometimes including the player that triggered it like in Ticket to Ride) gets one final turn.

Otherwise sometimes in games where all players get exactly the same number of turns, it could actually give more power to the players near or at the end of the turn order as they can both trigger the end of the game and not have to worry about any other players still playing.

Thread: Official ruling: For Bobby movement, deduct point from self for each point given to another player(s)

JeffyJeff — 2008-04-06T16:42:19+00:00
I came in looking for the answer, and did find it, but it's buried and hard to find. So the purpose of this thread is not to ask, but to make it easier for others to find, the apparent official answer to this...

Any time you move the Bobby and have to give another player a point, for each point given, you deduct one pointer from your own score (so this can be 1 when there is no tied majority, or 2 or 3 points you may have to deduct).

Where this was confusing was in regards to when 2 or 3 other players are tied for the majority and you want to cross the street. In the English translation(s) it's easy to conclude (incorrectly) that the player moving the Bobby only loses one point regardless how many players are tied for the majority.

The official answer is from someone who emailed the designer and reported the answer at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1398035#1398035

Thread: Re: Small technical tip for scoring alleys

wylde_karde — 2008-03-30T18:15:20+00:00
That an excellent tip! It's so simple I don't know why we didn't think of this one ourselves!

Thanks!

Wylde_Karde

Thread: Re: Small technical tip for scoring alleys

unixrevolution — 2008-03-30T15:36:26+00:00
That's a good tip. We sometimes forget what we've scored ourselves.

Thread: Small technical tip for scoring alleys

koby_shachar — 2008-03-30T07:48:46+00:00
I find it helpful to put the stalls on their side after scoring alleys.
This is done to avoid confusion about which alleys were already scored and help in planning your strategic moves.

Thread: Re: Yet Another Successful evening with Portobello Market

PlayMe1 — 2008-03-18T00:09:32+00:00
I've thought about PM for awhile and your comments make me want to finally get it. My father is 84 and can't play enough of Ticket to Ride: U.S. (and 1910). Be sure to play this with your father. I got the pc version for my father, too, and he plays at least 2-3 times a day, and this has been going on for 2 years. We even had a weekly Thursday night on-line TtR game going with siblings and Dad but after some schedule conflicts this went away.

My Dad also likes TransAmerica a lot.

I'm looking forward to getting Portobello Market and playing with him.

Thread: Re: Two questions

mats77 — 2008-02-23T08:18:58+00:00
frogmind wrote:
The answer to your first question is yes. You are allowed to score any district specifically to prevent your opponent from cashing in, but as you point out this doesn't make you many points so making this decision has to be strongly considered. As far as your second question, I am not aware of any variant but i am sure if you go file hunting you may find something.

Perfect, thanks for the quick reply Frogmind!

/Mats

Thread: Re: Two questions

frogmind — 2008-02-23T05:49:57+00:00
The answer to your first question is yes. You are allowed to score any district specifically to prevent your opponent from cashing in, but as you point out this doesn't make you many points so making this decision has to be strongly considered. As far as your second question, I am not aware of any variant but i am sure if you go file hunting you may find something.

Thread: Two questions

mats77 — 2008-02-23T00:37:31+00:00
Hi,

1) Is it allowed to score a district where you don't have any market stalls in any of the lanes bordering that district? Of course, you will not gain any victory points, but you will prevent the opponent from scoring the district, which might be useful if he/she is really strong there. It seems to be okay according to the rules, what do you think?

2) About the neutral action tokens: Are there any variant rules for the values of these tokens depending of the number of players in the game. I mean, if you are playing a two-player game, maybe it would be more fun if the stack looked something like this: [two valued 3 + one valued 2 + one valued 1] Anyone tried this or similar setup?

Thanks!

/Mats

Thread: Re: Yet Another Successful evening with Portobello Market

Sorp222 — 2008-01-28T14:45:37+00:00
I'm with you guys - this is a gem of a game and probably more than any other has got Mrs Sorp hooked on boardgames

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angeral — 2007-10-13T12:58:38+00:00
Portobello Market in Cool.Con

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cuzzle — 2007-10-07T22:50:55+00:00
The wooden market stands

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cuzzle — 2007-10-07T22:49:38+00:00
All of the included wooden bits

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cuzzle — 2007-10-07T21:59:34+00:00
Not too happy after the final scoring.

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tommih — 2007-09-17T18:16:26+00:00
District scoring example

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tommih — 2007-09-17T18:15:57+00:00
Alley scoring example

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tommih — 2007-09-17T18:14:59+00:00
Market stall placement example